Once in a while, I would buy some pre-cooked pork meatballs from Asian grocery stores to make noodle soups at home. These pork meatballs freeze well and do not require defrosting. Just boil them in water and they are good to go. They are certainly a time-saver when I want to make noodle soups in a pinch. But when I have time to do some real cooking, I also like to add turmeric chicken, in addition to the pork meatballs, to my noodle soups. The taste of the pork meatballs is pretty mild so adding the turmeric chicken would give the noodle soup a good kick. Adding just the turmeric chicken in a noodle soup is also a great option, giving the noodle soup a warm and spicy taste.

Here I’m using some dried wide rice noodles which I rehydrated with hot water. You can select your choice of rice noodles, e.g, rice vermicelli, ho fun or even better, fresh rice noodles.

Turmeric-spiced Chicken Noodle Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

For the marinating the chicken:

• 1 pound bonless chicken breasts, sliced
• 0.5 teaspoon turmeric
• 0.5 teaspoon white pepper
• 0.5 teaspoon sea salt
• 0.25 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil or neutral flavored oil

For cooking:

• 2 teaspoons vegetable or neutral flavored oil
• 1 long green chili pepper, chopped
• 1 shallot, finely chopped
• 3 to 4 dried chili peppers
• 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine or dry Sherry

For the broth:

• 5 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 tablespoon fish sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• Sea salt, to taste
• Sliced scallions and cilantro, to taste

Method:

1. Marinate the chicken with turmeric, white pepper, sea salt, sugar, and oil, for about 30 minutes to 1 hour.
2. In a large pot, heat 2 teaspoons of oil over medium heat. Add shallots and sauté for a minute or until fragrant. Add the chili peppers and sauté until fragrant, about a minute. Add the dried chili pepper and combine well.
3. Adjust the heat to medium-high and add chicken. Keep turning the chicken so it doesn’t steam inside the pot. Cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 4 to 5 minutes.
4. Add Shaoxing wine and cook for another minute. Transfer everything to another bowl.
5. In the same pot, add the chicken broth, water, fish sauce, and sugar. Bring it to a boil and reduce the heat. Season to taste and simmer for 5 minutes.
6. In a large bowl, add the chicken to your choice of rice noodles, vermicelli, or wide rice noodles (ho fun). Pour the hot broth over the chicken and rice noodles. Garnish with scallions and cilantro. Serve hot.

The recipe makes 2 to 3 servings and can be doubled.

If you like this soup, you may also like this Napa Cabbage and Tofu Soup.

Are you a soup fan? Come check out my other soup recipes on YouTube.

---

• Instagram
• YouTube
• WordPress