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Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemongrass, Fresh Herbs, and Jalapeño

Source of Recipe

From "The New Orleans Kitchen" by Justin Devillier


Recipe Introduction

"Chock-full of aromatics, like lemongrass, ginger, and star anise, this is the most flavorful chicken noodle soup imaginable, inspired by the pho ga at my favorite Vietnamese restaurants in New Orleans."

List of Ingredients

â—¦  1 (2-inch) piece ginger, unpeeled
â—¦  ½ bunch cilantro
â—¦  1 roasted chicken carcass
â—¦  1 large onion, ½-medium-diced and ½ sliced into thin half-moons
â—¦  3 star anise pods or 2 cloves
â—¦  2 (3-inch) pieces lemongrass, split lengthwise, pale center part only
â—¦  2 ½ quarts water
â—¦  12 ounces dried narrow rice noodles
â—¦  Fish sauce, for serving
â—¦  1 roasted, bone-in, skin-on chicken breast, pulled into large ribbons
â—¦  ½ cup thinly sliced green onions, white and green parts
â—¦  1 jalapeño, thinly sliced
â—¦  1 cup mung bean sprouts
â—¦  8 basil leaves (preferably Thai basil), torn
â—¦  1 lime, cut into wedges


Recipe

Spear the ginger with a fork. Using the open flame of a stovetop burner, gently roast the ginger, turning the fork, until the skin is black and charred, about 2 minutes. Cut the charred ginger crosswise into three slices and set aside. Roasting the ginger adds a richer flavor and color to the broth.

Pick the leaves from the cilantro to accumulate ½ cup leaves. Set aside the leaves and reserve the rest of the bunch for the broth.

Break the chicken carcass into smaller parts, starting by separating the breastplate from the spine, which should be quite easy. Using a cleaver, cut the remaining bones into 3- to 4-inch pieces. Place all of the chicken bones in a medium pot and add the ginger, diced onion, star anise or cloves, cilantro stems, and lemongrass. Cover with the water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then decrease the heat to low and barely simmer the broth, undisturbed, for 2 ½ hours. It's important not to boil the broth or stir at all to avoid agitating the proteins, which will make it cloudy.

About 30 minutes before you're ready to serve, soak the noodles in warm water. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil. While the noodles are soaking, carefully strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl to collect any of the impurities that might make the liquid cloudy. Wash the broth pot. Return the strained broth to the pot and add fish sauce to taste—I like to use the fish sauce in place of salt in this recipe. Decrease the heat to low to keep warm for serving.

Using a large skimmer, dip the soaked rice noodles, one handful at a time, into the boiling water and cook until soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Divide among large soup bowls. Divide the pulled chicken, green onions, thinly sliced onion, jalapeño, and reserved cilantro leaves among the bowls. Ladle the broth into the bowls, covering the chicken and noodles by ½ to 1 inch. Garnish with the mung bean sprouts and basil leaves. Pass the lime at the table for everyone to squeeze into their soup as they wish.

Makes 4 servings