6 chicken soups in Long Beach to soothe the stay-at-home soul - Long Beach Press Telegram

It is not without cosmic significance that one of the best-selling book series of the past two decades has been “Chicken Soup for the Soul,” of which there are dozens. Chicken soup, hot and soothing, is a balm, edible Valium, medicine for what ails you, body and, yup, soul.

My mother did not make a great chicken soup. She was a lazy cook who would drop a frozen chicken into a pot of boiling water — often with the little bag containing the heart, liver and gizzard still inside — and maybe add some onion, celery and carrots. Or maybe not. And then she would go out to visit friends in the neighborhood. For hours, I’d have to keep an eye on the pot to make sure the water didn’t all cook out. Often, the water boiled away to an alarming degree. Yet, in the end, it was always chicken soup. And it was worth the effort.

It wasn’t until I first ordered chicken soup at a neighborhood deli that I discovered it could be…better. So much better. With lots of vegetables tossed in for the goodness in them. With matzoh balls, and the Jewish wontons called kreplach. I discovered the chicken parts inside the little bag were actually worth eating — especially the liver.

I became a great fan of generally derided, and these days forgotten, chicken parts like the feet and the odd little ridge of skin at the top of the bird’s head we called “the crown.” (My sister and I would fight for it.) And then, there were the unborn chicken eggs — they looked a bit like a grapevine, with tiny yellow grapes on them. They gave a notably rich flavor to the soup. And they’ve vanished from markets everywhere. I heard they’re used for dog food.

And so, should you not be making your own chicken soup during these dark days, you certainly can get some fine varieties from restaurants all over town. (Which, for the record, freezes better than just about any other takeout chow. So buy lots!) The recipes are many — but they’re always chicken soup. And always good for the soul. Let us be thankful…and well fed.

Chicken soup is not only good for the soul, it’s a delicious lunch or dinner option — especially when ordered for takeout from a restaurant nearby. (Shutterstock)

Elephant Thai Kitchen

2087 Long Beach Blvd., Long Beach, 562-513-3015; www.elephantthaikitchen.com

Four of the six soups on the menu at this snappy, famously spicy Thai destination are made with chicken, which makes this Thai Chicken Soup Central for those with a yen — classics everyone of them. There’s the hot & sour soup with chicken, lime juice and chili (tom yum kai). The glass noodle soup with minced chicken and scallions (woonsen). The wonton soup with chicken, shrimp and bean sprouts (wor wonton). And the coconut milk, straw mushrooms, galangal, lemongrass, lime juice and sliced chicken soup (tom kah kai).

Add on some noodles and a satay, and happiness is yours, via GrubHub.

El Pollo Imperial

5991 Atlantic Ave., Long Beach; 562-612-3315, https://ift.tt/2X0Ks43

Peruvian cooking — one of the most flavorful and complex on Earth — is not as a rule known for its soups. Think of the cooking of Lima and Cuzco, and its ceviche, papa a la huancaina, lomo saltado and cau cau that come to mind. But it’s the rare Peruvian menu that doesn’t feature the classic indigenous chicken soup — aguadito de pollo — which El Pollo Imperial does in two sizes, one smaller and one larger. (Get the larger; it chills well for later.)

And anyway, at a restaurant with “pollo” in its name, you shouldn’t be surprised to find a chicken soup somewhere on the sprawling menu, which offers more dishes than restaurants I’ve been to on my trips to the Andes. But no alpaca steaks. For those, you’ve got to go to the source. And very good they are too.

Koh Ruessei

816 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, 562-912-7316

A chunk of the menu at this Southeast Asian/Cambodian café is dedicated to noodle soups. And of course, more than one of them is made with chicken. And here we find soup in several styles — the Phnom Penh noodle soup, Thai Boat Noodle Soup, combination egg noodle soup, and the directly named chicken noodle soup.

The soups come well spiced, and can be made a lot spicier for those with asbestos palates. This is the peppery cooking of Southeast Asia, where hot can get out of control. And where the chicken noodle soup is always soothing — no matter how peppery you make it.

Lacquered

3632 E. Broadway, Long Beach; 562-881-8105, lacquered-restaurant.business.site

This is one of the sweetest restaurants in Long Beach, with an eclectic menu that goes on and on — from avocado toast to pierogis, from Vietnamese spring rolls to Canadian poutine.

One of the soups, made fresh daily, is chicken vegetable. And not just chicken, but organic chicken, with onions, carrots and celery — the Three Horsemen of Soup — given added goodness with a dab of butter, sundry herbs and cracked black pepper. It’s available in a cup, a bowl and with a salad. At Lacquered, the options are many. And the chicken soup is a wonder.

Los Compadres

1144 Pine Ave., Long Beach, 562-432-0061; 3229 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach, 562-961-0061; www.loscompadreslbc.com

This is one of the most popular Mexican restaurant in SoCal, with several branches offering encyclopedic menus of Mexican classics, with a particular penchant for seafood. And indeed, most of the eight soups — caldos — are built around fish and shrimp and such. But there is a caldo de pollo, heavy with chicken chunks, veggies, broth and flavor.

And of course, there’s a whole menu to go with it. Where else do you find five different preparations of chilaquiles offered? Truly, the breakfast of hombres fuerte.

123 Pho

210 E. 3rd St., Long Beach; 562-552-6677, www.123-pho.com

Well, of course there’s a chicken pho served here; no self-respecting pho shop doesn’t offer a pho without chicken. But there’s even more to it at 123 Pho. You have choices to make in the creation of the pho — your broth could be chicken or beef, your noodles could be wide or thin. But for it to be chicken, your protein of choice would be bird — which I guess would be a tad strange in a beef broth. To this, you add basil, bean sprouts, jalapeños, lime, hoisin and Sriracha sauce. You do it your way, so that it’s calibrated to your taste. And when it’s just right — it’s time for chicken soup Vietnamese style. Always so good.

Katella Deli & Bakery

4470 Katella Ave., Los Alamitos; 562-594-8611, www.katellabakery.com

Though a bit out of the region, the OC’s much-loved Katella Deli is the closest destination to Long Beach proper for old school chicken soup concoctions. And that means for those in need of a taste of one of our sadly vanishing cuisines, Katella is where we’ve got to go in the region. (That the delis of New York, at one time numbering 1,500, are down to a few dozen, if that, is a shocking fact!)

Those in need of Jewish chicken soup — which accounts for pretty much everyone these days — can go to Katella for a first-rate matzoh ball soup with the excellent house broth, noodles and a matzoh ball. Should you not be of the matzoh ball persuasion, there’s chicken noodle soup, with carrots, celery and onions.

Those who want to keep their soup minimalist can get just the soup with noodles. And those who want to maximize the experience can go for Chicken in the Pot, a fabled deli feed that’s exactly what it sound like — a whole roasted chicken in soup, with a matzoh ball, kreplach dumplings and noodles. It’s the full Monty in a bowl.

All soups come with freshly baked bread or cornbread. At Katella, they live to make us happy.

Merrill Shindler is a Los Angeles-based freelance dining critic. Send him email at mreats@aol.com.