Asian Noodle Soups Ideas..

[da_ili_net]

I am a big fan of soups from all the east asian cuisines I've tried (Chinese, Jap, Thai, Malaysian, you name it...) but am new to cooking and the recipes with 20 ingredients are overwhelming!! On top of that, almost all recipes have chicken stock -- with sodium levels through the roof, I imagine? Can anyone share a more basic recipe than what I am finding?

Much thanks.

[smtucker]

I love all Asian noodles soups I think. The first thing I do is make stock. Without a meat-based stock, you will find that the flavors you get at home aren't the same as you get when eating out, and since you don't mention being a vegetarian, I will assume you do eat chicken.

For Asian soups, I use no salt in my stock so that I can flavor the soup exactly as I want.

For a starter soup, consider this.... chicken stock, fish sauce, minced or grated ginger, up to one thai pepper, soy sauce.... warm over low heat for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, shred some napa cabbage, slice some mushroom [or rehydrate dried], slice some scallions and measure out some dry noodles. If you use rice sticks, begin soaking them before starting the stock.

Taste your broth, adjust the flavorings to your liking. When you have a broth that you like, raise the heat... when it reaches a simmer, drop in the noodles, cook to desired texture, add veggies..... and take off the heat almost immediately. Serve and enjoy.

Or, if you have a pork bone lying around, simmer the chicken stock with the bone and some additional water before starting the flavorings... this will give you a richer broth.

When using dried mushrooms, I will often add the soaking liquid making sure that I don't get any of the "debris" into the stock.

For me, this is one of the things I make when the day was long and hard and I need the comfort of soup. I always have the ingredients in my pantry [and freezer] so it is a great fallback.

[goute]

i like to have my noodles with bak kut teh ( malaysian-singapore cuisine) with some white pepper and the flavours of many spices.

herbs and spices: star anises, cloves, dong quai (female ginseng), white peppercorns, black peppercorns, garlic , cinnamon, fennel seeds and i go crazy for it.

[fourunder]

20 ingredients for soup? Does that mean in making the stock, or for actual ingredients in the soup,i.e., proteins and vegetables. Most of noodle bowl experience are Chinese or Japanese style. The soup bowls obviously consist of a main broth and noodles....with the addition of the following:

For the broth....finely sliced/diced ginger, scallions and cilantro. sometimes a hot pepper or chili oil.

Toppings:

Leftover....Beef, pork, poultry or sea foods
Assorted vegetables
Hard or Poached eggs

Prepared Foods from Chinatown:
Wontons
Soy Sauce Chicken
Roast Duck
Roast Pig
Red Roast Pork
Pig Stomach
Beef Tendon
Tripe
Beef Shin

To create another level, Condiments or Dipping Sauces