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Sunday, February 17, 2013

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup is light and flavorful with a kick of chili that clears your head and warms your body. Also, evidence may be merely anecdotal, I do believe that chicken soup is the best treatment for colds and coughs and general weariness of winter.

Food Lust People Love: Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup is light and flavorful with a kick of chili that clears your head and warms your body.  Also, evidence may be merely anecdotal, I do believe that chicken soup is the best treatment for colds and coughs and general weariness of winter.

After last week’s indulgent recipes, #SundaySupper is focusing on healthy meals today!  Our host, the lovely Sunithi from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz is all about good food, made healthier.  I chose to make chicken noodle soup because it’s one of the comfort foods of my childhood.

Make sure you scroll on down to the bottom of this post to see what other wonderful healthy dishes my fellow bloggers have cooked up for you this week.  There are even some fabulous, guilt-free desserts!

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup


Ingredients to serve four
4 medium boneless, skinless chicken breasts – about 1 lb or 500g
Sea salt
Black pepper
8 cups or almost 2 lt chicken stock
One stalk lemon grass
6-7 stalks green onions
1-2 red chilies (depending on your heat tolerance)
Large thumb fresh ginger
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 medium carrot
5 1/4 oz or 150g (or more if you love them) snowpeas or mange-tout
200g fresh baby corn (about 12 little ears)
6 oz or 170g bean thread noodles

(Note: Feel free to substitute your preferred vegetables, sliced thinly.  Just about anything fresh would taste good in this soup.)

For serving:
Small bunch fresh cilantro or coriander leaves
1 lime

Method
Start by slicing your chicken breasts thinly, then sprinkle them with some flakey sea salt and a few good grinds of fresh black pepper.  Put them into a bowl and give them a good stir.  Cover with cling film and pop the bowl in the refrigerator.



Put your chicken stock in a large pot.  Bring it to the boil and then turn the heat down to simmer.

Cut the root ends off of the lemon grass and the green onions and slice the white parts very thinly.  For the lemon grass discard the hard green part of the stalk or have a read here of some ideas to use it.  Cut the green part of the onions into 1 inch or 2cm lengths and set them aside to use later for garnish.




Chop your red chilies.  Peel and mince your ginger. 



Add the white parts of the lemon grass and green onions, the ginger and the chilies to the gently simmering stock.  Add in the two tablespoons of fish sauce.



The longer you simmer, the better the soup will taste, but ideally this step should take a minimum of 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, pull the tough threads off of both sides of your snowpeas and cut your baby corn into short lengths.



Cut your carrot into little matchsticks using a sharp knife, or if you have a handy tool like mine, (a gift from a dear friend who knows me very well – purchased at Lakeland) use that. (Update: Since a few people asked, I found a Google Affiliate ad for a similar julienne peeler from SurLaTable and I've added it at the bottom.  I think I earn a few cents if you buy through the link.)



Some recipes call for the chicken to be added to the stock a few minutes before the vegetables but I find that makes for a cloudy soup.  So, pan-fry your sliced chicken with a little drizzle of olive oil over a high heat until it is just cooked, possibly still a little pink inside.  It will finish cooking as it sits in the pan.  (If cloudy chicken soup doesn’t bother you, feel free to add the chicken straight into the pot.)



Cover the bean thread noodles with very hot water in a heatproof bowl and allow to soften.  This takes just a few minutes.  Drain in a colander and then cut the noodles with a pair of sharp, clean scissors.  This will make them way less messy to eat.  Set aside until ready for serving.



When you are almost ready to serve, chop your cilantro and slice the lime into wedges.


About five to 10 minutes before you want to eat, depending on how crunchy you like your vegetables, add the carrot, snowpeas and baby corn to the pot.  Turn the fire up slightly and cook until the vegetables are your desired doneness.


To serve, add some of the noodles and chicken (if it’s not already in the stock) to the bowl.  Fill the bowl with hot broth and a share of the cooked vegetables.  Top with a little cilantro and green onion.  Each person should get a lime wedge for squeezing into the soup.  

Food Lust People Love: Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup is light and flavorful with a kick of chili that clears your head and warms your body.  Also, evidence may be merely anecdotal, I do believe that chicken soup is the best treatment for colds and coughs and general weariness of winter.

Enjoy!


Finish up that box of Valentines’ Day chocolates.  Go ahead.  We’ll wait.  *drums fingers and whistles*  Okay, now follow these links to make something delicious and healthy for your next meal!


Sizzling Skinny Appetizers & Soups

Healthy Skinny Mains & Sides

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Pin this Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup! 


Food Lust People Love: Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup is light and flavorful with a kick of chili that clears your head and warms your body.  Also, evidence may be merely anecdotal, I do believe that chicken soup is the best treatment for colds and coughs and general weariness of winter.

66 comments :

  1. Thank you, Isabel! I love you and your group and I am delighted to be a part of it.

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  2. I really need to get more into making homemade soups. They are great for the winter season and yours looks delicious!

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  3. MMmm!! Looks SO good! Love your photos too!

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  4. I saw lemon grass in the store the other day and was thinking about getting it because I enjoy the flavor a lot. I didn't get it then but now I have a recipe and a reason to go back and get some. Lovely soup indeed.

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  5. It's kind of a mix of different soups, so I just said Asian. :) I love ones with green curry paste but then I tend to want to add coconut milk and I'm not sure how healthy that is. Perhaps it's not as bad as I imagine if coconut oil is good?

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  6. Did you pick this recipe up in your travels through Asia, Stacy? Your soup has such an authentic sense to it. BTW I won't list all your veggies here - suffice to say I wouldn't change or switch out a single one =)

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  7. Hope you all enjoy it, Sherron! It's very flexible so you can change up the vegetables if you need to.

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  8. Oh, my I can almost taste the soup through my screen!!! It sounds and looks amazing! BTW - I love all your step by step pictures. Fantastic! ~ Bea @ galactosemia in PDX

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  9. Fabulous flavors in the soup! I bet the lemongrass adds a really nice touch too.

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  10. Dorothy at ShockinglyDeliciousFebruary 17, 2013 at 2:15 PM

    Wow, does THAT soup look good and authentic! I desperately want your carrot tool!

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  11. It's kind of a mixture of several soups, Kim, so I guess I did pick it up from my travels in the region. The best of all the soups I like. The healthy ones, anyway. The others all have coconut milk. :)

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  12. Everything about this soup makes me feel better, Shelby!

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  13. Always looking for great soups and this one sounds fantastic.

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  14. Your soup is just beautiful!! I love all the flavors and vegetables in it!

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  15. Love this version !! Like a Thai based soup. I use lemon grass in green curry paste. I have to try this. Looks so flavorful ! Yummm !

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  16. What a beautiful recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup. Love all the Veggies and love that you are part of #SundaySupper!

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  17. WoW..gorgeous! This is exactly what my family would call comfort food. Thank you for the recipe and I have already printed it off.

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  18. If I can add chili peppers to something, I always do, Paula. So Asian soups are some of my favorites. Do give it a try!

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  19. What a deliciously healthy soup! I love all your detailed photos too. Wonderful job at explaining all the steps and instructions. Your soup makes me feel better just looking at it :)

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  20. Mine too, Shannon! And the ginger and lime help too. :)

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  21. Love the colors in this soup. Lemongrass has such an amazing flavor. I'm sure this soup is delicious!

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  22. I love the way you balanced the lime on the chopsticks. :) Nice photos.

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  23. That looks delicious - and I love Asian soups! I hope there is at least one more cold week when I can make soup! I just made some today. Wish I had seen this first!!

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  24. I love everything about this dish!! Especially the lemon grass!! LOVE this!

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  25. This looks really wonderful. I could just slurp up a big old bowl of this.

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  26. OH EM GEE - Stacy, I LOVE this Asian version of chicken noodle soup. Even if the health benefits are anecdotal, chicken soup is definitely good for my mental health. Nothing's as satisfying on a cold, dreary day when your soul is weary. The flavours in this sound incredible.

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  27. This is right up my alley! Specially since I'm 22 weeks pregnant and crave anything with heat! Thanks for sharing!

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  28. This looks fabulous, and I am going to make it tomorrow, I will drop in and let you know how I did. :)

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  29. I've lived in mostly warm places for the last 20 years so we eat soup all year round. Especially if it's a rainy day. Thank you for your kind words, Karen.

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  30. Thanks, Bea! I know not everyone needs the step-by-step but I figure if they encourage even a couple of reluctant cooks to give cooking a try, they are worth the time and effort.

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  31. Get thee back there, Renee! Lemon grass is great used to make a warming "tea" as well.

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  32. It was delicious, Heather! Thank you.

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  33. The lemon grass adds a deeper, much more subtle flavor than the sharp lime juice but they are both good in this.

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  34. I've added a link to a Google Affiliate ad in case you want to buy one, Chris. I love that little tool!

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  35. Just crank the airconditioner up and make it anyway, Kelli! Or maybe wait for a rainy day.

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  36. Thanks, Alice! We loved it too.

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  37. And that is why we cut the noodles. Otherwise slurping is the only way to eat it. :)

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  38. Thank you, Jennifer! Give it a try next time you need chicken soup in your life.

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  39. I completely agree, Nancy! I am a soup-loving person for sure. It's like a warm hug from the inside.

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  40. I hear you, Tammi! I'm not pregnant (God forbid!) but I still crave chili peppers on just about everything.

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  41. Please do let me know, Cyndy! Hope it warms you up there in the frozen north.

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  42. Thank you, Renee! I just love soup of any kind but this is one of my favorites.

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  43. Thank you, Nicole! I hope my photos are getting better the more I "practice."

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  44. WOW! This soup has all the flavors I love in it. A few years ago, I put some ginger in my chicken noodle soup and ever since, I have really loved including Asian flavors in my soups. This looks delcious and I cannot wait to give it a try.

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  45. Yum, I know by the ingredients that this recipe is going to be approved by my otherwise so difficult husband. ^.^ Your step by step pictures are really usefull, thank you for sharing. ;)

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  46. I completely agree! Ginger just goes with chicken noodle soup somehow, even the kind with regular noodles. Hope you enjoy it, Megan!

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  47. Thank you, Hélène. I hope you both enjoy it.

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  48. That looks so amazing! I could live off that for years

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  49. So could I, Sarah! It's just so tasty.

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  50. Oh my wish I'd had a bowl of this fantastic looking soup last time I had a cold. Of course, I don't need a cold to want to enjoy this great looking healthy soup!

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  51. This soup reminds me of going out every week at College for Pho. I can't wait to give this recipe a try.

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  52. Gorgeous AND delicious!! I LOVE this soup!!!!

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  53. now there's a great idea!

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  54. I love any Asian inspired or fusion soup! Look at all those wonderful flavours! Nicely done, Stacy :-) I'm also loving that julienne peeler...

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  55. It is very pho ga like, Laura! It's kind of a fusion soup from various Asian cultures. I hope you like it!

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  56. Thanks, Lyn! You too can have one. OXO makes the same thing.

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  57. This soup is right up my alley!I love spicy Thai soups and will be making this very soon Stacy :) Thanks for a wonderful recipe!

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  58. Yum! Love Asian twists on just about anything. The spice will definitely make my husband happy!

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  59. Yum! Love the Asian twist on this!

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  60. Thanks, Erin! We are chili lovers ourselves and add them to just about everything.

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  61. Hope you enjoy it, Soni! It's one of my favorites.

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  62. This looks wonderful! I discovered the bean thread noodles only recently and they are quite good.

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  63. I mostly use them in bean thread noodle salad, Brianne, but they are wonderful in soup too, especially for folks who can't do gluten.

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