ORIENTAL NOODLE  SOUP WITH VEGETABLES AND CHICKEN

This is a hearty, one dish meal, easy, delicious and nutritious. If you have homemade chicken stock, use it now. If its been in the freezer, defrost it slowly in the pot to liquefy. If you have pre-made chicken soup, don’t use the vegetables cooked with the soup. You may also need to increase the liquid with canned stock/broth, use low/no salt commercial chicken stock, never bouillon cubes.

First you will need:

Raw chicken breast, skinned and trimmed of fat.

Baby Bok Choy, rinsed, cut into 1” pcs crosswise

Fresh spinach leaves, well cleaned and rinsed, cut off tough stems

½ Chinese cabbage, Savoy or other,  cut 1” pcs crosswise

6 lg. raw mushrooms, thick sliced

1 cup fresh or frozen baby pea pods

3 scallions/spring onions, rinsed, cut diagonally into ½ pcs.  Set aside ½ for garnish

1 can sliced water chestnuts, for crunch

1 lg. clove fresh garlic, finely minced

2 inched peeled fresh ginger

1 TBS or to taste, toasted sesame oil

2 TBS or to taste, low salt Soy Sauce

½ tsp or to taste garlic-chili paste (caution: this stuff is very spicy. Use with caution)

Fresh rinsed, chopped cilantro leaves, if desired.

1 TBS toasted sesame seeds.  Put in small frying pan, dry, over med heat, shake pan constantly until light brown.

Bring chicken stock/broth to boil, reduce to simmer. Check flavor and adjust.

Slice chicken on the diagonal into 1” wide slices. Where breast gets thick, slice it (carefully) horizontally placing non knife holding hand flat on chicken piece, sliding knife parallel to cutting board through chicken to make upper and lower slice. Now cut those into diagonal

1” pieces. Put all chicken into gently simmering broth. Cook till tender and just done, or slightly pink inside. This will take no more than 5 min.

Remove chicken and put aside on plate.

Put all vegetables and flavorings into simmering water, cook briefly if you like some crispness left in the vegs.

Add chicken back to pot, simmer all briefly

Add ½ lb Japanese Udon, Soba, or Ramen noodles, already cooked according to package.

Stir well, simmer a few minutes, serve hot sprinkled with chopped scallion, and toasted sesame seeds.