House special noodles

House special noodles isn’t a recipe so much as a general concept — noodle soup made with whatever happens to be handy, the more the merrier. This one was fortunately much more successful than our last attempt and will probably be the basis for future recipes. The vital difference was using chicken broth rather than beef — it seems easier (Cook’s Illustrated certainly think so) to make a tasty, flavorful chicken stock at home than a beef one. We had the soup with some fried chicken, which was tasty shredded and added in. Next time, I’ll add some poached chicken or other meat directly, though the soup is perfectly good without it. Shumai or wontons would also be good.

Ingredients

Soup
1.5 quarts chicken stock (1 is probably enough for two servings; 1.5 was generous)
12 oz thick noodles, as fresh as possible (e.g. udon)
4-6 medium-sized crimini mushrooms, thinly sliced
1-2″ ginger, peeled, cut in matchsticks
1-2 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp soy sauce

For serving
1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
lime wedges
fish sauce
chili sauce (sriracha or sambal olek)

Directions

Bring the stock to a boil then decrease to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. Simmer for 10-15 minutes. Cook the noodles in the soup (e.g. fresh udon just needs to simmer for about 3 minutes), or prepare the noodles ahead of time and add to the soup for the last few minutes. Split between two bowls and add the white onions and scallions. Add lime, a dash of fish sauce, and chili sauce to taste.