Spicy chicken noodle soup

I am a big fan of Asian food. It is one of my dreams to spend time in Asia and learn how to cook all those great dishes. The flavours are so amazing and when I shop for ingredients I am like a kid in a toy store. All those exotic spices, herbs and vegetables, the super intense colours and all those things I have never seen before … I absolutely love it!

But I have not cooked many Asian dishes so far. I guess the variety of ingredients has intimidated me as much as it has fascinated me. That’s why I went to the store, bought a few and decided to tackle the Asian flavours starting with a simple soup.

The soup is easy and quick to cook and full of fantastic flavours. I am sure you will enjoy it. I was surprised how easy it was to prepare it and how flexible the sauces and spices can be used. You can play around, adding more lime juice, chilli, soy sauce and chopped leaves until it’s just perfect.

Level: Easy | Time: 30 minutes | serves 2-4

Ingredients

The ingredient list looks quiet long but I am sure that you will find a few things on your kitchen shelves.

100 grams of rice noodles

1-2 chicken breasts cut into pieces

2 carrots cut into pieces (it looks nicer when they are cut at an angle)

Spring onions – separate the green and white parts

Soy sprouts

1 red chilli and chilli flakes

1 litre of chicken stock

Freshly grated ginger (about 1 inch piece)

1 clove of garlic, grated

2 stalks of lemon grass – Remove outer leaves of the lemon grass and finely slice the tender white part at the base of the stalks. Bruise them in a pestle and mortar before use.

Soy sauce

Fish sauce

Fresh mint leaves

Fresh coriander leaves

Fresh lime

Preparation

1. Prepare all the ingredients before you start. Grate the ginger and garlic, cut the veggies and the chicken, mix the mint, coriander leaves and the finely sliced green part of the spring onions in a separate bowl and get all the other ingredients ready.
2. Bring one litre of chicken stock to the boil. Add the garlic, ginger, half of the fresh chilli, the lemon grass, soy and fish sauce (start with 2 TS) and the chilli flakes.
3. Heat water in a separate pot and cook the rice noodles according to package instructions.
4. Add the carrots and the chicken pieces to the stock and cook for 4-5 minutes. They will not take much time to be cooked.
5. Take the pot off the heat. Add the juice of half a lime and check the seasoning. If the taste is a little weak add more soy or fish sauce or lime juice.
6. Add the soy sprouts and cover the pot for a few minutes before serving the soup. This will allow the sprouts to get soft and all the flavours to mix together.
7. To serve: Place the noodles in the middle of the bowl, ladle the soup on top of it and cover with a good amount of chopped spring onion green, mint and coriander leaves.
8. If you want to prepare the soup meat-free, just substitute the chicken with tofu or fish/prawns and use vegetable stock.

I am a big fan of Asian food. It is one of my dreams to spend time in Asia and learn how to cook all those great dishes. The flavours are so amazing and when I shop for ingredients I am like a kid in a toy store. All those exotic spices, herbs and vegetables, the super intense colours and all those things I have never seen before … I absolutely love it!

But I have not cooked many Asian dishes so far. I guess the variety of ingredients has intimidated me as much as it has fascinated me. That’s why I went to the store, bought a few and decided to tackle the Asian flavours starting with a simple soup.

The soup is easy and quick to cook and full of fantastic flavours. I am sure you will enjoy it. I was surprised how easy it was to prepare it and how flexible the sauces and spices can be used. You can play around, adding more lime juice, chilli, soy sauce and chopped leaves until it’s just perfect.

Level: Easy | Time: 30 minutes | serves 2-4

Ingredients

The ingredient list looks quiet long but I am sure that you will find a few things on your kitchen shelves.

100 grams of rice noodles

1-2 chicken breasts cut into pieces

2 carrots cut into pieces (it looks nicer when they are cut at an angle)

Spring onions – separate the green and white parts

Soy sprouts

1 red chilli and chilli flakes

1 litre of chicken stock

Freshly grated ginger (about 1 inch piece)

1 clove of garlic, grated

2 stalks of lemon grass – Remove outer leaves of the lemon grass and finely slice the tender white part at the base of the stalks. Bruise them in a pestle and mortar before use.

Soy sauce

Fish sauce

Fresh mint leaves

Fresh coriander leaves

Fresh lime

Preparation

1. Prepare all the ingredients before you start. Grate the ginger and garlic, cut the veggies and the chicken, mix the mint, coriander leaves and the finely sliced green part of the spring onions in a separate bowl and get all the other ingredients ready.

2. Bring one litre of chicken stock to the boil. Add the garlic, ginger, half of the fresh chilli, the lemon grass, soy and fish sauce (start with 2 TS) and the chilli flakes.

3. Heat water in a separate pot and cook the rice noodles according to package instructions.

4. Add the carrots and the chicken pieces to the stock and cook for 4-5 minutes. They will not take much time to be cooked.

5. Take the pot off the heat. Add the juice of half a lime and check the seasoning. If the taste is a little weak add more soy or fish sauce or lime juice.

6. Add the soy sprouts and cover the pot for a few minutes before serving the soup. This will allow the sprouts to get soft and all the flavours to mix together.

7. To serve: Place the noodles in the middle of the bowl, ladle the soup on top of it and cover with a good amount of chopped spring onion green, mint and coriander leaves.

8. If you want to prepare the soup meat-free, just substitute the chicken with tofu or fish/prawns and use vegetable stock.

Read Full Post »

Spicy Mexican bean soup

It is getting colder and darker every day now and my taste buds call for hearty and spicy food. I had planed to cook fajitas this weekend and just needed to add a few things to my shopping list to prepare a nice starter soup.

As I bought a big steak for the fajita, I decided to keep the soup meat free. The potatoes and beans make it rich anyway. I generally don’t use floury potatoes but in this recipe I think they work really well. They help to thicken the soup and make it even richer.

Cumin and chopped coriander give a kick to the soup. When the onions and garlic are nicely fried and you add the freshly ground cumin, the smell in your kitchen is amazing and give you an idea how the soup will taste like.

If you want to turn this soup into a main course, just add mince meat or chorizo to it. If you don’t eat meat, try some quesadillas with it.

 

 

Level: Easy | Time: 40 minutes | serves 6

Ingredients

3 TS of Olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, finally chopped

2 medium-sized potatoes (floury), sliced in small pieces

1 green pepper, sliced in small pieces

1 can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can of chopped tomatoes

500 ml of beef stock (or vegetable stock)

2 dried red chillies

Salt and Pepper

3 TS of ground cumin (If you can, use whole cumin seeds and grind them with the Pestle and Mortar. The smell is just amazing!)

Fresh coriander, tomatoes and spring onion for a small salad

Preparation

1. Heat 3 TS of olive oil in a medium-sized pot and fry the onion on a low heat until soft. Add the garlic and the spices and keep frying them for another 2-3 minutes.
2. Add the potatoes, green pepper and kidney beans to the pot and cover with the stock and chopped tomatoes.
3. Add the dried chillies and a little extra salt if necessary.
4. Cook for about 20 minutes on a medium heat. Don’t cover the pot completely, allowing some of the juices to evaporate and the soup to thicken.
5. Take the soup of the heat and taste it. Add Salt and Pepper if necessary and mix in the chopped coriander.
6. To serve prepare a small salad of chopped spring onions, tomatoes and coriander lightly tossed in a little lime juice.
7. Fill the soup into a bowl and garnish with the salad. You can also add some grated cheese if you like.

Read Full Post »