Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup + Veggie option

This is a recipe that I learned of a few years ago, which I have added to and adapted over the numerous times I have made it. Since observing local Vietnamese cooking their soups, I have incorporated the idea of creating the broth using only the essential ingredients and placing the remaining elements into serving bowls to avoid changing or spoiling the texture.

In terms of the ingredients, these are only my suggestions. The beauty of these soups is that you can pretty much throw anything you want into the mix – for example if you prefer cabbage, swap this for the pak choi, or perhaps throw in some prawns for diversity.

Serves 2

1 large chicken breast, skinless
Shitake mushrooms, small handful
2 spring onions, chopped small along the length

2 pak choi, chopped roughly into long strips
½ red pepper, cut into long, thin strips
Rice noodles, pre-soaked
Ginger, 1 square inch, grated

2-3 chicken Oxo cubes
2 tblsp Fish sauce
1 tblsp Chinese cooking wine

To serve:
1 spring onion, sliced lengthways into thin strips

Coriander, small handful, chopped

1 lime, cut into wedges
Nam Prik
2 large soup bowls


Begin by preparing all the vegetables.

Secondly, place the noodles in a bowl of hot water. It should take around 10-15 minutes for them to become almost cooked. Remove at this stage, and drain under cold water, then divide equally and place in each bowl.

Boil the chicken breast and Oxo cubes (or alternatively just use chicken stock) in a large saucepan using enough water to make two portions of soup. Once cooked through, turn the heat right down and remove the chicken from the pan.

Add the shitake mushrooms, pak choi and ginger to the chicken broth, keeping it on a low heat.

While the vegetables are cooking, cool the chicken by running under cold water and tear into small, thin strips (this is easy to do if you go in the direction of the grain).

Add to the soup bowls along with the pepper and chopped spring onion.

Add the fish sauce and Chinese cooking wine to the broth, stirring well. Pour the broth over the noodles, chicken and vegetables.

Add the spring onions that have been cut into long strips and the coriander on top of soup. Serve with Nam Prik, lime wedges, spoons and chopsticks.


Veggie option

Create the clear broth using vegetable bouillon (stock) and substitute the chicken for tofu.

While I am becoming a little more partial to the tofu stuff, I can’t unfortunately advise you on the best method of cooking. I will just assume as you have been adept in stumbling onto The Nibbling Toad, you will be tempted enough to Google the cooking technique. Here’s what I came across anyway...

Home cooking: Part II

Soups will definitely become a feature of this blog, mostly because there are so many varieties in SE Asia, but also because they are quick to prepare and cook, filling, tasty and healthy – what more could you want! Coming from a huge pizza lover (I’ll take the Quatro Formaggi anytime – extra Parma Ham if it’s going…), it’s always great to find things that you can’t wait to get home and cook, but also leave you feeling guilt-free and satisfied.

Clear pork noodle soup was next on the menu during our home visit – I’m calling it this because I actually have no idea what the official title is, but it pretty much encompasses everything you need to know.

One thing that is new to me is preparing and cooking all the ingredients in advance (if necessary), and simply adding the broth into the serving bowls rather than lumping everything into the saucepan as you go. As you can see in the photo below, the bowls were filled with pre-soaked noodles (al dente), long, thin strips of pork, fried egg, white beetroot and small portions of chicken. The chicken broth was then simply added into the bowls along with some chopped coriander and spring onions just before serving.



I think there pros and cons to this method; one advantage is making sure all the ingredients retain their texture, rather than being overcooked or left soggy in the saucepan. However, I don’t believe that the flavours are really drawn out of the ingredients as much as they should be. On trying the soup, my thoughts were confirmed, as I didn’t really feel that I could taste many of the flavours, which was disappointing. There weren’t any condiments such as Nam Prik available on the table, only a chilli sauce which seems to be popular with the Vietnamese. I also couldn’t taste much seasoning in the soup which was a little disappointing.

However, I was introduced to a Vietnamese chicken noodle soup by a good friend of mine (thanks Ella!), which I have added to and adapted over the last couple of years, and am now feeling confident enough to share with the rest of you. If you’d like to try an alternative to the above, I have used introduced the Vietnamese idea of only cooking the necessary ingredients as I go. Find the recipe, as well as the vegetarian alternative, here.

Thai Condiments

Soy sauce or Tomato Ketchup?!

While soy sauce in Asia is abundant in their cooking, it is generally not served as a condiment on the table, and I’ve even been told that it is the Thai version of our tomato ketchup – i.e. it should not be put on everything, regardless of whether you agree or disagree! However, I always believe that everyone has different tastes, and I can never get enough of the stuff, so if you’re asking my opinion, go right ahead…. Other condiments that regularly appear on the table include:

• Salt
• Chilli flakes
• Mixed pickled chilli
• Lime wedges (brought out with dish, whether soup, noodles or rice)
• Nam Prik

Nam Prik is a great addition to all types of soups, but I have also seen locals put it over rice and noodle dishes. It has for me now become a bit of a rough estimation that I recall from memory, but I’m sure you can Google for the right amount of ingredients if so desired! Recipe's do vary but this is my favourite.

Don't be put off by the quantities of garlic and chilli – whenever I serve it to a Nam Prik virgin, they’re always a bit skeptical about adding it to their soup, but it really does make all the difference.

Nam Prik

Serves 4:

4-5 garlic cloves

1-2 small red chillies (1 tspn chilli flakes will do if you do not have fresh to hand)

4 tbspn fish sauce

3 tbspn Chinese cooking wine (available from bigger supermarkets and Asian food stores)

1 lime - juiced

Peel and chop the garlic sideways into round slices, and the same with the chilli (it is fine to leave the seeds inside). Put all the ingredients together into a small bowl. Add around a tablespoon to your soup – but start small, and add more as you go if necessary.

You can also keep Nam Prik for a week or two in the fridge.

Sukiyaki soup with chicken

This is a great soup as it is really filling but also very healthy. You may have to search a bit further than the local supermarket for a couple of the ingredients, but it will be worth the trip.

One ingredient I haven’t come across before is Cantonese Suki Sauce – I’m sure you will be able to find this at a local Asian food shop, and I have added a photo for ease of reference.

Sukiyaki Soup with Chicken

Serves 2:

1 chicken breast
Large handful pak choi
Large handful cabbage – chopped into 1 inch square (roughly)
Large bunch of glass noodles (roughly equivalent to the diameter of a 2 pound coin)
1 large egg
1 tbspn dried garlic (available to buy from supermarkets, or you can chop and fry your own and leave out to dry in bulk prior to cooking)
2 tbspn Cantonese Suki Sauce

To serve:

2 large bowls

1 tbspn chopped coriander for presentation (optional)

Chopsticks

Nam Prik

Boil the chicken breast in a saucepan with enough water for two bowls of soup. When cooked through (use a knife to open and check), remove the chicken from the pan, leave to cool (or drain with cold water) and tear into small, thin strips (this is easy to do if you go in the direction of the grain).

Next, chop all the vegetables and add along with the chicken to the original chicken stock (you may want to add 1-2 chicken oxo cubes for flavour as well). Crack the egg into the soup and stir continuously so that it begins to break up. Add the garlic and Cantonese Suki sauce.

Serve immediately with a small amount of coriander on top for presentation and chopsticks/spoon for ease of eating. Nam Prik is an additional option to add after cooking onto all sorts of dishes, and I would highly recommend it (see ‘Thai Condiments’).