Crossing the bridge noodles

The beauty of this noodle soup recipe is that everyone gets to assemble their own dish, so you just have to concentrate on the stock.

• serves

  4

• prep

  30 minutes

• cook

  2 hours

• difficulty

  Mid

Ingredients

• 1 quail egg
• 100 g skinless chicken breast fillet, sliced paper thin
• 100 g skinless pork fillet, sliced paper thin
• 40 g pork kidney, sliced paper thin
• 100 g squid, sliced paper thin
• 100 g wood ear mushrooms
• 50 g Chinese cured pork or prosciutto, finely sliced
• 6 baby bok choy leaves
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• ¼ bunch garlic chives, sliced into 3 cm lengths
• 1 sheet tofu skin, sliced
• 4 tbsp pickled vegetables (optional)
• 300 g fresh thin Chinese rice noodles
• ¼ bunch coriander
• chopped cooked chicken, reserved from the broth

Broth

• 1 whole chicken
• 2 garlic cloves garlic
• 1 tsp finely sliced ginger
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce

Instructions

Crack the quail egg into a small bowl. Place the sliced chicken, pork, kidney, squid, mushrooms, Chinese-cured pork, baby bok choy, spring onion, garlic chives, tofu skin, pickled vegetables and rice noodles on individual plates. Arrange on the serving table.

To make the broth, over medium-high heat, fill a large pot with water. Add the whole chicken, garlic and ginger, and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 2–3 hours, skimming any impurities from the surface. Remove and reserve the cooked chicken. When slightly cool, chop into pieces. Season the broth with salt and soy sauce. Transfer the broth to a large bowl.

To assemble, add the quail egg to the broth, followed by the sliced chicken, pork, kidney and squid. Next, add the cooked chicken, mushrooms, Chinese-cured pork, baby bok choy, spring onion, garlic chives, tofu skin, pickled vegetables, and, finally, the rice noodles.

Divide the soup among serving bowls. Garnish with coriander.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.