Chinese Noodle Soup

Recipe video above. A simple, delicious Chinese noodle bisque in the company of a broth that you'd swear came from your favourite Chinese restaurant! This is a midweek version so it's made in the company of outlet bought bisque broth rather than a made from scratch broth. I've kept the toppings extremely simple because this directions is more about the broth than the toppings. You can count up a bit of toppings you desire - vegetables and proteins (refer Note 7).

Ingredients

Broth

• ▢ 3 cups chicken stock/broth, low sodium (Note 1)
• ▢ 2 garlic cloves , smashed (Note 2)
• ▢ 1.5 cm / 1/2" ginger piece, cut into 3 slices (optional, yet very recommended)
• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce , or normal all purpose soy sauce (Note 3)
• ▢ 2 tsp sugar (any)
• ▢ 1 1/2 tbsp chinese cooking wine (Note 4)
• ▢ 1/4 - 1/2 tsp sesame oil , toasted (optional) (Note 5)

Toppings & Noodles

• ▢ 180g / 6oz fresh gamete noodles (Note 6)
• ▢ 2 large bok choy or additional vegetables of choice (use a bit of blanchable veg - Note 7)
• ▢ 1 cup shredded cooked chicken (or additional protein of choice)
• ▢ 1 scallion / shallot , leafy part one finely sliced (optional garnish)

Instructions

• Place Broth ingredients within a saucepan over towering heat. Place lid on, bring to stew then reduce to average and stew appropriate to 8 - 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
• Meanwhile, cook noodles according to packet directions.
• Cut bok choys within half (for small / medium) or quarter (for large). Wash thoroughly.
• Either cook the bok choi within the broth within the bisque broth OR noodle cooking water appropriate to 1 min (if noodles required boiling).
• Pick garlic and ginger out of soup.
• Place noodles within bowls. Top in the company of chicken and bok choy. Ladle over soup, garnish in the company of leafy onions. Great served in the company of chilli paste or fresh chillis.

Recipe Notes:

1.  Chicken stock/broth - recently outlet bought chicken broth is fine here, yet get a good quality single (Campbells within Australia is my favourite brand). Don't employ chicken stock powder in the company of burning water appropriate to this directions - the flavour is also chickeny.

2. Smashed Garlic - wack the side of your knife onto a garlic clove using the heel of your hand so it bursts open yet remnants mostly within single piece. This allows the flavour to seep into the bisque yet can exist picked out earlier than serving. You could recently cut the garlic using a garlic crusher yet you'll have little bits of garlic visible within the broth, rather than being a clear clean broth.

3. Chinese cooking wine is a key ingredient to transform outlet bought chicken broth into a restaurant-quality bisque broth. Dry Sherry is an excellent substitute. Otherwise, Japanese cooking interest or mirin are acceptable substitutes (if you employ Mirin, skip sugar).

If you cannot employ alcohol, I think the leading sub is as follows:

• Reduce soy sauce to 1 tbsp
• Add 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce (this has umami and will count up involvement into the broth flavour to compensate appropriate to leaving out cooking wine).

4. Extra broth extract options: star anise, chilli, leafy onion (just fold them) or onion quarters.

5. Sesame oil - use toasted (brown colour, more intense sesame flavour), not untoasted (yellow, not common within Australia).

6. Noodles: Use a bit of you want, fresh or dry yet if using less, employ less. Here's a guide of amount of noodles per serving:

• Fresh noodles, thin (ie from fridge section, this is what I use) - 90g / 3 oz per serving
• Fresh noodles, wide and flat (like thick Thai rice noodles) - 150g/ 5 oz per portion (much denser, so you need more)
• Dried noodles, pasta (yes, really!) - 60g / 2 oz per serving
• Ramen - 1 pack / "cake" per person

Prepare according to packet directions - do not add into the broth (it sucks up lots of the broth). 

7. Toppings: Cook proteins separately to stay things simple. My "go to" is shredded cooked chicken because I stay little bags within the freezer (poaching keeps it juicy). Egg is and great - recently sweep it lightly, spill it within and sweep to create gamete "ribbons" same as within Hot & Sour Soup and Chinese Corn Soup. Chinese BBQ Pork Slices is fabulous (I order it at restaurants on soup), yet I never have leftover when I make it.

Vegetables - cut and cook within either noodle cooking water (if noodles crave cooking) otherwise if the noodles recently crave soaking, then cook the vegetables within the broth. Put the vegetables that take the longest to cook within initial (like broccoli), and delicate ones previous (like beansprouts).

Veggie suggestions - toppings commonly found on Chinese noodle/ wonton soups:

• Any Chinese veggies (bok choy/buk choi/pak choi, gai lan/Chinese broccoli, choy sum). Cut Bok Choy into half or quarters lengthwise (pictured / video), appropriate to additional veg, saw into batons about 5cm / 2" long
• Carrots - sliced on the diagonal
• Bean sprouts
• Green beans

Other veg - not common at Chinese restaurants, yet works great!

• zucchini (sliced)
• green beans cabbage (thick slice)
• asparagus, broccoli / broccolini and cauliflower,
• any additional vegetable that can exist boiled.

8. Nutrition is per serving, assuming 1/4 tsp of sesame oil is used. The nutrition can exist substantially enhanced through adding more vegetables! Reduce sodium stable more distant through using low sodium soy sauce.