HANOI NOODLE SOUP
Hanoi Noodle Soup
MAKES: 4 main-course servings
TIME: About 1 hour
8 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable stock (to make your
own, see pages 157–159)
4 star anise
One 3-inch cinnamon stick
1 inch fresh ginger
1 onion, quartered (don’t bother to peel)
4 cloves
1 pound rice vermicelli
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken or beef (preferably
sirloin, tenderloin, or round), cut into thin slices
2 tablespoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce) or soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Lime wedges
1 fresh jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
Combine the stock, star anise, cinnamon, ginger, onion, and cloves in a large, deep saucepan or casserole over high heat. When it boils, reduce the heat to an occasional bubble and cover. Cook, undisturbed, for as little as 20 and as long as 60 minutes, depending on your available time. Strain and return to the saucepan.
Soak the rice noodles in hot water to cover until soft, 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water for a
minute or so; drain. Bring the soup to a steady bubble; put the chicken or the beef in the pot and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Divide the noodles among 4 large bowls.
Add the nam pla and plenty of pepper to the soup. Taste and add salt or more seasoning.
Top the noodles with broth and meat, then garnish with cilantro. Serve, passing the lime wedges and minced chile at the table.
Quick Asian Noodle Soup with Pork. Season the broth and soak the noodles as directed; cook the broth for only 20 minutes. Instead of the uncooked chicken or beef, add to the broth 1/2 recipe Braised Pork with Spicy Soy Sauce along with some of its liquid. Omit the nam pla. Season and proceed with the recipe.
Fish Soups
If you have fish stock, you’re literally three-quarters of the way home when it comes to making fish soup—you just add a couple of potatoes and some fish, for example, and you have chowder. But it’s rarely essential; I’ve designed most of these recipes so that you can make them not only with fish stock but also with chicken stock or, if necessary, water. (What is essential, as with all dishes containing fish, is freshness;
Unlike most soups, fish soups are usually best prepared at the last minute, because many fish—especially finfish—overcook in the heat of a soup. You can often make the base one day and add the fish the next, but as a group these are so quick and easy that there isn’t much point in that.
MAKES: 4 main-course servings
TIME: About 1 hour
8 cups beef, chicken, or vegetable stock (to make your
own, see pages 157–159)
4 star anise
One 3-inch cinnamon stick
1 inch fresh ginger
1 onion, quartered (don’t bother to peel)
4 cloves
1 pound rice vermicelli
1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken or beef (preferably
sirloin, tenderloin, or round), cut into thin slices
2 tablespoons nam pla (Thai fish sauce) or soy sauce
Freshly ground black pepper
Salt
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Lime wedges
1 fresh jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
Combine the stock, star anise, cinnamon, ginger, onion, and cloves in a large, deep saucepan or casserole over high heat. When it boils, reduce the heat to an occasional bubble and cover. Cook, undisturbed, for as little as 20 and as long as 60 minutes, depending on your available time. Strain and return to the saucepan.
Soak the rice noodles in hot water to cover until soft, 15 to 30 minutes. Rinse under cold water for a
minute or so; drain. Bring the soup to a steady bubble; put the chicken or the beef in the pot and cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Divide the noodles among 4 large bowls.
Add the nam pla and plenty of pepper to the soup. Taste and add salt or more seasoning.
Top the noodles with broth and meat, then garnish with cilantro. Serve, passing the lime wedges and minced chile at the table.
Quick Asian Noodle Soup with Pork. Season the broth and soak the noodles as directed; cook the broth for only 20 minutes. Instead of the uncooked chicken or beef, add to the broth 1/2 recipe Braised Pork with Spicy Soy Sauce along with some of its liquid. Omit the nam pla. Season and proceed with the recipe.
Fish Soups
If you have fish stock, you’re literally three-quarters of the way home when it comes to making fish soup—you just add a couple of potatoes and some fish, for example, and you have chowder. But it’s rarely essential; I’ve designed most of these recipes so that you can make them not only with fish stock but also with chicken stock or, if necessary, water. (What is essential, as with all dishes containing fish, is freshness;
Unlike most soups, fish soups are usually best prepared at the last minute, because many fish—especially finfish—overcook in the heat of a soup. You can often make the base one day and add the fish the next, but as a group these are so quick and easy that there isn’t much point in that.
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