Chicken is a nutritious food that can be prepared into many delicious dishes, from dry dishes to soups. Right now, let’s go into the kitchen with TasteVN to discover how to cook chicken noodle soup and satay chicken noodles for the family meal!
1. Satay Chicken Noodles
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
1 hour 30 minutes
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Satay Chicken Noodles Serves 4
Local chicken 1 kg Fresh noodles 1 kg Bean sprouts 200 gr Accompanying vegetables a little (lettuce/ Vietnamese coriander/ basil) Cabbage 1/2 head Cinnamon 1 stick Ginger 1 bulb (small) Cardamom 20 gr Star anise 10 gr Satay 20 gr Cashew nuts 1/2 tablespoon Shallots 1 bulb Lemongrass 3 stalks Lemon 1 fruit Chili 1 fruit Cooking oil 1 tablespoon Common spices a little (Salt/ sugar/ seasoning powder/ ground pepper)
Required Tools
Ingredient Image
How to prepare Spicy Chicken Noodles
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Prepare the vegetables
Cut the cabbage in half, use a grater to shred it finely or use a knife to slice it thinly. Wash thoroughly, soak in salt water for about 15 minutes, wash again with water, and drain.
Wash the bean sprouts, soak in diluted salt water for about 10 minutes to clean, then wash again with water and drain.
Clean the lettuce and herbs, soak in diluted salt water for about 15 minutes to clean, wash again with water and drain.
Cut the lemon into quarters, slice the chili thinly.
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Boil the chicken
Wash the chicken with vinegar and salt to clean and reduce the odor.
Place a pot on the stove, add 2 liters of water to the pot, add 1 onion to the pot, add the chicken to boil as soon as the water is still cold, seasoning with 1 spoon of salt, 1 spoon of sugar.
Smash the lemongrass, cut in half and add to the pot, when the water boils, skim off the foam (the foam will make the broth cloudy), cover and let boil for 20 minutes for the chicken to be tender.
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Cooking Chicken Noodle Broth
Lightly roast the cinnamon over charcoal for about 3 – 4 minutes until fragrant. You should not roast it using a gas stove as it releases harmful substances.
After boiling the chicken until cooked, add the roasted cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, and thinly sliced ginger into the pot and cook for an additional 10 minutes.
Prepare a small pot, turn on the stove over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil, and immediately add 1/2 tablespoon of annatto seeds, stirring continuously for about 1 minute to extract the color. Strain the annatto oil into a separate bowl, discarding the seeds and keeping only the oil.
After 30 minutes, turn off the heat and let the chicken soak in the water for another 10 minutes to ensure it’s thoroughly cooked, and the chicken skin will retain its beautiful color.
After 10 minutes, open the pot lid and take the chicken out to a plate to cool.
Remove the lemongrass, onions, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, and ginger from the pot, as cooking these ingredients for too long will make the broth bitter and pungent.
If the broth has a lot of chicken fat floating on top, you can skim some off to reduce greasiness.
Shred or cut the chicken according to your family’s preference.
Cooking spices: cinnamon, star anise, and cardamom are available at traditional medicine shops, and some grocery stores selling cooking spices also offer these spices in pre-packaged bags.
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Complete chicken noodle
Put the chicken bones that have been deboned into the broth pot, turn on medium heat, season with 1 teaspoon of sugar, annatto, 3 tablespoons of satay, and a little pepper to taste.
Note: Adding annatto just before turning off the stove will make the dish more visually appealing
Bring the broth to a boil and then turn off the heat.
Place the noodles in a bowl, arrange fresh herbs on top, shred the chicken, and pour hot broth over, adding a little green onion, lime, and chili to complete the dish.
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Final product
The chicken noodle cooked with satay is fragrant, spicy with satay flavor, and the chicken broth is sweet with meat, served with crispy fresh herbs, making a perfect combination, right? Enjoy it while it’s still hot!
2. Bamboo shoot chicken noodle
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Preparation
30 minutes
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Cooking
1 hour 30 minutes
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Difficulty
Medium
Ingredients for Chicken Bamboo Shoot Noodles Serves 4
Chicken 1 kg Dried bamboo shoots 100 gr Noodles 1 kg Turmeric powder 1 teaspoon Minced lemongrass 1 teaspoon Cooking oil A little Minced shallots 2 teaspoons Common seasoning A little (Salt/ sugar/ monosodium glutamate/ seasoning powder/ ground pepper)
Tools needed
How to choose quality dried bamboo shoots
- When buying dried bamboo shoots, pay attention to the color of the bamboo shoots. Good dried bamboo shoots usually have a light yellow color and a shiny appearance. The shoots should be firm, have many segments, and should not feel damp or moldy.
- Additionally, you should pay attention to the aroma. Good dried bamboo shoots often have a light earthy smell. Avoid choosing bamboo shoots that have a damp and strong smell as they are often spoiled and harmful to eat.
- You should choose bamboo shoots that are uniform in size, short segments, and without fibers. It is preferable to select shoots from the small tips as they will be softer and tastier when cooked.
How to prepare Chicken Bamboo Shoot Noodles
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Preparing dried bamboo shoots
After purchasing dried bamboo shoots, soak them overnight. To clean the bamboo shoots of dirt and reduce bitterness, remember to change the water 2 – 3 times while soaking.
After soaking, rinse the bamboo shoots and then boil them until they are tender enough to be shredded. Remove them and rinse again. Then, shred the bamboo shoots into bite-sized pieces.
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Prepare and marinate chicken
After cleaning, cut the chicken into bite-sized pieces and marinate it with 1 spoon of salt, 2 spoons of monosodium glutamate, 2 spoons of seasoning powder, 2 spoons of sugar, 1 spoon of ground pepper, 1 spoon of turmeric powder, along with 1 spoon of lemongrass and 1 spoon of minced shallots.
Then, mix the chicken well with the spices and let it marinate for 30 minutes.
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Cook the broth
Heat a pan on the stove and sauté 1 spoon of minced shallots until fragrant. Once the shallots turn golden, add the shredded dried bamboo shoots and stir-fry.
Next, add 1 spoon of monosodium glutamate, 2 spoons of seasoning powder, 1 spoon of sugar, and a little bit of water. Remember to stir regularly to let the bamboo shoots absorb the flavors. After about 10 minutes, when the bamboo shoots have absorbed the spices, turn off the heat.
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Cooking bamboo shoot noodle with chicken
You put another pot on the stove, then add chicken fat to the pot to let it melt; if you don’t have chicken fat, you can replace it with cooking oil.
Next, add the chicken to stir-fry briefly to brown the meat, then add just enough water into the pot and bring the water to a boil over high heat.
When the water boils, reduce the heat to low so the chicken cooks evenly. After about 30 minutes, when the chicken is cooked, add the sautéed bamboo shoots. Let it boil for another 15 minutes, then you can season to taste before turning off the heat.
Finally, put the noodles in a bowl, then ladle in the broth, bamboo shoots, and chicken, sprinkle with chopped green onions and Thai basil or rice paddy herb if available, and it’s done.
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Final product
So you have completed a delicious bowl of bamboo shoot noodle with chicken. When enjoying, you will feel the crunchy and chewy texture of the bamboo shoots, the tender chicken, along with the sweet and rich broth that is appealing.
How to choose fresh and delicious chicken
When buying live chicken
- Hold 2 chickens of the same size, if you find one chicken heavier, that chicken has firmer meat.
- Good chicken will have a sharp beak, shiny color, no slimy discharge at the beak, straight, slender legs, even legs, no scratches, no broken or chipped nails, and no red spots or unusual spots on the legs.
- Lift the feathers to see the skin of the chicken is thin, gently squeeze the body of the chicken to feel firmness, there are some large yellow streaks under the breast, and under the wings, you can see the meat, blood vessels indicate that the chicken is firm without fat.
When buying pre-prepared chicken
- To determine whether the chicken is dyed or not, observe the skin; if the chicken skin is yellow and the internal fat is white, then that chicken has been chemically dyed. Good chicken skin is light yellow with dark yellow only in some places like the breast, wings, and back.
- Choose chicken meat that looks fresh, with no foul smell or antibiotic smell, and no bruises on the skin. Avoid buying dark-skinned chickens as they are chickens that died before being processed.
- Additionally, to avoid buying water-injected chicken, press on suspected water-injected areas (mainly thighs and breasts) to check; if it feels soft and slippery, do not buy.
Tips for boiling delicious, tender chicken
- Put the chicken in the pot when the water is still cold to boil the chicken well without breaking the skin, rather than dropping the chicken into boiling water.
- When the water just boils, adjust the heat to the lowest level.
- You can roast some ginger to add in, while turning the chicken to cook evenly.
- Boil until the water boils, then turn off the heat, cover for about 20 minutes to ensure the chicken is fully cooked.
- If you want the chicken skin to have a beautiful yellow color, add 1 tablespoon of turmeric powder to the pot while boiling.
​How to choose chicken for satay chicken noodle soup and bamboo shoot chicken noodle soup
- You should choose mature local chickens that are firm and flavorful. If there are no mature local chickens, you can also choose young chickens.
- You should limit choosing industrial chickens (super egg-laying chickens) because the broth will not be sweet and the meat will not be as chewy and delicious.
TasteVN hopes that with the 2 ways to cook satay chicken noodle soup and bamboo shoot chicken noodle soup mentioned above, you will have additional recipes to add to your delicious meal menu to treat family and friends. Wishing you success in making the dish!
