asian noodle soup

i love noodle soups. i especially love easy to make noodle soups with lots of vegetables, because they manage to be light and filling at the same time. when the geek sees this bowl full of brothy, noodley, garnished goodness, he describes it as an 'aquarium in a bowl.' even when i point out that this contains chicken and not seafood, he still thinks that it looks like a bowl full of aquarium plant life where a fish could live. how do you argue with that?

luckily, this lovely and descriptive nickname does not deter him from slurping it up. except for the vegetables; he begrudgingly eats those.


adapted from kathleen dealemans' recipe for asian chicken noodle soup on foodnetwork.com.

ingredients

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons mirin
• 1 teaspoon dark sesame oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 4 tablespoons rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sriracha sauce (plus more for serving)
• 8 cups chicken broth (plus an extra 1.5-2 cups for poaching the chicken)
• 1/2 small onion, thinly sliced
• 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, poached and shredded (see directions below, or you can use a rotisserie chicken)
• 1 (5-ounce) package rice noodles or udon
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced at a diagonal
• about 5 cups of vegetables
• chopped napa cabbage (used 3 cups)
• bean sprouts (used 1 cup)
• sugar snap peas, trimmed (used 1/2 cup)
• enoki (straw) mushrooms (3.2 ounce tray)
• other options:
• bok choy
• choy sum
• jalapeño, thinly sliced
• snow peas

directions

• to poach chicken: place chicken in a single layer at the bottom of a small pot. cover with 1.5-2 cups of broth or water. bring to boil and reduce heat to low to simmer. cook for 10 minutes then turn off heat and let sit for an additional 15 minutes.
• prep the garlic, ginger, onion, and other vegetables (cutting and blanching as needed).
• heat broth in a medium pot over medium heat. add onion and bring to a gentle boil.
• while the broth is heating, prepare the noodles according to package directions and combine soy sauce, mirin, 1 teaspoon of the sesame oil, garlic, ginger, sugar, vinegar, and chile paste in a small bowl.
• add the soy sauce mixture to the broth and return to boil. taste and adjust seasonings.
• place a serving of the cooked noodles into individual bowls. allow each person to add chicken and vegetables to their taste before ladling the hot broth into each bowl and garnishing with cilantro and scallions.
• serve with sriracha on the side, for anyone who wants to spice up the broth.

serves 8.