Comfort Noodles is the name we gave this soup: To comfort you on cold days and nights, to comfort you when having a cold. This recipe was inspired by phở gà, Vietnamese chicken noodle soup, and ramen.
Oddly, I haven’t made this yet using ramen noodles. Spaghetti works easily since I almost always have it in the kitchen.
I have a problem with one of the ingredients, though, the chili-garlic paste. Practically every brand I see contains huge amounts of sugar. Too much sugar. Could anyone recommend a brand which contains little or no sweetening?
Ingredients
- 1 quart chicken or vegetable stock
- spaghetti for two people (150 to 160 grams uncooked)
- several tablespoons minced shallots, garlic and/or scallions (amount depends on how much you love alliums)
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- (optional) 1 to 2 teaspoons chili-garlic paste or sauce (Thai or Vietnamese style, found in Asian food stores)
- 1 to 2 tablespoons Italian parsley and/or cilantro, minced
- 1 tablespoon mint, minced
- sea salt, to taste
- 1 lime: a half for each person
Method
- In a saucepan, bring the stock to a simmer.
- In a large pot, cook the spaghetti in boiling water to 2 minutes before the noodles become al dente. You’ll eventually finish cooking them in the broth.
- While the spaghetti is cooking, sauté the shallots, garlic and/or scallions in another saucepan, large enough to accommodate the broth and spaghetti. The shallots and scallions are done when they’ve become a translucent golden. The garlic needs less time, so cook that until it’s barely golden.
- Add the chili-garlic paste to the shallots and stir well. Pour in the broth and bring to a simmer. Season with salt, if needed. Cover until the spaghetti is ready.
- Drain spaghetti and put it into the saucepan with the stock and other fixings. Stir in the parsley (and/or cilantro) and mint. Bring to a gentle boil, then cover and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Serve in bowls. Squeeze lime juice over soup. Slurp.
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