Roast Chicken Noodle Soup
A whole roast chicken turned into a deeply spiced noodle soup - roast the bird, build a long-simmered stock from the bones, then ladle it over rice noodles and herbs.
Serves: 4
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 5 hours (including roasting)
INGREDIENTS
1 whole organic chicken, patted dry
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp sea salt
1 onion, quartered
5 garlic cloves
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
3 carrots, roughly chopped
1 tbsp peppercorns
1 tbsp salt, for the stock
2 cloves
1 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 inch ginger, sliced
greens, such as bok choy or spinach
fresh rice noodles
Thai basil leaves
coriander leaves
lemon wedges
chilli (optional)
METHOD
Preheat the oven to 200°C.
In a small bowl, combine the olive oil and sea salt. Massage the mixture onto the chicken, covering the entire skin.
Roast the chicken for 1 hour, or until golden and crispy.
Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly. Carefully remove the skin and bones, reserving the flesh for the soup.
Place the bones, skin and any grizzly bits into a pot. Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrots, peppercorns and salt. Cover with water.
Bring to a simmer and cook for about 4 hours to extract maximum flavour.
Strain the stock and return it to the pot. Season to taste with salt, pepper or chicken stock powder.
If you like, cool the stock and skim off any hardened fat from the top. Otherwise decant into clean jars while hot and seal.
To make the soup, pour 1 litre of the stock into a saucepan. Add the cloves, star anise, cinnamon stick and ginger. Simmer until fragrant.
Meanwhile, blanch the greens and cook the rice noodles according to the packet instructions.
In serving bowls, place a generous portion of rice noodles. Top with the reserved chicken, blanched greens, thinly sliced raw onion, Thai basil and coriander.
Ladle the hot soup over the top. Squeeze over lemon juice and add chilli if you like.
HINTS
Roasting the bird before building the stock gives the broth a deeper, rounder flavour than starting from raw bones.
The stock is the whole point here - give it the full four hours, and make a double batch to jar and keep.
Customise the bowl with whatever greens and herbs you have; the spiced broth carries almost anything.
NUTRITION (per recipe total, serves 4 - guide only):
Energy: 11500 kJ (2750 cal)
Protein: 210 g
Fat: 140 g
Saturated fat: 40 g
Carbohydrate: 130 g
Sugars: 15 g
Sodium: 5800 mg
This nutrition information is a guide only and may vary depending on brands, exact quantities, and ingredient substitutions used.