The chicken noodle soup recipe Peter Gilmore taught me
I’ve had the privilege of working with chef Peter Gilmore for 12 years, and I’m lucky to call him a friend. This recipe is as classic as they come.
A chicken noodle soup recipe is as classic as they come. The results of slow-cooking a whole chicken can’t be beaten, but when time is short using breast meat hits the spot. For me, a good chicken soup should be kept simple – a clear, flavour-packed broth, tender chicken and a carbohydrate of some sort – say noodles, pasta or barley. For freshness, I like to lean on the brightness of herbs.
Some other delicious recipes you may love:
- A buttery, puffy tart to celebrate the humble spud
- This is not your standard pork chop
- Spanish tortilla recipe
A good broth is a work of art and can take hours to prepare. I’ve had the privilege of working with chef Peter Gilmore for 12 years, and I’m lucky to call him a friend. Pete is the master of broths, and he taught me how to turn a chicken broth from ordinary to extraordinary. His umami-enriched chicken broth uses fish sauce, shiitake mushrooms and kombu seaweed to create the most magical savoury broth. While it’s not difficult, it does take time. I’ve taken some of Peter’s umami boosting tips and applied them to this 15-minute noodle soup.
RECIPE: Umami-rich chicken noodle soup
Ingredient
- 1 x 250g chicken breast
- 4cm piece ginger, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, smashed
- 50g shiitake mushrooms, stalks removed, sliced
- 3 spring onions, green part kept, white part finely chopped
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 750ml chicken stock
- Your favourite noodles, for 2
- Handful of dill, roughly chopped
- Handful of parsley, roughly chopped
- Handful of coriander, roughly chopped
- Lemon
- Extra-virgin olive oil to serve, or chilli oil to serve (optional)
Method
- Place the chicken breast in the bottom of a deep-sided pot with a lid. Throw in the ginger, garlic, shiitake mushrooms, green tops of spring onions and fish sauce. Carefully pour over chicken stock.
- Place pot (without the lid) on a medium heat and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, turn the heat right down to low, put the lid on and cook for 10 minutes, occasionally lifting the lid to skim off any impurities that come to the surface.
- Remove chicken and set aside. The broth can keep simmering, covered, while you prepare the chicken and noodles. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat. Meanwhile, cook the noodles in a separate pot according to the packet instructions. (Cooking noodles in your beautiful broth will cause it to go cloudy from the starch.) When all your elements are ready, turn the heat off.
- Using a slotted spoon, fish out the garlic, spring onions and ginger, and discard. Divide noodles into two bowls and top with the shredded chicken, the sliced white part of the spring onion and the herbs. Ladle over broth with mushrooms. Squeeze over lemon juice and drizzle with oil. Serves 2