Delicious Asian Noodle Soup in a Flash!

Sometimes, food pangs strike at the oddest times.  Like when the local Asian restaurant is closed and you didn't really feel like going out anyhow since you're already vegging in PJ's...but you can't get your stomach's mind to stop thinking about a bowl of hot udon or pho noodle soup.  I get that craving quite a bit.  I think it's linked to my parents often taking me to their favorite Chinese restaurant in Montebello, California.  These huge steaming bowls of soup with noodles and pork and chicken and vegetables all topped with sliced boiled egg, would arrive at the table...I remember coming to love this soup early on , it became a comfort food for me...I recall those weekend nights just like it was yesterday. 

Today, I often enjoy a good bowl of asian noodle soup whether it's from a Vietnamese, Chinese or a Japanese restaurant.  So somewhere between experimenting with the flavor packets that come inside a fifty cent package of ramen noodles (eeek turbo MSG!) and trying to figure out what sort of spices go into the restaurant variety and catching a British woman's food program about asian soup one snowy winter afternoon...I came up with a very simple and fast way to make a good tasting soup.  I especially love this during our cold month's but I have been known to make this in August too. 

Fast Soul-Warming Asian Soup

1 package of Udon or any other asian noodles found in the international section of your grocery store

Within each package, normally there are smaller individually wrapped portions.  I am referring to one of those portions, not the whole package

3 cups Chicken, Pork, Beef or Vegetable Broth

1 tbsp freshly grated ginger

1 star of anise

1 tbsp brown sugar

1tbsp soy sauce

3 cups Chicken, Pork, Beef or Vegetable Broth

Baby Bok Choy or Napa Cabbage or both - chopped

1 tbsp soy sauce

Salt, Black Pepper and White Pepper to taste

2 boiled eggs - sliced

1 stalk green onion - chopped

In a deep sauce pan, pour in the broth, the star of anise, the grated ginger, the brown sugar, the soy sauce and the spices to taste...if you want a spicier soup use more white pepper

Allow broth to come to boil and add in the vegetables only allowing to cook for a few minutes

Add in the noodles and allow to cook in boiling liquid for about 7-8 minutes

Add in chopped green onion
Discard Star Anise

Serve in bowls topped with the sliced boiled egg

There are so many variations to this soup, this is my basic way I throw it together 
You can add in raw shrimp at the last minute, or chicken or pork or other vegetables such as mushrooms like straw or button
The international refrigerated section in your market usually even has fish cake

You can add Chinese red chili sauce or small chopped Thai Chili's to make it fiery hot...whatever your food pang is craving or whatever you happen to have in your pantry and refrigerator...oh and for whatever reason, the dried noodles seem to have way less sodium than the fresh...important if you make this soup on a regular basis  ;-)

Here's to a satisfied Pang!

robert