A Tried and Tested Miracle Cure

For anyone that knows me well, they will be able to confirm that I have an awful weakness for 'Super Noodles'. Chicken ones to be exact. Yes I know, they are horrific, luminous yellow, stinky and taste like soap. However, I love them, and especially on a hangover there is nothing that I want more but, one cannot go through life eating super noodles (sadly).

So when one such craving for noodles came about one lunch time I decided that it was time to make an appropriate substitute. I am also very lazy when it comes to making food for myself. I like to be able to make something from whatever I have in the kitchen. Even if the shop is across the road it usually involves putting on shoes or coats or clothes and quite frankly I just cant be bothered at (most) times.

Thats why this dish is perfect, I normally have everything for it in my cupboards and as long as you have the basic 'soup' bit then you can chuck anything it in. Ideal.

Here we have it. My chicken noodle soup. Its been fed to many and I can confirm it gets the solid seal of approval. It takes about 10 minutes to make and you don't have to feel guilty about it, (not like the super noodle guilt where you know people will judge you).

Basic Soup:
1 chicken stock cube
Soy sauce
Fish sauce
Ginger
Noodles (egg noodles preferable but also works with rice etc)
Spring onions
Chicken or Prawns

Yeah thats it. The rest you can leave or take. Obviously it might be a little boring without all the other fun stuff in it so try and make sure you have the rest of the stuff.  (Oh and before you ask, yes I really do always have those things in the kitchen, proven by the fact I only did this post today due to the fact that I was hungry for lunch and low and behold...)

Added delicious extras include:
Dried chilli flakes
Green vegetables such as mange tout, green beans, bak choi, cabbage, peas.
Mushrooms
Bean sprouts
Anything else you fancy eating or is in the fridge...

So the reason there aren't any quantities on here is because I just throw it all in and taste it. If it doesn't taste right add more soy, or fish sauce or if you've been a bit heavy handed, top it up with more water. To start with I always add as much water as I would like to eat soup. If you catch my drift.

Add the boiling water to the stock cube and then throw in some soy and fish sauce. Taste. Yummy? Good. Moving on.

Peel the ginger (the best way to do this is with a teaspoon) and slice it into match sticks. Again use as much ginger as you want. (I usually go with 3 cm.) Even if you don't like it. You can eat around it but you really do need it in there for it to be tasty. Plus its good for you, but more on that later. Chuck it in the pan.
Next is the meaty part. I had left over roast chicken for this blog which I shredded but I usually just have raw chicken. Chop it up into little strips and throw it in the soup base. Chicken cooks really fast, especially when poached, despite what some people think, so don't fret about this being a killer salmonella breeding ground. Its not.
Add the noodles at the same time as the chicken/raw prawns. Both take about the same time to cook.

By now you should have a little pan of goodness bubbling away. Now time to throw in the extras.
Go nuts. Chilli, greens, those little spring onions... mmmmmmmm Oh, if your using cooked chicken or prawns, whack them in now. They just have to warm through.

The greens don't take long to cook and try to make sure they don't over cook. You want the crunch. And make sure you have a good old deep bowl, like so...

Like I say this comes in many different forms. Here are some I made earlier...

 Ooooo look that one had dumplings in. Extra Yummy.

The reason I called it a miracle cure is because this is full of things that are natural anti-oxidants. Ginger is amazing, really good for you. Chilli is also the essential ingredient if you want to knock a cold on it's head. Veg, well veg are just good for you aren't they.  If you are not eating carbs then leave out the noodles and just add more extras! I've made this for a lot of sicky feeling people and after speaking to an incredibly bunged up brother on the phone this morning (freshers flu), he reminded me that it's that time of year again.

So stock up your store cupboards and if you're feeling a little throaty make a bowl of this. I guarantee it will make you feel a little more clear headed.

Now I'm going to get back to website designing. How posh. I'll let y'all know when it's ready!

Until next time!! 

(This beautiful kitchen and its finely stocked cupboards are curtesy of my lovely hosts helping out a homeless me. Im only going to be half homeless as of next wednesday and hopefully settled in my very own flat and therefore no longer homeless as of the middle of November!)