This quick, healthy and easy soup-meal dish has Pan-Asian influences: Thai; Vietnamese; Chinese; and even Japanese. No, not necessarily all at once. High in protein, low in fat and with a dial-up-dial-down carb content up to you, it's become one of my go-to comfort foods.
This is another dish I've formulated over the years that is in no way "authentic". But, if you enjoy Asian soup-meal dishes with noodles, such as Vietnamese phở or Thai Tom Yum noodle soups, you will probably like it.
In this case , it's more useful to think of it as a "boilerplate" (sorry, couldn't resist the pun) to which you can add and subtract, depending on what you have in the fridge and what spices appeal on the day; some days more Vietnamese, some days more Thai. And, hey, my versions almost always have at least one thing lifted from Japanese or Chinese cuisines, mainly because I like these particular elements and think they work very well in this dish, choices such as udon noodles instead of egg or glass noodles, for example.
I'm likely at any given time to have 50% of the core ingredients in my larder or fridge. For the rest, I improvise—what I have in and, more importantly, with what's getting to the end of its shelf life. This is an excellent dish for those committed to zero food waste because it works with so many combinations of vegetables, proteins, noodles and spices.
Tonight's iteration leans heavily towards Thai, mainly because I need to use up some lovely Thai fresh herbs and spices before they turn. On a different day, it might feel much more Vietnamese and very often it's more Japanese.
This recipe serves 2 to 3 diners as a main course and 6 as a starter (more about this below). It's also an utterly brilliant dish when cooking for larger numbers of people. Yes, of course, you can scale up on ingredients. But it offers even more opportunities for making things go a little further.
The version here is a fairly thick, nearing chowder-like consistency. But, it's easy to stretch further by adding and cooking more water into the soup—in fact, this makes it more like a true pho—and adding additional cheaper ingredients such as noodles, veggies, chicken or tofu. This makes it a great dish when you need to feed larger groups economically.
"This is my highest-scoring "date clincher" dish of all time that I've passed on to those lacking kitchen confidence. The delicious result belies how easy it is to make. So, you effortlessly appear a sophisticated gastronome. It's almost impossible to mess up if you follow the basic recipe. Most importantly, you can do most of the cooking before your date arrives and complete the last uncomplicated steps later without damaging the result. When you wake up remembering that last night you drunkenly said, 'Come over. I'll cook for us,' (but don't really want to) this is the go-to rescue meal plan."
Shopping list
The essentials - the specific ingredients you should always include
1 large white or brown onion, finely diced
3 cloves of garlic, finely grated or very finely chopped
Two cups of chicken stock, fresh or diluted from cubes or jellies
About two thumb's length of fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
About 4 tbspns of oil (I prefer toasted sesame oil because it gives a deeper flavour, but peanut oil also works well)
420g of thick noodles ( tonight it's bog-standard wheat noodles. I usually prefer Japanese udon noodles, but you can use soba, egg noodles, glass noodles... basically any thicker noodle)
2 sticks of celery, thinly sliced
Approx. 3 tbspns dark soy sauce
3 or 4 small hot red chillies, finely sliced (NB: reduce the number of chillies if adding Thai green curry paste in these quantities and you prefer milder dishes)
1 large red bell pepper, cut vertically into thin slices
The optionals - tonight's choices
1 fresh small pak choi , washed and leaves pulled apart
Approx. 150g mushrooms, sliced (tonight I'm using brown chestnut mushrooms but more often I use shiitake. Most mushroom varieties work well, sliced or whole, depending on size)
2 tbspns of Thai green curry paste (or Thai green curry spice mix)
3 or 4 fresh lime leaves
1 or 2 stems of fresh lemongrass, thinly sliced
A generous clutch of Asian sweet basil, roughly chopped
A generous clutch of fresh coriander, chopped
These are the "optional" ingredients I combined tonight, based on what I had in. But, you can use a variety of appropriate combinations of vegetables commonly used in Asian cuisines. Personal favourites include carrots, cut into extremely thin julienne strips, baby corn (or simple tinned sweetcorn), shredded white cabbage or Thai aubergines among others. You just need to think about when you add them during the cooking process.
Remember that not all veggies cook at the same speed and you don't want any to become too mushy. For example, carrots, shredded white cabbage and Thai aubergines require a longer time cooking in the broth than sweetcorn, baby corn or mange tout.
The proteins - tonight's choices
Approx. 15 to 20 large king prawns, cooked and peeled
1 large chicken breast, grilled. Remove the skin and slice the chicken breast into bite-size pieces and allow to cool. If using chicken with the skin on, cut the grilled skin into small pieces after cooling and store in a covered dish in the fridge.
As with the "optional" vegetables, the proteins allow numerous combinations. I suggest using at least two proteins, whether vegan options such as various tofus and tempeh, poultry, seafood, pork or beef, to attain optimum flavour.
Opt for proteins that are already cooked or don't require cooking. I don't often make it with beef, but it works beautifully with very thin slices of pre-cooked beef. I love the chicken and king prawn combination used here. Two other proteins I really love using are sliced fish balls (the pre-cooked frozen kinds you can buy in Asian supermarkets around the world) and my personal favourite, octopus.
Cooking Method - part 1
Heat the oil in a deep pot with a lid, ensuring it spreads across the entire base. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and ginger. Stir as they sizzle. After a minute or so, add the sliced red chillies and lemongrass and stir together
After a minute or two, add the sliced celery and stir in. (If using the chicken skin, add it at this point too). A minute later, add the bell pepper. Sesame oil tends to cause sticking. Add the soy sauce, a bit at a time, to ensure there is a little liquid in the pot to prevent this as you stir
When the onions soften and appear slightly translucent, add salt, pepper and Thai green curry paste and stir in, adding a little more soy sauce if needed
Add the mushrooms and mix together with the other ingredients. Ensure they are fully coated in the oil and liquid mixture. After a few minutes, throw in the chopped fresh Asian sweet basil and coriander (and any other fresh herbs you're using). Stir constantly. When the fresh herbs have wilted, but not yet catching, add one cup of the liquid chicken stock and stir all of the ingredients. Add the whole fresh lime leaves and bring the pot to the boil
Allow the mixture to boil vigorously for about 5 mins, stirring regularly. Then, add the second cup of hot chicken stock and stir in. And, once stirred in, add a cup of boiling water and stir it in. Bring all the ingredients back to the boil, cover and allow to boil vigorously for approx. 5 mins. Stir, cover, reduce to a medium heat and simmer for a further 12 to 15 mins.
Dip a spoon into the pot and taste a range of the vegetables. If the bell pepper and onions are tender, move on to the next step. If not, cover and simmer for another 5 to 7 mins
Stir the contents and add your additional vegetables that should not be cooked too long, in this case, the pak choi (or, when using them, baby corn, mange tout, green beans. Thai aubergines, carrots or white cabbage do better with a longer cooking time and should be added earlier, for example, when adding the liquid stock)
Bring back to a vigorous boil for about 5 mins, stirring the pot. Cover, reduce and allow to simmer for about 7 mins
Uncover, pour in the coconut milk and stir. Cover and simmer for a further 5 to 6 mins. Stir and taste. Check that the coconut milk has "fused". To do this, dip a clean finger into the coconut milk tin and taste. Then taste the soup. If the coconut taste is very similar or the same, it's not yet done. Cook for a further 5 mins and try again. You'll immediately taste if the coconut flavour changes to a silken,"fused" cooked flavour
Either proceed directly to the final stage or remove the pot from the heat and return to cooking it whenever suits you. You can even allow it to cool fully and store in the fridge and resume cooking days later. I often stop at this stage if I'm only cooking for myself and store half of it in the fridge for use with a different set of proteins and noodles a couple of days later
Cooking Method - part 2
If cooking seamlessly, carry straight on. When restarting the cooking later, first reheat, first on a low heat then gradually bringing it back to the boil, stirring regularly
The final stage happens very quickly and needs to be deftly timed to ensure you don't overcook the noodles or certain proteins e.g. cooked king prawns. So, check optimum times to safely reheat your preferred noodles and proteins
Once the soup base is reheated evenly and boiling once more, add the proteins and noodles. In this case, the order is: chicken (5min), noodles (4min), king prawns (3min). Stir occasionally. When the proteins and noodles are cooked and piping hot, remove from the heat and cover. Allow to rest for 5 min before serving. Garnish with a few crushed peanuts and/or chopped spring onions
Given the Pan-Asian nature of this dish, there really isn't any etiquette on cutlery. You can go for the Thai spoon and fork thing or chopsticks, which are definitely the easiest way to polish off the noodles and larger morsels. But, given it's also a thick soup, hell, I advise both.
Accompaniments
This is a surprisingly filling dish, so I usually never serve it with any side dishes. But, given it's Pan-Asian influences, you could go wild: anything from Indonesian prawn crackers to a Vietnamese-style salad; Japanese gyoza or steamed bao buns. Alternatively any of these or in combination make good starters to accompany.
Alternatives
As I said, think of this recipe as a boilerplate. So, it's easy to make pescatarian, vegetarian or vegan versions. I'm not going to go into minutiae (especially since I've discussed various protein options above) but here are some basic principles:
Replace the chicken stock with vegetable stock.. I recommend toasted sesame oil (not peanut oil). Yet, ironically, try stirring in a generous tbspn of smooth peanut butter at the stage the stock is brought to the boil. This really deepens the flavour compared with only using vegetable stock
Good Thai green curry paste (and pre-prepared sauces) usually include both anchovies and shrimp paste in one form or another. However, there are plenty of vegan and veggie versions of both the paste and green curry spice mixes out there. Simply shop around
If you are making a beef version, always use vegetable stock, not chicken or beef stock. Trust me on this. This bit is authentically Asian. You've heard of overkill. Asia has understood that in flavour terms for millennia
Cultural chicanery—if you want to go more Japanese, use soba or udon noodles and substitute the Thai herbs and curry paste with miso, add a little honey and extra dark soy sauce. Dial back the chillies and add a little yuzu juice in lieu of the lime leaves
Start me up
A different alternative. This dish can also be a great starter. Some years ago, I decided to serve it as a hearty soup first course and it works incredibly well. Recently, I made exactly the same dish for a friend suffering after a dental procedure and was reminded how good it is... well, almost certainly me more than here, poor lady.
Basically, you cook it exactly according to the recipe above, but do not add the noodles in the final stage. Instead, using a handheld blender, blend the contents of the pot—prawns, chicken and all—to a smooth, rather thick soup. Only then bring it back to the boil and add your preferred noodles and boil for a further 4 mins or until they are cooked.
Using the ingredient quantities of the recipe above, you will easily get 6 generous starter portions out of it. Plate in bowls and serve. Garnish with a cooked king prawn and chopped spring onion or a dab of mashed avocado or wasabi.
Pairings
I somehow always seem to end up having this dish with a drink of fizzy mineral water with mango and orange juice, as I did again tonight. I have no complaints. It works very well. But, I've never actually had it with wine—so let's put it on Karel's challenge list. But it's definitely great with Asian beers like Tiger or Singha that are traditionally served cold and provide a lovely counterpoint to the spicy heat of the dish.
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