Thought I’d re-write this after I twittered about it, and it seemed to have a lot of interest. I’ve been experimenting a bit with various versions since I was keeping myself on the straight and narrow in Taiwan eating this for breakfast:-
I also kept getting told in Taiwan that Chicken Soup was the cure-all for all ills. And as a particularly stressed parent of many children, who works stupid hours and never rests, I thought I could do with a bit of care. And I like soup.
I’ve tweaked and twiddled – and here’s what I had this morning, which I’m pretty happy with. Modifications are easy, and suggestions below.
First step – make the chicken stock (which sounds a bit scary if you’ve never done it, but essentially it’s just simmering raw chicken until well cooked, with other stuff in a pan, then straining it).
Chicken stock (about a pint).
Some chicken – like, a couple of thighs, or three drumsticks, or something.
A pint of water.
A leek, or an onion, or several spring onions, or something, chopped into 10mm lengths.
Maybe a carrot, chopped up.
I like some ginger – either crushed (from a tub), or sliced (fromĀ root).
Some garlic is nice (but people complain if you stink).
I chuck in some RICE WINE at this stage too.
Ground black pepper.
Bring all this to the boil, then simmer for about an hour with the lid on.
After an hour, pull the chicken out to cool (you’re going to use that), and then sieve the rest of the stuff off from the liquid, and discard the boiled carrot/onion etc…
That liquid that you have left is chicken stock. If you want to really be posh, you can then chill it, which will make the fat rise to the surface and you can skim it off. I don’t bother.
Making the soup.
You need:-
Chicken (shredded off the bone, what you just used to make the stock). I eat the lot. Including the skin. Sliced up into bits it goes down well, and I figure it’s good for you.
Fresh egg noodles (like these) – not dried ones, like Pot Noodle. Wet ones. You can find them in the salad section in supermarkets – they’re used sometimes for putting in salads…
1 spring onion (chopped finely)
a handful of coriander (cilantro) chopped finely – I like lots. It really adds something to the flavour.
a half chilli, chopped finely, to flavour
soy sauce to taste.
Put the shredded chicken, spring onion, coriander, chilli in a bowl, then pour over boiling hot chicken stock. This heats everything up, and sort of cools down too so you don’t have to sit for ages whilst it cools down before you can eat it.
I might take some pics some time, but it’s not hard and you get the idea I guess. Hope you like it.