Chicken Glass Noodle Soup Vietnamese (Mien Ga) Style

Chicken noodle soup is a perfect comfort food when feeling unwell or just recovering from an illness. But after living in India for more than two years, I am always craving for more flavour, not necessarily spicy-hot though, in the food that I eat. So this time around, it was a simple but very flavourful Vietnamese inspired chicken and glass noodle soup, kind of like mien ga. Though I don't claim any authenticity in this recipe of mine. I made it from scratch and with what was available in my kitchen. Instead of making your own spiced chicken stock, you can buy some and infuse it with, for example, fresh ginger, lemon grass, white pepper corns. And most importantly, do use your imagination when choosing the garnish!

You will need: Chicken stock: ~ 1/2 kg of misc. chicken parts (backs, wings, necks, etc.) ~2.5 cm ginger piece, sliced 1 tsp of pepper corns salt to taste ~2 l of water Soup: 1 cup sliced chicken, skinless, breast or thighs ~100 g of glass noodles, soaked in water for 10 mins ~1 l of the chicken stock handful of greens, I used radish leaves, coarsely chopped fish sauce to taste 2 tbsp lime juice Garnish: fresh corriander bean sprouts chillies, chopped (optional) lime wedges 1. To make the chicken stock, cover chicken parts with plenty of water, add sliced ginger, pepper corns and salt, bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 1-2 hours. Once ready, strain and let it cool. Finally, remove the fat from the top. It can be kept in the freezer for a couple of months. 2. In a pot, pour around 1 l of the chicken stock and bring it to a boil. Add the chicken pieces, fish sauce and lime juice and let it simmer for around 10 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. 3. Strain the glass noodles and cut them into desired length. Add the noodles and greens into the soup just for a few minutes. 4. When ready to serve, put chicken and noodles into a big soup bowl and pour the stock over them. Garnish with fresh greens and herbs and serve with lime wedges on the side.

Enjoy!

~If using regular chicken stock, simmer it with some fresh sliced ginger, crushed lemon grass stems, white pepper corns and strain before serving.
~ You can use sliced leftover/cooked chicken instead of raw chicken in the soup.