Recipe: Vietnamese chicken and glass noodle soup | Mien ga

I’ve caught a bug from my cousin while on vacation in Peru, who had caught it from someone sitting next to her on the plane. It started off with headache and sinus pressure, and now it’s transformed into an ugly cough and congestion. The only things on my brain are sleep, Netflix, and food. I was in L.A. Over the weekend to do a TEDx Talk, and while I love coming to L.A. especially for the food, I was disappointed my appetite was less than robust.Now that I’m home for a while—I realized yesterday that I had not been home for the last eight weekends!—I can finally concentrate on some R&R and much needed nourishment.If I’m reallysick, I’ll just whip up a pot of congee or have the hubs do it. But aside from mild lethargy and this wicked cough, I feel well enough to cook, so tomorrow, I’m going to cook up a giant pot of mien ga, or Vietnamese chicken and glass noodle soup, so I can sip from it all weekend long.What I love about this dish is its simplicity. It doesn’t take hours to cook like pho, and yet it has the same therapeutic benefits of chicken soup.While humble in its essence, I actually served this dish as part of my tasting menu at the MasterChef cruise. I love washing down a rich meal with a little noodle soup.So here it is, I present to you mien ga in all its simple yet healing glory.

Recipe: Vietnamese Chicken and Glass Noodle Soup | Mien Ga

Notes: You can make this dish using chicken or duck (as I did in the photo above). Glass noodles, or mien, is also called crystal noodles and can be found in the dried noodle section of your Chinese or Vietnamese supermarket.

Ingredients

Broth:
• 1 whole chicken
• 1/4 lb chicken hearts (optional)
• 1/4 lb chicken gizzards (optional)
• 1 onion; charred, skinned & halved
• 1 (4”) ginger root; halved lengthwise, bruised, charred & skinned
• 1 qt poultry stock or 1/2 tbsp bouillon
• 1/4 c fish sauce or more to taste
• 1 tsp rock or granulated sugar or more to taste

Accompaniment:

• 1 to 2 pkgs glass noodles (I like it medium thickness for this dish, like the width of thin spaghetti), cooked al dente

Toppings:

• 1 (8 ozs) can bamboo shoots, drained (optional)
• 1/2 c shiitake or wood ear mushrooms, reconstituted as needed & sliced

Garnishes:

• chopped scallion
• fried shallots
• finely chopped culantro or cilantro

Instructions

1. Make broth: In a stockpot, add chicken, hearts if using, gizzards if using, onion, ginger, stock, and enough water to cover; bring to boil. Lower heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, approx 30 to 40m, skimming scum occasionally. Remove chicken, cover, and chill. Add fish sauce, sugar, and salt to taste.
2. Shred chicken and discard bones. Ladle broth over noodles, bamboo, mushrooms, and chicken. Garnish with scallion, fried shallots, culantro, and black pepper.

Active time: 35mTotal time: 1h 15mYields: 6 servings