Malaysian Chicken Noodle Soup
From Southeast Asian Flavors: Adventures in Cooking the Foods of Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia & Singapore by Robert Danhi
- Prep time
- 14 min
- Cook time
- 2 hr
- Yield
- 4 servings
- Difficulty
- HARD
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 whole chicken (3 to 3.5 lbs )
- 2 inch fresh ginger (cut into 1/2 inch slices and lightly smashed)
- 1 onion (large, cut in quarters)
- 6 cloves garlic (smashed)
- 12 white peppercorns (crushed with mortar/pestle or side of knife (or 6 black peppercorns))
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 pound fresh rice noodles (about 1/4 inch (0.6 cm.) (1.3 cm.) wide)
- 1/2 pound shrimp (small)
- 1/2 pound Chinese greens (such as choy sum, bok choy, yu choy or gai-lan)
- 2 scallions (chopped)
- 4 to 6 Thai bird chilies (or other small hot chilies, sliced thinly, about 1/8inch thick)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon Asian sesame oil
Instructions
- 1
Make Chicken Broth: Place rinsed chicken in 2-gallon pot (8 L.), with just enough water to cover. Bring to a vigorous boil; lower to simmer. Skim off foam and impurities; simmer 15 minutes. Remove pot from heat, cover tightly, and leave undisturbed at room temperature for 45 minutes (an instant-read thermometer should read 165F / 74 C at the thickest part of the chicken).
- 2
Carefully lift chicken from poaching liquid and plunge into a large container/pot/bowl of ice water. Leave in water for 15 minutes to stop cooking and firm up meat. Using your hands, pull off skin and discard.
- 3
Pull meat off breast and thighs into 1/4to 1/2-inch (.6 to 1.3 cm.) thick strips, transfer to covered container and reserve at room temperature (you will have more than needed for the recipe).
- 4
Combine bones, thighs and poaching liquid back in the pot. Add ginger, onion, garlic, peppercorns and salt; simmer one hour to make a broth. Strain through fine wire mesh sieve. Taste and season well with salt.
- 5
Soak noodles in lukewarm water 10 minutes, drain; peel apart into individual strands. Poach shrimp in chicken broth until just cooked; peel, devein and halve lengthwise. Blanch whole bunches of choy sum in boiling water; transfer to a bowl of ice water for 30 seconds, squeeze dry, and cut into 2 to 3-inch pieces (5 to 7 cm.).
- 6
Combine soy sauce, sesame oil and chilies, spoon mixture into individual bowls for each person.
- 7
Bring seasoned broth up to a near boil. Have all ingredients ready, and have a pot of water boiling to reheat the noodles.
- 8
Reheat noodles in boiling water for 15 seconds. Drain, and distribute into 4 to 6 Asian soup bowls. Top noodles with chicken meat, shrimp, and choy sum. Ladle about 1 1/2 to 2 cups of broth into each bowl.
- 9
Sprinkle with scallions; serve with small dishes of chili-soy sauce. This sauce is used for dipping the subtly-flavored chicken, but can also be added to the soup.