Sehriyeli Tavuk Corbasi (Chicken Orzo Soup)
Turkey's answer to chicken noodle soup: shredded chicken and tiny orzo in a golden, lemony broth — the bowl every Turkish mum makes at the first sign of a cold.
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Ingredients
400g chicken breast fillet
3/4 cup (about 120g) barley-shaped orzo (arpa sehriye)
2 tbsp (30g) butter
1 medium onion, halved (for the broth)
1 carrot, finely diced
1.8 litres water
1 chicken bouillon tablet (optional, for a deeper broth)
1 tsp salt, or to taste
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)
Juice of 1 lemon, plus wedges to serve
Small handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley, to finish
Instructions
- 1
Put the chicken, halved onion and water in a large pot, bring to the boil from cold and skim off any foam that rises.
- 2
Lower the heat and simmer gently for 25 minutes until the chicken is cooked through, then lift out the chicken and discard the onion, keeping the broth.
- 3
Shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces with two forks and set aside.
- 4
Melt the butter in the rinsed pot, add the diced carrot and cook for 3 minutes, then add the orzo and toast, stirring, for 2 minutes until lightly golden.
- 5
Pour the reserved broth back in, add the bouillon tablet if using, and simmer for 10-12 minutes until the orzo is tender.
- 6
Return the shredded chicken to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for a final 3 minutes.
- 7
Stir in the lemon juice off the heat, scatter with parsley and pepper flakes, and serve hot with extra lemon wedges.
Sehriyeli tavuk corbasi is the soup Turkish mothers reach for when someone sniffles. Tiny barley-shaped orzo (arpa sehriye) simmers in real chicken broth until the whole pot turns golden and gently thick, and the shredded chicken makes it a proper light meal rather than just a starter.
The flavour lives in the broth, so poach the chicken from cold water and skim the foam for a clear, clean base. Toasting the orzo briefly in butter before the liquid goes in adds a nutty depth that instant soups can never match. Orzo keeps drinking liquid as it sits, so if you are making the soup ahead, keep it slightly thin and loosen leftovers with hot water.
Finish each bowl with a hard squeeze of lemon and a dusting of black pepper; some families whisk in an egg-yolk-and-lemon terbiye for extra silkiness, and a pinch of pepper flakes never hurts. Serve with warm pita or a sesame simit on the side. You can order the orzo, halal chicken and everything else below from Turkish Online Market in one basket.
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