Another soup day

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I'm clearly still not feeling well as all I seem to be want to eat these days is soup. Saying that this chicken noodle soup is amazing. It feels much more like a meal than a light soup and when I serve it with the delicious Japanese Gyoza I buy from Ocado you almost forget that you're eating in the comfort of your own home rather than in a restaurant in China Town. The other great advantage with soups is they reheat so well. You can make them earlier in the day or even the night before, but be careful with this one as if you leave the noodles in the broth too long they will absorb the water and become heavy, which kind of defeats the object of a nice light soup for dinner!

Chicken Noodle Soup 

(Serves 3 as a main or 4 as a starter | total prep and cooking time 45 mins) 

Ingredients

- groundnut oil for frying

- 1 small onion - diced

- 3-4 cloves of garlic - finely chopped 

- 1 inch piece of ginger - finely chopped

- 1/2 small chilli - finely chopped

- teaspoon Chinese 5 spice

- tablespoon soy sauce 

- tablespoon toasted sesame oil 

- 1 chicken breast fillet

- chicken stock cube dissolved in approx 500ml water. Have more boiling water ready 

- 1 nest of egg noodles

- approx 7 mushrooms - quartered

- other vegetables e.g. brocolli, green beans, mange tout

- tablespoon chopped coriander 

Method

- heat the oil in a deep saucepan

- fry the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli until softened 

- add the five spice and stir

- add the chicken breast, stock, soy sauce and toasted sesame oil. Stir and bring to the boil

- simmer and cook for 20-25 mins until the chicken is cooked 

- remove the chicken breast and slice or shred the meat

- return the shredded chicken to the pan

- add the noodles, mushrooms, other vegetables and coriander and stir 

- add more boiling water depending on how watery you like your soup

- cook for 5-7 minutes 

- serve with dim sum