Vietnamese Chicken Tapioca Noodle Soup (Bánh Canh Gà)
I can never pass a homey noodle soup with incredible texture. This is my family's weekend go-to recipe that still gets me excited after nearly 30 years!
- Prep time
- 35 min
- Cook time
- 4 hr
- Yield
- 6 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 8 L / 33.8 US cup chicken and pork stock
- 1/2 cup dehydrated shrimp
- 10 chicken drumstick
- 2 bag tapioca noodle ((purchased from a local Asian grocery store))
- 1/2 kg duck giblet ((optional))
- 1 box blood jelly ((optional; We get it from the Asian butcher))
- 5 tbsp fish sauce
- 50 g / 0.11 rock sugar
- 1/2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
- 2 tsp salt ((or to taste))
- coriander ((finely chopped))
- spring onion ((finely sliced))
- chili ((optional))
- lemon or lime
- fried shallots ((optional))
Instructions
- 1
Get your chicken and pork stock simmering in a large pot.
- 2
Throw in the dehydrated shrimps.
- 3
Wash the chicken drumsticks and bring the broth to a boil. Put the drumsticks in the stock for 20-25 minutes.
- 4
Scoop the chicken drumsticks out and run it under cold water to slow down the cooking process.
- 5
Transfer the drumsticks into a bowl of cold water for a few minutes, drain then pat them dry.
- 6
Refrigerate the chicken to keep the meat firm.
- 7
Lightly season the broth with 5 tbsp fish sauce and 50g rock sugar.
- 8
Cook the blood jelly in a separate small pot. If you don't eat blood jelly, skip this step.
- 9
Wash and add the duck giblets to the soup. If you don’t eat giblets, you can also give this step a miss.
- 10
Prepare the garnish: give each aromatic a double wash, drain and finely chop them.
- 11
Quarter the lemons or limes.
- 12
Take the chicken out of the fridge and shred it onto a communal serving dish.
- 13
Boil a pot of water and quickly soften the tapioca noodles. It will take no longer than a few minutes because it’s already cooked. Use a colander to drain the liquid out.
- 14
Serve the noodles with chicken, blood jelly, giblets and the seasoned broth.
- 15
Add the fried onions, coriander, spring onions and a squeeze of lemon or lime as the garnish.