Thursday 14 February 2013

Chicken/Tofu-Noodle soup (great for flu/cold)

Nothing comforts and makes us feel that everything is going to be fine soon like Chicken-Noodle soup. It is the universal go to food for those of us who get down with flu/cold. With the cold and flu running rampant in our house I decided to make this soup for both Naz & Anjalie and make a veggie option of Tofu-Noodle soup for myself (yes, I am still a veggie). We instantly felt great! The chicken-noodle soup has become synonymous with cold/flu treatment that there is a whole new scientific debate about whether it can cure cold. Read here.


Anjalie asked for seconds and then requested that I make the same soup for dinner too. Naz immediately pipped in saying, "Given your track record for repeating great tasting food, I suggest, you better note this down some where quickly". I admitted that he is correct (with steam coming out my ears) and wrote it down immediately on a piece of paper. But these things have a way of disappearing in our house. This blog allows me to do two things, 1) jot down my recipes so that I can find them when I need them and 2) share my recipe for others to try and comment and perhaps help me improve my recipes. So without much ado, here is the recipe:

 

You will need:
1 cup baked/roasted chicken pieces (I used pieces from my baked chicken recipe here)
or 1 cup firm Tofu -cut into bite size chunks
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 dried bay leaf
1/2 small onion chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced/crushed (you can use garlic paste too)
1 chicken/veggie stock bouillon cube
1 fresh Jalepeno pepper sliced (optional)
salt and black pepper to taste)
2 celery stalks chopped (optional)
1 chopped carrot
1 medium potato, diced
1 cup egg noodles (fresh/dried egg noodles thoroughly cooked) or rice noodles (cooked/fresh)
1 tbsp freshly chopped fresh parsley leaves, stems removed
2 tbsp lemon juice
Approximately 250 ml water
2 tsp vegetable/olive oil

Heat the oil to medium in a heavy sauce pan. Add onion and saute until transparent. Add the garlic and bay leaf and saute for another 30 secs. Add all the fresh veggies and chillies (if using) and add salt just enough for the veggies alone. If anything err on the "less" side. Both the chicken/tofu and the stock will have salt. Add enough water and cover and cook for 15-20 mins (depending on the thickness) until the veggies are tender. Slightly crush the stock cube using a fork and add to the soup along with black pepper, thyme, parsley, chicken/tofu and noodles. Cook for another 2-3 mins. Turn off the stove and add the lemon juice. Remove the bay leaf and discard. Serve warm with choice of bread.

Notes: 1) You can use canned/frozen mixed vegetables instead. But reduce the cooking time to 10 mins. 2) You can also make the same soup with fish 3) Adding freshly ground black pepper adds a fantastic flavor to the dish 3) Add more or less water depending on your noodles. Cooked-dried noodles absorb the liquid while the soup cools down.

Hope you feel better soon!

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