Vietnamese chicken noodle soup

Soup recipe for 6 people, takes only 25 mins; recipe has vegetable oil, shallots, garlic cloves, lemongrass stalk, ginger, star anise, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds, chinese five spice, black peppercorns, caster sugar, fish sauce, chicken stock, chicken breast, rice noodles, spring onions, carrot, mung bean sprouts, coriander, mint, red chilli, shallots, kaffir lime leaf and lime.

Vietnamese chicken noodle soup

Vietnamese chicken noodle soup

Recipe by Chef Soomro Course: Soup
Servings

6

servings
Prep time

20 mins

Ingredients

  • Vegetable Oil: 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • Shallots: 3 shallots, sliced
  • Garlic Cloves: 3 garlic cloves, sliced
  • Lemongrass Stalk: 1 lemongrass stalk, chopped
  • Ginger: 2 1/2 cm piece ginger sliced
  • Star Anise: 3 star anise
  • Cinnamon Stick: 1 cinnamon stick
  • Coriander Seeds: 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • Chinese Five Spice: 1/4 tsp Chinese five spice
  • Black Peppercorns: 1/4 tsp black peppercorns
  • Caster Sugar: 1 tsp caster sugar
  • Fish Sauce: 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • Chicken Stock: 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 litres good quality fresh chicken stock
  • Chicken Breast: 3 large chicken breasts (about 500g)
  • Rice Noodles: 450g rice noodles
  • Spring Onions: 4 spring onions, finely sliced on an angle
  • Carrot: 1 carrot, shredded or peeled into ribbon with a vegetable peeler
  • Mung Bean Sprouts: 2 large handfuls (150g) mung bean sprouts
  • Coriander: large bunch coriander, chopped
  • Mint: small bunch mint, leaves chopped
  • Red Chilli: 1 red chilli, thinly sliced (optional)
  • Kaffir Lime Leaf: 1 kaffir lime leaf, tough central stalk removed, very finely sliced, (optional)
  • Lime: 1 lime, cut into wedges

Directions

  1. Heat the oil in a small frying pan on medium heat and gently cook the shallots and garlic until caramelised and golden brown (about 4-5 mins).
  2. In a large saucepan, add the caramelised shallots and garlic, lemongrass, ginger, star anise, cinnamon stick, coriander seeds, Chinese five-spice, peppercorns, sugar, fish sauce, chicken stock and chicken breasts. Cover with a lid and bring to a very gentle simmer for about 15 mins.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the noodles, following pack instructions, until just cooked through (do not over-cook). Rinse under cold water to prevent them sticking together. Drain and divide between serving bowls.
  4. Strain the soup through a sieve. Discard the spices. Shred the chicken and keep to one side. Return soup to the pot and bring to a boil. Season to taste with more fish sauce if needed.
  5. To serve, ladle piping hot soup into bowls of noodles and chicken, and top with spring onion, carrot, bean sprouts, and herbs, plus the chilli, crispy shallots and kaffir lime leaf if using. Serve with a lime wedge to squeeze over, and more fish sauce and chilli to taste.