Soup month and the Chinese New Year collide here to bring us the inspiration for today’s post. While this might not be traditional Chinese fare, it incorporates some of our favorite things about fresh Asian soups. We like to call it Dragon Soup. Our soup is basic at its heart, but made better with ginger and a bit of heat.
One of the most appealing qualities of soup is its forgiving nature. You can put a little less of this or more of that and still arrive at a very tasty result. If there are ingredients in this soup that don’t appeal to you, substitute them with something else or omit them completely.
For a more authentic taste, use real Chinese noodles. They have a unique flavor and, fortunately, are more widely available than ever before. Check the import section of your local supermarket.
savour… oodles of noodles
DRAGON SOUP
Before you start:
You can dial down the heat by reducing the peppers to one.
I am making a plea to you again to try making your own stock. Check out our basic chicken stock recipe.
The ingredients:
- 2 cups chicken stock (homemade or store-bought)
- 2 cups water
- 2 dried Japanese red peppers
- 1 inch of ginger root
- 1 cup shredded cooked chicken breast
- 2/3 cup carrot, julienned
- 2/3 cup celery, julienned
- 1/4 cup scallions, thinly sliced
- 1 cup dried Chinese noodles
- salt
- pepper
The method:
- Heat stock, water, ginger, and peppers in a saucepan over medium heat.
- Add carrots, celery, salt, and pepper. Heat until vegetables are just a bit soft.
- Place noodles in cold water for 3 minutes. Remove from cold water and transfer to the soup mix about 5 minutes before serving.
- Add shredded chicken.
- Add scallions, salt, and pepper. Stir briefly before serving.
