Hot and Spicy Chicken noodle soup

Hot and Spicy Chicken noodle soup

Not many people I am sure associate ‘hot and spicy’ with chicken noodle soup.  Chicken noodle soup is really one comfort food that is perfect on a cold, frigid night. Last week when I decided to make this for dinner, I thought ‘Why not kick this up a notch’? Hey just because it’s comfort food and we like it ‘as is’ does not mean that we cannot shake it up a little sometimes, right? Hubby dear had a nasty cold and so I decided to make it hot and spicy  this time so as to help clear up all the sinuses.! I started to throw in different spices that I like …and pretty soon my soup pot became the ‘melting pot’ where Italian, Thai and Indian flavors simmered together until they fused to form this big pot of flavorsomeness! 🙂 ! The soup was a super duper hit! A freshly baked baguette perfectly complemented it.

This recipe yields about 4 servings
Time for prep: 10 minutes; Total cook time - about 30 minutes
Ingredients:
3/4 lb or about 3-4 boneless chicken thigh pieces
1 tsp tom yum paste (optional)
Pinch of salt
1 /2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, cut into halves
1 tomato, finely chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp red chilli powder (cayenne pepper)
6 cups water
1 cup dried (uncooked) noodles
1 tbsp fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp Lime juice

Method:

1. Clean the chicken pieces removing any fat and pat dry with a towel. Place the pieces in a medium glass (or any microwave safe bowl) . Add the tom yum paste,salt and pepper. (If not adding tom yum paste add salt and pepper per taste) Add a little bit of water – about 1/4 cup. Cover this bowl with a lid (microwave safe) leaving a small opening to vent and cook the chicken pieces in the microwave for about 3-4 minutes on high setting(or use auto cook feature of microwave). Alternatively, you can cook the chicken pieces in a pot with water . Once cooked, cool for a few minutes and then shred into long, thin pieces using your hands. Reserve the chicken stock that you will get.

2. Take a large stock pot or any large cooking pot and add the olive oil.When hot add the onions and saute on medium heat for about 2 minutes stirring frequently. Then add the garlic pieces and continue to saute for another minute.

3. Next add the tomatoes and carrot pieces and saute for another couple of minutes. Add all the spices next and saute for another 30 seconds or so.

4. Now add the water and bring to a boil. Add the shredded chicken pieces along with the reserved chicken stock.

5. Next add the noodles (you may want to break the noodles so that they are of a size that you like in your soup). Let the soup again come to a boil and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the noodles are cooked.(Take care not to  over cook the noodles)

6. Turn heat off and add the lime juice. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves and serve hot.

Notes:
You can use any kind of noodles for this recipe. But make sure you follow the package instructions to get the right cooking time for the noodles.

Tom Yum paste is my ‘go to’ paste for soups when I really like to make it hot so I always keep a jar of tom yum paste handy in my fridge.

You can also make a vegetarian version of this soup by just omitting the chicken.