Because these are the flavors that leave you thinking, “I want every meal to taste that good.” Sometimes you say that out loud.

This recipe makes a lot of soup- it takes the same amount of effort to make a lot of soup as it does to make a little soup. Soup freezes really well. It also makes great gifts (unless you’re mother doesn’t like soup. In that case, flowers are nice).

Let’s get into it:

Stock ingredients:

I used every ingredient I could find from my local Asian market for this stock–if you use whatever you have it’ll still be fantastic.

• 1 rotisserie chicken (at least one. Two would be even better).
• 3-inch piece of ginger (cup into small pieces. No need to peel)
• 4 or 5 very large garlic cloves (smashed. No need to peel)
• 2T lemongrass paste (or four stalks of lemongrass. Whack ’em and hack ’em)
• 1 yellow or white onion (quareted. No need to peel)
• Tops and bottoms of a bunch of green onions (save the light and dark green parts for a garnish)
• Tops, bottoms, and peels from 3-5 carrots (save the peeled carrots for the later in the soup)
• Tops, leaves, and bottom root cluster from one bunch of celery (save the good parts of the celery for later in the soup)
• Tops, bottoms, and peels from 1 very large daikon (save the peeled daikon for the later in the soup)
• 6-10 large mushroom stems (I used shiitake. Maitake, button, oyster, crimini, or portobellos would be great, too. You can also add whole mushrooms to the stock if you have a lotta ‘shrooms)
• 1/2 cup white miso paste
• 2T gochujang, sambal, or sriracha
• 2t fish sauce
• 3-5T soy sauce
• The stems of one bunch of cilantro
• A gallon and a half of water (I said it makes a lot of soup)
• Two very, very large pots
• One small pot
• A 425ºF oven
• 1 large mesh strainer

*************************************************************************************Making the stock! Remove and set aside all desirable meat. Set the skin aside (just do it, it’s not that gross). Put the bones in one of the very large pots and roast them at 425ºF for 15-20 minutes.

Okay so you’ve got those roasted bones in one giant pot, yes? Great.

That giant pot with roasted chicken bones? Add the chicken skin (not the meat), and all the other stock ingredients. Yep, into the pot. Get that boiling over medium-high heat until it’s reduced by 1/3. If it’s not flavorful enough, add 2t salt and let it boil a little longer. Once it’s delicious, turn off the heat and let it cool off a bit.

*************************************************************************************

The soup!

Ingredients:

• 1T coconut oil
• 2t lemongrass paste
• 2t grated ginger
• 3-5 carrots (peeled and trimmed), cut into half-moon slices
• One bunch of celery, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 6-10 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• Desirable meat from rotisserie chicken, cubed
• 1 cup coconut milk
• Rice noodles (1 package)
• Toppings: thinly sliced Daikon, sliced green onions, chopped kimchi, sesame seeds, chopped cilantro leaves

*************************************************************************************

Heat up that second giant pot. Add the coconut oil, lemongrass paste, and grated ginger.  When that smells amazing, add the carrots, celery, mushrooms, salt, and lots of cracked pepper.

Let the veggies cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they’re soft but not mushy. Toss in the cubed chicken and coconut milk.

Using the mesh strainer, strain the stock into the pot with the vegetables and chicken. (Put the strainer over the veggie pot and pour or ladle the stock through the strainer. The fine mesh will catch all of the gross-but-tasty-stuff such as chicken skin and carrot peels, leaving behind a beautifully-flavored liquid to be transferred into your vegetables and make SOUP! Discard the gross things that the strainer catches.)

Once all the stock is strained into the vegetables, let your soup heat up over medium-low heat for a bit. Then, get out that small pot. This is for the rice noodles. You want to cook only enough noodles for that meal, since they’re not great if they’re reheated. Cook (a small amount of) noodles according to package directions, then rinse under cold water.

Put the noodles into your serving bowl, ladle in some delightful Asian chicken soup, and get some toppings on there. Enjoy!

 

A reminder that noodle-less soup freezes really well. Also, I think soup is a great present. Give soup to somebody you love.