Post by Mephisto927 on Apr 23, 2012 4:37:13 GMT -5
Winter Melon Chicken Soup
4 pieces chicken tenderloin
1 Winter Melon – you can also use long squash or togan and find all in most asian markets
1 can chicken broth
1 package long rice noodles
water
soy sauce
salt
Poach about 4 pieces of chicken tenderloin in about 3 cups of water.
While that is boiling away, Cut the skin off the squash then cut it in to cubes
When the chicken is done, take it out and shred it into bite sized pieces.
Next skim off any foam from the chicken water and added a can of chicken broth to the pot. At this point taste the broth and add a little salt and/or soy sauce. The amount you add will depend on if you’re using low sodium chicken broth and how salty you like your food. I’m trying to go low sodium so I didn’t add anything
Next, add in the squash and boil until it gets soft and a little transparent looking. When it’s just about done add the chicken back in along with the long rice noodles (which have been soaked according to package instructions).
Two or three minutes after adding the noodles it’s ready to eat! We're having this for dinner tonight
Optional add ons -
You can add any veggies you like to this of course but the wintermelon has a delicate flavour so you may want to hold back on anything strong.
I have used kombu (seaweed) to accentuate the broth - add a small piece of kombu when boiling the chicken will add a depth you don't get from plain chicken stock.
Soft or medium tofu can also be used.
To turn this into a vegetarian dish, use tofu instead of chicken and use more kombu to make the broth instead of chicken stock. I'd also add some soaked dried shiitake mushrooms to the stock to get a bolder flavour. I think you'll be surprised how good this version of shojin ryouri (temple food) can be