INDONESIAN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
By Michael Minorgan for Curtains Up minorganmichael@yahoo.com
Indonesian cuisine is one of most vibrant and colorful cuisines in the world, full of intense flavor. A lot of the popular dishes like satay, rendang and sambal are now common across Southeast Asia and now even in the West.(1)
On my visits to Indonesia I have delighted in hawkers of all kinds dispensing some amazing street food. This week’s recipe is an awesome take on Chicken Noodle Soup packed full of Asian Flavors, an addition of a bit of coconut milk would kick it up again…..Enjoy!
Ingredients
8 cups water
1 tbsp salt
1/2lb chicken breast bone in skin off
1/2 lb chicken thighs bone in skin off
3/4lb vermicelli rice noodles
2 green chi.ies
7 shallots
2 fresh ginger slices peeled
3 garlic cloves chopped
5 almonds
2 tbsp chopped lemongrass
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp ground coriander
5 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 hard cooked eggs
1 cup bean sprouts
cilantro
green onions sliced on the bias
Directions:
In a saucepan over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the 1 Tbs. salt and the chicken and return to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, until the chicken is opaque throughout when tested with a knife, about 30 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the chicken to a plate and let cool. Reserve the broth.
Meanwhile, soak the vermicelli in water to cover for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.
Seed and chop 1 of the chilies. Chop 4 of the shallots and the ginger slices. In a mortar, combine the chopped chili, chopped shallots, ginger, garlic, almonds, lemongrass, turmeric and coriander and grind together until a paste forms. Add 1 to 2 Tbs. water if needed to facilitate grinding. Set the chili paste aside.
Thinly slice the remaining 3 shallots. In a small fry pan over medium-high heat, warm 3 Tbs. of the oil. Add the shallots and sauté until crisp and dark brown, 7 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer to paper towels to drain.
In a large saucepan over medium heat, warm the remaining 2 Tbs. oil. Add the chili paste and sauté until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Pour the reserved broth through a fine-mesh sieve into the saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper, and simmer for 5 minutes.
Shred the chicken into thin pieces, discarding the bones. Halve the remaining chili lengthwise, remove the seeds and thinly slice on the diagonal. Quarter the hard-cooked eggs lengthwise.
Bring a large saucepan three-fourths full of water to a boil over high heat. Add the drained noodles and cook until just tender, about 2 minutes. Drain and divide among warmed individual bowls.
Divide the shredded chicken, bean sprouts, cilantro, green onions and sliced chili evenly among the bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the top and garnish with the eggs and fried shallots. Serve immediately. Serves 4 to 6.
(1) wikipedia
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Asian, by Farina Wong Kingsley (Simon & Schuster, 2003).
