ASIAN CHICKEN BROTH with UDON NOODLES

This broth was adapted from a recipe I found whilst perusing through Who magazine last weekend. I purchase a shameless gossip magazine once every two months or so, as I feel like I am on holiday when I do so. Lo and behold, besides learning about some very sad murders and what celebrities did this past week, I also got a killer recipe out of my reading. This broth is beautifully and full bodied, thanks to the ginger, garlic, two types of soy sauce and star anise, a Chinese spice with a strong taste similar to that of licorice. The recipe called for a whole 1.6 kilo chicken, however I found this meal much easier to make with chicken breast. Just make sure that you remove the chicken from the pan 12 minutes after the broth has started boiling and no later, or you will have tough chicken for dinner. Leave the chicken to sit on a chopping board for 10 minutes to continue cooking slightly before slicing. If you cannot eat wheat, you can substitute udon noodles for vermicelli.

Ingredients

• 500g / 2 free range chicken breasts
• 50g ginger, thinly sliced
• 2 large garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 2 large sticks of celery, roughly chopped
• 2 large carrots, roughly chopped
• 3 pieces of star anise 
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup sweet soy sauce (keycap manis) 
• 1/2 bunch of coriander, stems and leaves separated
• 2 generous handfuls of green beans, stems removed and roughly chopped
• 270g udon noodles
• 1/4 bunch green shallots, finely sliced 

Cooking 

1. Place the chicken breasts, ginger, garlic, celery, carrot, star anise, two types of soy sauce and the stems of the coriander in a large, deep saucepan. Cover the ingredients with cold water and bring to the boil. Once boiled, reduce to a simmer. 

2. Once the chicken breasts have been simmering for 12 minutes, remove from the pan and leave to sit for a minimum of 10 minutes before slicing into thin pieces. (This waiting period will give the chicken time to continue cooking out of the pan and to cool down). 

3. After 30 minutes of simmering, remove the pan from the heat. Strain the broth through a colander or large sieve, reserving the liquid and discarding the vegetables. Pour the broth back into the saucepan. 

4. Bring the broth back to the boil and add the green beans and udon noodles. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the beans and noodles are cooked. Remove from the heat and add the sliced chicken. Pour into four bowls, sprinkling the shallots and coriander leaves on top if you wish. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 50 minutes approx. 

x Emily