Quick Vietnamese - Style Chicken Pho

My husband, kids and I have been into the spicy Vietnamese soups (pho) lately in a BIG way.  I am suffering with a lousy head cold today so I thought a chicken pho was in order for dinner tonight!  This is super simple and while you can go more elaborate and make your own stock, using a low-sodium chicken stock is perfectly acceptable.  I had chicken thighs which Greg browned for me and then I thinly sliced, and I had my own stock in the fridge already...this made the pho really quick to make!

QUICK VIETNAMESE-STYLE CHICKEN PHO

Ingredients:

2 cups of thinly sliced, cooked chicken

8 cups chicken stock

1/2 white onion, thinly sliced

1/2 - 3/4 tsp Chinese 5 Spice powder

2 tbsp fish sauce

2 tbsp sugar (I used 1 tbsp agave syrup)

Thinly sliced shiitake or porcini mushrooms (optional)

1/2 lb dried rice noodles

 1/2 cup of chopped, fresh cilantro

4 green onions, thinly sliced

1 lime, cut into wedges 

Either sliced red chilies, or sambal oelek sauce

• Heat the stock in a large pot on medium low heat.  Add the chicken, onion, 5 spice powder, fish sauce and sugar.  If adding the mushrooms, add now.
• Once the stock is simmering, add the rice noodles and stir well.
• Serve the stock in a bowl, and top with cilantro, green onions, chilies, and lime wedge squeezed.
• ENJOY!
  

Soba Noodle Salad With Pea Shoots & Shiitake Mushrooms

Although I made this for a friend's baby shower and posted it three years ago, I recently had a request for it from another friend.  Therefore, I decided to separate it from the blog post entitled "A Sweet Pea Baby Shower" (although check this post out for some other delicious recipe ideas!!!)

SOBA NOODLES WITH PEA SHOOTS AND SHIITAKES

Ingredients:

1 pkg of soba noodles (8oz) - Japanese buckwheat noodles

1 tbsp each, of sesame & vegetable oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

10 oz (300g) of shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

12 oz snow pea shoots (375g)

1/3 cup light mayonnaise

1/4 cup sodium-reduced soy sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp granulated sugar

• In a large pot of boiling water, cook soba noodles until tender (5 mins). Stir gently and reduce heat because they tend to boil over. Drain and rinse under cold water.
• In a large skillet or wok, heat half of the sesame and vegetable oils over med-high heat; saute garlic until fragrant (15 seconds), add mushrooms and saute for another 4 mins, or until tender. Add to noodles.
• In the skillet heat the remaining oils and stir-fry the pea shoots until wilted and tender (5 mins). Add to noodle mixture.
• Whisk together mayonnaise, soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sugar. Pour over noodles and stir well. Serve at room temperature, or cooled.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Lemongrass

I wanted to add a bit of an exotic flavour to my regular chicken noodle soup as the kids absolutely love it, but my palette was growing weary of the same old recipe.  Everyone loved it (although Devon told me that I am not allowed to stop making plain old chicken noodle soup! LOL!)  This reminds me of a Thai or Vietnamese-style soup (or pho as it is called in Vietnam)!  Hope you enjoy the medley of flavours while getting the goodness of homemade chicken soup!!!

CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP WITH LEMONGRASS

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tbsp coconut or grapeseed oil

2 small boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, butterflied*

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 medium shallots, peeled and thinly sliced into rings

2 stalks of lemongrass, trimmed, outer layers discarded, halved lengthwise and bruised with the back of a chef's knife

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger (I use my rasp)

2 tsp packed light brown sugar (I used maple syrup)

5 1/2 cups homemade or low sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups stemmed and quartered shiitake mushrooms

9 oz fresh udon noodles (these are made of wheat so substitute rice noodles if necessary)

1 small Serrano chili pepper finely diced

8 large fresh basil leaves, torn (either Thai or Italian basil)

1 lime, half juiced and half cut into wedges

1 tbsp soy sauce (or gluten free Bragg's)

2 green onions, finely sliced

1 carrot, grated (for garnish)

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves (garnish)

• Heat 1 1/2 tbsp of oil in a large Dutch oven or stock pot, over medium high heat, until hot (the oil shimmers when ready).  Season the chicken with 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper, and saute until both sides are evenly browned and almost entirely cooked through.  Transfer to a cutting board and allow to cool.
• Add the remaining 1 tbsp oil to the pot with the shallots and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt.  Reduce heat to medium and saute until they start to become translucent (approx. 2 minutes).  Add the bruised lemongrass, ginger, and brown sugar and stir constantly until the ginger becomes fragrant and lemongrass sizzles (1 minute).  
• Add chicken broth and scrape up any browned pieces off of the bottom of the pot.  Bring to a boil and them reduce to simmer.  Add the mushrooms and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, bring a medium-sized pot of water a boil and cook the noodles until al dente (still a little undercooked in the centre).  Drain and run under cool water to stop the cooking process.  Leave to drain well.
• Either finely sliver or shred the chicken breasts.  Add the chicken and noodles to the broth and cook for a further 3 to 4 minutes.  Discard the lemongrass.  Stir in the chilies, basil, lime juice and soy sauce.
• Portion between 4 large warmed soup bowls.  Garnish each with shredded carrot, green onions, and cilantro.  Serve with a lime wedge for squeezing.
• ENJOY!

Hot and Sour Soup with Bean Sprouts

I was feeling like I was coming down with a cold today, so I decided some healthy hot and sour soup would be perfect.  Having never made it before I headed out to the local grocery store and picked up the ingredients (as I live in a smaller rural community I didn't expect to find everything, but surprisingly I did!)  The complex flavours of this soup epitomize Chinese cooking as they include spice, sweet, sour and savoury...absolutely delicious, easy and I must say, I am feeling tons better after eating a bowlful!!!

HOT AND SOUR SOUP WITH BEAN SPROUTS

Ingredients:

1 cup thinly sliced shiitake mushrooms (I bought a pre-sliced package)

1/2 cup enoki mushrooms***

1/2 cup finely sliced bamboo shoots

4 cups miso stock (I bought cubes as there wasn't miso paste available at the store, but you can also use a chicken stock, the soup will just appear lighter in colour)

1/2 package of firm tofu, finely diced

1 tbsp soy sauce

1/2 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp white pepper

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp seasoned rice vinegar

2 tbsp cornstarch

3 tbsp water

1 tsp sesame oil

1 egg, beaten

2 green onions thinly sliced

1 large handful of bean sprouts

• Place the bamboo shoots and mushrooms into a large pot with the stock.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, pepper, salt and tofu.  Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.  Mix the cornstarch and water in a separate bowl until well combined.  Add some of the hot stock and stir well.  Gently pour the cornstarch into the soup stirring well.
• Turn the heat off, add the sesame oil, green onions and bean sprouts.  Gently pour the beaten egg into the soup and stir.
• Serve and enjoy!

*If you want a little more heat in your soup, Add 1 tbsp of sambal oelek or dried chili flakes!

** If you are using dried shiitake mushrooms, place them in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soften for 20 minutes.  Drain and use.

***Enoki mushrooms are miniature button mushrooms that grow in fibrous clumps.  Simply pull off the desired amount, trim the ends and use!

Sun-Dried Tomato Meat Loaf

This is one of those comforting dishes that is easy to make, is delicious with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, or in between some crusty bread as a sandwich the next day! 

SUN-DRIED TOMATO MEATLOAF

Ingredients:

1 tbsp EVOO

1 1/2 cups thinly sliced shiitake mushroom caps or button mushrooms

1/2 cup minced onion

1 stalk celery, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup dried bread crumbs

1/3 cup chopped, drained, oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes

1/2 tsp dried thyme

1/4 tsp each salt and black pepper

1 lb lean ground beef or pork

Topping ~

4 tbsp chili sauce or ketchup

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1/4 tsp dried thyme

• In a skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and saute mushrooms, onion, celery and garlic, stirring occasionally, until softened.  Approximately 5 minutes.  Stir in vinegar; reduce until evaporated, about 30 seconds, cool slightly.

• Meanwhile, in a large bowl combine egg with bread crumbs, tomatoes, thyme, salt and pepper.  Mix in the mushroom mixture and ground beef or pork. 
• Pack into a 1.5L loaf pan, mounding on top.

• Topping ~ In a small bowl combine the chili sauce with the mustard and thyme.  Spread over the top of the meatloaf.





• Place meatloaf into a 350F oven until a meat thermometer registers 170F (75C).  Approximately 45 to 50 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes upon removing from oven.  Slice and serve!