Chicken Noodle Soup

Hot, sweet, slightly sour and salty all at once - this Hanoi Chicken Noodle Soup is truly fragrant and delicious - and surprisingly easy to make at home. With the tasty pho-style broth, it's is nutritious and healthy; and is a great way to make the most of every last bit of any chicken you buy. It is also a Rick Stein dish, which is only ever good news cooking wise; if you think the recipe sounds like a fiddle, you might be surprised but how little you have to actually do!

Soup

  • Chicken Carcass
  • 2 Spring Onions
  • 3 Cloves Garlic, sliced
  • 3cm fresh Ginger
  • 1 stick Cinnamon
  • 10 Peppercorns

To Serve

  • (Anoi) Fine Noodles
  • Cold Roast Chicken
  • Greens, Spinach or Pak Choi or Kale (etc)
  • Peppers
  • Chopped Spring Onion
  • Chopped Fresh Chilli
  • Chopped Mint
  • Chopped Coriander

[This recipe is Rick Stein's Hanoi Chicken Noodle Sup - and is called Bun Thang I think.  Mr Stein poaches a whole chicken and then strips the meat to serve with the soup; I had already BBQ'd my chicken breasts and legs, hence this adaptation.  The proper recipe features in his Far Eastern Odyssey book, which is really lovely and definitely worth buying]

Add all the Soup ingredients to a large pan and bring to the boil with 2 litres of water

Simmer for 45 minutes or so

Cool for 20 minutes before draining – this ‘broth’ can be cooled, refrigerated and used the next day

(I tend to keep the Chicken – and to remove all the bits of flesh from the poached carcass… It’s a bit dodgy looking to serve in this pretty soup but work brilliantly chopped up and mixed more discreetly into Croquetas)

When you want to eat Noodle Soup… Wash and chop some Spring Onion, Fresh Red Chilli and some Mint and Coriander

Also slice some cold Chicken (Roasted, BBQ’d, Poached?!)

Bring the Soup back to the boil

Cook some Rice Noodles according to the instructions (I sometimes stir fry them with a little Oyster Sauce and half a Red Pepper finely sliced)

Serve each individual bowl with some Noodles at the bottom, some greens (Pak Choi, Cabbage or Spinach?!) and some fresh sliced Red Pepper; topped with the hot Soup which poaches the veg.  Let everyone add their own Chicken, Herbs and Spring Onions and Chilli

Just before eating – add a spoonful of Hot Vietnamese Dipping Sauce (this makes all the difference; the Soup is good before, but goes ‘all amazing’ with one teaspoon full of Nuoc Cham)

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