29 Jun Glass noodle soup
Yesterday I got this text from my 14 year old daughter, Eesha who was helping out at horse riding camp:
The way to a teens heart (and time) is through her stomach…so I try and seize every opportunity to do so!
I quickly put some frozen chicken tenders out to thaw. ( We always have a bag of chicken tenders in the freezer since they are easy to thaw and quick to cook.) If you have left-over oven roasted or rotisserie chicken, that will work fabulously with this recipe!
After picking her up from camp, we bought all the ingredients for this light, zesty, aromatic soup.
Glass noodles, also called bean thread, are made with mung bean or green gram and is named thus because it turns from opaque to translucent when cooked.
The beauty of this dish is that it is cooked in one pot with fresh herbs and a soy-vinegar-chilly accompaniment makes it possible for people to season it to their own taste. (Growing herbs like basil and mint is a good investment of time and effort as they make for some really flavorful summer dishes like this one.)
To make this soup, bring four cups of broth and 1/4 cup of Fish sauce to a boil in a stock pot.
Meanwhile chop the white parts of green onion (reserving the green parts to add later), slice the ginger thick, chop the garlic fine, split the chilly peppers in two, and chop the basil, mint and cilantro.
Once the broth is boiling, cook the thawed chicken tenders in it for 2 1/2 mts. (If you are in a hurry and didn’t thaw them ahead of time, cook for longer until the center is white). Do not over cook. Remove the chicken, chop and reserve.
Next, add the white parts of the green onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies to the boiling broth.
Turn the heat down to let it simmer for 5 mts and then add another 4 cups of water and the mung bean noodles.
Let it simmer for 5 mts.
Meanwhile make the chilly-vinegar-soy sauce to serve with soup. Chop serrano pepper or Thai peppers fine and mix with vinegar and soy sauce.
Chop the reserved green parts of the green onion and add to the soup.
Also add the chopped cilantro (reserving some for garnish), mint and basil. Take off the heat and add the chopped chicken.
Cut the noodles with a kitchen scissors if you prefer smaller pieces. Serve immediately with a garnish of cilantro and a lime wedge. Pass the chilly-soy-vinegar sauce at the table.
We used chop sticks (some used forks!) to eat the noodles/chicken and a spoon to wash it down with the aromatic herb broth. There were some happy faces at lunch!!
Variations: Instead of the chicken you could use thin slices of beef or seafood. For a vegan soup, skip the fish sauce, use vegetable broth, bok choy, carrots and bean sprouts.
Glass noodle soup Servings: 6
Prep and Cook Time: 25 mts
Ingredients
Soup:
4 cups of broth
1/4 cup fish sauce
6 thawed raw chicken tenders or 3 cups of chopped cooked chicken
1/2 cup of chopped white parts of green onion
1 inch of ginger sliced thick
5 large cloves of garlic chopped fine
2 chillies sliced in half
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup chopped basil
1 cup chopped mint
4 cups water
3 stacks of Mung Bean Noodles (about 4oz)
Soy-vinegar-chilly sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup vinegar
1 serrano pepper or 2 thai peppers finely chopped/sliced.
Garnish:
Chopped cilantro and lime wedges.
Method
Soup:
1. Bring the broth to boil in a stock pot.
2. Add the fish sauce and raw chicken tenders and cook for 2 1/2 mts or until center is white. Do not over cook. Chop the chicken and reserve. If using cooked chicken skip this step.
3. Next, add the white parts of the green onion, ginger, garlic and green chillies to the boiling broth.
4. Turn the heat down and let it simmer for 5 mts.
5. Add 4 cups of water and the bean noodles. Simmer for another 5 mts.
6. Add all the fresh herbs reserving a little cilantro for garnish.
7. Take of the heat, add the chopped chicken and serve immediately with a lime wedge and cilantro garnish. Cut the noodles with a kitchen scissors if you like smaller pieces.
Soy-vinegar-chilly sauce
Mix all the ingredients and pass it at the table.