Soup, winter's comfort food

January 26, 2010

It's winter. It's cold. It's dark. And apparently you can't survive on chocolate.

So instead of grabbing a bag of chocolate make a pot of homemade soup or stew. It will warm you up and provide comfort.

Asian chicken noodle soup

Colourful and oh so healthy, this chicken noodle soup is perfect for when someone is feeling a little under the weather or needs an immune-enhancing boost. Provide garnishes of green onions, coriander and kick-it-up chili garlic sauce to put in the bottom of deep soup bowls before adding soup. Serve with both a spoon and fork (or chopsticks if you're dexterous).

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serves: four to six

2 boneless skinless chicken thighs, fat removed and thinly sliced

1 large onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 tbsp minced fresh gingerroot

1 sweet red pepper, seeded, cored and julienned

2 medium carrots, julienned

2 cups thinly sliced stemmed shiitake or thinly sliced crimini mushrooms

3 oz (90 g) spaghetti, broken into quarters (about 1 cup) or other thin noodle

8 cups chicken broth, preferably sodium reduced

2 tbsp soya sauce

Garnishes:

6 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal

Fresh coriander leaves, about 1/2 cup

Asian chili garlic sauce, about 1/3 cup

In large saucepan, combine chicken, onion, garlic, ginger, red pepper, carrots, mushrooms, spaghetti and chicken broth. Cover and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for eight to 10 minutes or until chicken, vegetables and noodles are tender, removing any foam with rubber spatula. Remove from heat. Stir in soya sauce.

Garnish: Place green onions, coriander and chili garlic sauce in separate bowls. Let guests put their choice in soup bowl. Ladle soup over top.

~ Recipe courtesy of Foodland Ontario