Can't Live Another Day Without Noodle Soup

I recently watched Anthony Bourdain tour Shanghai on his show No Reservations. Since then, I’ve had an intense craving for noodle soup. Unfortunately there aren’t any great noodle soup restaurants here in Portland (none that I’ve found yet), and I haven’t been able to find the time to make up a batch of soup from 10 pounds of beef bones. So I cheated and used this. Of course I would prefer to use homemade chicken or beef stock when I cook, but it’s not always happening. I’ve learned to have some ready-to-use base around. I actually prefer it to canned broth because I can easily adjust the intensity of the broth. If you haven’t already, I would really encourage you to try it.

The fun thing about making noodles soups is that just about anything goes. Depending on my mood, I may decide on a spicy broth or a sweet broth or a sweet and sour both. This time I decided on something slightly sweet and aromatic. I made a quick stir fry with Chinese sausage and ground turkey to put on top. Very simple and satisfying…just ask my mother-in-law.

Rice Noodle Soup with Stir-fried Chinese Sausage and Ground Turkey
(feeds 3-4 adults)

For the Broth

• ½ large onion
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 3 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 8 cups chicken broth
• 1 tbs thick soy sauce
• 1 tbs hoisin sauce
• 1 tbs rice vinegar (optional)

For the Stir-fry

• 1 Chinese sausage, diced
• 1 pound ground chicken, turkey or pork
• 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
• ½ tbs minced or grated ginger
• 1 generous tablespoon chili bean paste
• 1 generous tsp hoisin sauce
• 1 tbs soy sauce
• splash of sesame oil

For the soup

• 1 package dried rice noodles (or use the vacuum-packed fresh noodles)
• thinly sliced scallions
• chopped cilantro
• chopped chilies or sambal oelek
• thinly sliced Napa cabbage
• blanched bean sprouts
• fish sauce
• lime wedges
  

Start by soaking the dry noodles in water for at least 15 minutes. If you are using fresh noodles, you don’t need to soak them. Set a pot of water to boil while you prepare the other stuff.

For the broth:
In a large stock pot over medium heat, add the dry spices and toast them until they are aromatic, about 30 to 45 seconds. Add the onion. Let it sear for about 30 seconds. Don’t worry if it seems to be burning. Add the broth, thick soy sauce and hoisin sauce. Turn up the heat and bring to a boil. Then turn down the heat and let it simmer uncovered while you start the stir fry. At some point before serving, you’ll want to taste the broth. Adjust the flavorings as necessary. Sometimes I add a splash (about 1 tbs) of rice vinegar to round out the taste.

For the stir-fry:
In a small bowl, mix together the chili bean paste, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, and sesame oil. Set aside.

Add the garlic and ginger to the ground turkey. Mix well and set aside.

In a hot wok over high heat, add about 1 tbs oil. When hot, add the diced Chinese sausage. Stir-fry for about 30 to 45 seconds, stirring constantly to keep it from burning. Add the sauce mix and give it a quick stir, then add the ground turkey. Stir-fry until browned and cooked through. Set aside.

To assemble the soup:
Boil the noodles until done. Fresh noodles literally take 1 minute. The dried noodles can take longer depending on how old they are. Today they took almost 5 minutes, probably because they were well past their expiration date, which was no where to be found. That’s the hazard of buying stuff from small ethnic markets. Still, they turned out fine.

Divide the noodles among the bowls. Top with the Napa cabbage, bean sprouts and stir-fry. Ladle as much broth over the noodles as you like. Top with the cilantro and green onions and any other condiment that strikes your fancy.