Thai chicken tom yum noodle soup

Not your usual tom yum noodle soup, but the ultimate comfort food for a cold winter's night. 

The marinade for the chicken was mostly an experiment and the quantities can be varied. I was also out of coconut milk but found some shredded coconut in my pantry - it worked surprisingly well!

Ingredients

• 200g chicken thigh, sliced
• 2 baby (or 1 medium) capsicums, sliced
• 10 small button mushrooms, quartered
• 200g dried egg noodles
• 2 tbsp palm sugar, grated
• 2 tbsp coriander, chopped
• 1 tbsp basil, chopped
• 2 stalks spring onion, chopped
• 1 chilli, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp ginger, grated
• 1/2 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 tsp fish sauce
• juice of 1/2 lime
• 2 tbsp tom yum paste
• 1/2 cup cream (ideally, use coconut cream or coconut milk)
• chicken stock
• vegetable oil
• salt

Method

• Combine sugar, coriander, basil, spring onion, garlic, chilli, ginger, shredded coconut, 2 tablespoons of oil, fish sauce and lime juice. Blitz until a rough paste forms. Pour mixture over chicken and massage paste into chicken pieces. Leave to marinate for at least 10 minutes.
• Cook egg noodles according to packet instructions. Drain and portion into large bowls.
• Heat oil in a wok and fry chicken until browned and aromatic. Add a little water to help the chicken cook through. When chicken is cooked, add capsicum and toss through chicken. Remove chicken  and capsicum from wok with tongs and divide among bowls. Leave any excess sauce in the wok.
• Fry up mushrooms in the leftover sauce and tom yum paste. Add stock to deglaze the pan and bring to boil. Add cream to thicken soup and add salt to taste.
• Ladle soup over chicken and noodles. Garnish with crushed peanuts.

Thai chicken tom yum noodle soup

Shredded Chicken Rice Noodle Soup

A quick meal that takes only 30 minutes to make.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken thigh fillet
• 1 cup dried rice noodles (can substitute with fresh noodles)
• 2-3 dried red dates
• 3-4 Sichuan peppercorns
• 1/4 cup goji berries
• 2-3 leaves of wombok, sliced
• 1 stalk fresh coriander, roots chopped, leaves torn

Method

• In a saucepan, place dried rice noodles, chicken, dried dates, goji berries, coriander root, top with boiling water and simmer until noodles soften and chicken is cooked.
• Drain noodles and chicken, reserving stock soup. Shred chicken.
• Add wombok to soup, simmer until cooked. 
• Add noodles to a bowl, top with shredded chicken, pour over soup and finish with coriander leaves.

shredded chicken rice noodle soup

Chicken and Prawn Tom Yum Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• 1 packet Fantastic Hokkien noodles
• 250g chicken thigh fillets (~2 pieces)
• 8 small prawns, peeled and deveined
• 6 medium mushrooms, quartered
• 200g bamboo shoots
• 2 tbsps Valcom tom yum paste
• 5 tbsps cream or coconut cream

Method

• Soak noodles in boiling water until noodles soften and separate.
• Cook chicken in salted boiling water. Drain (reserve liquid), cool and shred.
• Pour 3 cups of the reserved cooking liquid into saucepan. Add tom yum paste and stir to dissolve. Add mushrooms, bamboo shoots and prawns. Add more of the reserved liquid if required. Simmer until prawns are cooked through. Add cream and simmer for a further minute or two.
• Divide noodles amongst bowls, top with shredded chicken then ladle soup over noodles.

Char Kwai Teow

Another adaptation of a Malaysian recipe off Poh's Kitchen - Char Kwai Teow.

char kwai teow

Ingredients

• 2 packets fresh rice noodles
• 2 Chinese sausages, sliced
• 1 capsicum, chopped
• 1 stalk spring onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1.5 onions, sliced
• 2 eggs, beaten

Marinade

• 400g beef, sliced
• 2 tsp shaoxing wine
• 2 tsp light soy
• 1 tbsp cornflour
• 1 tsp sugar
• salt and pepper to taste

Sauce

• 2 tbsp light soy
• 2 tsp dark soy
• 1 tsp sugar

Method

• Fry Chinese sausage in a little oil. When sausages start to confit, add onions and garlic. Saute.
• Add capsicum and carrots, saute until carrots start to soften.
• Add rice noodles, sauce and extra soy sauce if needed.
• Scramble eggs into noodles (you can also scramble eggs separately and then add them here).
• Served garnished with spring onions and shallots.