On cold winter days and nights what could be more comforting than a meal of chicken soup!! The liquid that you poach the whole chicken in, becomes the stock for the soup. The flavour is delicate and you can choose whether to serve with a chilli sauce on the side if you want a little (or alot) of spice.
Ingredients
1 chicken
For poaching
Water
2-3 cms piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly sliced
4 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
2 spring onions, halved
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 4 pieces
2 whole star anise
1 cup dry sherry
Soup ingredients (or your favourite Asian veges)
¼ cup soy sauce
10-12 button mushrooms, finely sliced
Packet of baby spinach leaves
10-12 water chestnuts, drained and cut in half
2cms piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
Handful of beansprouts
1 hardboiled egg per person
Egg noodles, cooked
2-3 spring onions, finely sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Handful of fried shallots (garnish)
Chilli sauce
2 tbsps chilli flakes, dry roasted in a small pan
4 tbsps vegetable oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp finely grated ginger
2 tbsps black rice vinegar (available in Asian groceries)
Ideally poach the chicken the day before or earlier in the day to allow the stock to cool and make it easier to take any fat off the top.
Place the chicken in a large pot and add enough water to come ¾way up the chicken. Bring to the boil and skim. Add the rest of the poaching ingredients.
Gently simmer for about 1 hour 15 minutes or till the chicken is cooked. Leave it to cool in the liquid.
Remove chicken and shred as much as you want to add to the soup. Strain the stock into a clean pot or bowl until you’re ready to make the soup. Take any fat off the top.
To finish the soup, bring the stock to the boil and add the soy sauce and ginger. Simmer and add the mushrooms, then spinach and water chestnuts. Cook for 1 minute, add the chicken to warm through and remove from the heat. Taste and check the seasoning.
To serve, place some egg noodles in large bowls. Ladle over the soup. Garnish with halved eggs, bean sprouts, spring onions and fired shallots. Serve with chilli sauce on the side.
Chilli Sauce
In a small pot heat the oil and add the roasted chilli. Gently simmer for 5 minutes – the chilli will become very dark. Remove from the heat and add the ginger and garlic. When cool stir in the vinegar. This keeps well in the fridge.