I won\’t stock instant noodles so this is my alternative (or should that be original?) It\’s easy if you can find sweet soy sauce (kecap manis) without too many additives. Otherwise, light soy sauce (tamari) will do but with sugar and salt added. Yes, sugar. And salt. At least you know and can control how much goes in, unlike commercial 2-minute noodles with who-knows-what-else in the sachets. Another ingredient that can lift things is star anise but you don\’t need much – like one-eighth or even one-sixteenth of a star.
When I was a kid, chicken wings and prawns went into noodle soup but my kids don\’t like them and we\’re trying to be more vego anyway. I still love leafy green veggies in it though, like buk choi, spinach or my favourite, wombok. Bean sprouts, wontons and watercress can also go in. Shallots and garlic are essential. Mushrooms give a lovely flavour to the soup and you don\’t need many. I prefer shiitake or enoki. (The kids confuse the latter with noodles so that\’s a win. Otherwise they eat around it.) The kids also like broccoli in their noodles and I\’ll take that, even though it seems unsual to me. If using, I find that just a small sprinkle of sugar brings out a good flavour in broccoli.
The other thing to note with noodle soup is that you don\’t need too much water. Otherwise the flavour gets diluted so keep it minimal. The leafy veggies will still fit into the liquid because they shrink to a fraction of their size once heated.
- 1 or 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or crushed through a crusher
- 1 stock cube
- kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) or normal light soy sauce (tamari)
- raw sugar (start with half a tbs)
- salt (start with half a tbs)
- sesame oil
- a tiny bit of star anise (less than an eighth) or a quick dash of Chinese 5 spice.
- leafy veg like wombok, chopped
- broccoli, chopped
- mushrooms like shiitake or enoki, chopped
- shallots, chopped
- 2 eggs, whisked
- noodles such as vermicelli, udon, sobu – or egg noodles but those won\’t be free-range organic eggs in the store packets, which is why I don\’t use them. If you have the time and skills to make them from scratch, that would taste great.
Method:
- Bring a pot of water to the boil. Remember, you can add more water later if necessary so underestimate instead of overestimating.
- Add the stock cube, garlic, mushrooms, star anise (or Chinese 5 spice) and firm part of the shallots. Allow these to simmer for 5 minutes before adding anything else.
- Add the broccoli (unless your noodles take a long time, like Udon, which takes 10 minutes. In that case, put the noodles in first.)
- Add the noodles after first fishing out the star anise so it doesn\’t get lost and served out later (crunch!)
- With 2 minutes remaining, add the leafy veggies like wombok and green part of shallots.
- With 1 minute remaining, add the whisked egg and stir through.
- Lastly, add the soy sauce, sugar, salt and sesame oil. Adjust after tasting.