Sopas facts for kids
 
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| Alternative names | creamy macaroni soup |
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| Type | Pasta |
| Course | Main dish |
| Place of origin | Philippines |
| Serving temperature | hot, warm |
| Main ingredients | elbow macaroni, evaporated milk, chicken (or beef/pork), butter, garlic, onion |
| Similar dishes | chicken noodle soup, sopa de fideo, suam na mais, lugaw, arroz caldo, chicken macaroni salad |
Sopas is a yummy and creamy macaroni soup from the Philippines. It is made with elbow macaroni pasta, different kinds of vegetables, and meat, usually chicken. All these ingredients are cooked in a creamy broth that uses evaporated milk. Many people in the Philippines think of sopas as a "comfort food." This means it is a dish that makes you feel warm and happy. People often eat it for breakfast, when the weather is cold, or when they are not feeling well.
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Where Sopas Comes From
Sopas is the Filipino version of the American chicken noodle soup. It was first brought to the Philippines a long time ago. This was during the time when the United States had control over the Philippines, from 1898 to 1946. The word "sopas" simply means "soup" in the Tagalog language. It comes from the Spanish word sopa, which also means "soup."
How to Make Sopas
Making sopas is usually quite easy. First, the meat is boiled until it is soft and tender. Most of the time, people use chicken for sopas. But you can also use beef, pork, or even turkey. Sometimes, people use leftover meat or processed meat like corned beef. After boiling, the meat is often taken out and shredded into small pieces. The bones are thrown away, but some recipes skip this step. The water used to boil the meat, called "stock," is saved.
Next, garlic and onions are lightly cooked in butter. This is called sautéing. Then, the saved meat stock is added back in and brought to a boil.
What Goes Inside Sopas
Many finely chopped vegetables are added to the soup. They are cooked until they become soft. The most common vegetables are carrots and celery. Cabbage is also very common and is usually added near the end of cooking. Some people also add chopped potatoes, green peas, green beans, or kinchay (Chinese celery). It is also fine to make sopas without any vegetables at all.
The elbow macaroni pasta is added last. Other ingredients like chopped hotdogs, Vienna sausages, or ham are often added too. The macaroni is cooked until it is al dente. This means it is firm to the bite, not too soft. The soup is seasoned with salt and black pepper to taste. Once it is cooked, it is taken off the heat. Then, evaporated milk is stirred in to make it creamy. Sopas is served hot or warm. People often put chopped scallions on top as a garnish.
It is best to eat sopas right away. If you wait too long, the macaroni will soak up all the liquid. This makes the pasta soft and bloated.
Different Ways to Make Sopas
There are a few different ways to prepare sopas. Some people boil the macaroni for a long time. This makes it very soft and mushy. Other recipes do not remove the bones or shred the meat. They might even brown the meat first by cooking it with the garlic and onions. Some people also make the dish faster by using bouillon cubes. These are like solid blocks of stock that you can buy in a store.
A special and cheaper version of sopas uses corned beef instead of chicken. This kind of sopas is made in a similar way to the classic version. The good thing is that corned beef does not need to be boiled beforehand.
