Lemongrass Noodle Soup with Cucumber & Chicken

Course: Breakfast, Dinner, Lunch, Soup

Cuisine: East Asian, South East Asian

Diet: Gluten Free

Prep Time: 45

Cook Time: 1 15

Total Time: 2

Servings: servings

Calories: 411kcal

Author: Dini Kodippili

EASY - This is a really easy and refreshing recipe! Easily adaptable to make it vegan as well.

US based cup, teaspoon, tablespoon measurements. Common Measurement Conversions.

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Ingredients

Soup

1250 mL chicken stock 5 cups (unsalted). Substitute with vegetable stock for a vegan option.
3 tbsp chopped lemongrass 2 white stalks of lemongrass, bruised
1 ½ inches peeled ginger sliced
½ tsp chilli flakes adjust to your preference - optional
½ medium onion sliced
2 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp soy sauce Use tamari sauce for a GF option
240 mL coconut milk 1 cup. Full fat
1 lime juice and zest
2 fresh red chilli Add more or less, depending on your spice tolerance levels
2 skinless chicken breast sliced thinly. Or use medium firm tofu - see notes.
Sea salt to taste

To serve

85 - 115 g dry weight glass noodles 3 - 4 oz
½ tsp sea salt
1 cucumber sliced and julienned or cut with a noodle maker. chilled
drizzle sesame oil or vegetable oil, to coat

Instructions

Soup base

In a saucepan, pour the chicken stock and add to it the following - the lemongrass, dried chilli, ginger, sliced onions, sugar, soy-sauce, and coconut milk.
1250 mL chicken stock, 3 tbsp chopped lemongrass, 1 ½ inches peeled ginger, ½ tsp chilli flakes, ½ medium onion, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 3 tbsp soy sauce, 240 mL coconut milk
Bring to a boil on medium heat and then lower the heat and let it simmer on low heat, covered, for about 40 min to 1 hour. During this time, cook the noodles and prepare the cucumber.
1 lime
Add about 1 tbsp lime juice and lime zest as well. Taste and add more lime juice to your preference.
Strain the soup to remove the onion, ginger, lemon grass and chilli. Discard this and return the soup back into the pot.
Bring the soup back to a simmer, and add salt to taste.
Sea salt
Once the soup is simmering, add the thinly sliced chicken and the thinly sliced chili (If using). Let the chicken cook in the simmering soup (which should take about 10 minutes). Assemble the and have the serving bowls ready during this time.
2 skinless chicken breast , 2 fresh red chilli
Divide the soaked noodles between two bowls. Ladle the soup over the noodles. Top it up with cold cucumber and serve immediately.

Noodles and toppings

Place the noodles in a bowl and add the salt.
85 - 115 g dry weight glass noodles, ½ tsp sea salt
Pour boiling water over the noodles to soak and keep it covered for 10 minutes (a little less time than the manufacturer's instructions).
Drain the noodles and drizzle in some oil to coat the noodles. This is to prevent the noodles from sticking together and turning mushy. You can use unflavoured oil, sesame oil or chilli oil if you prefer. Set aside until you are ready to serve.
drizzle sesame oil
Use a julienne slicer or noodle slicer to make long cucumer "noodles". You can also do this manually. Cut the cucumber like thin or thick noodles (your preference). Drizzle some chili oil or sesame oil and toss to coat. Keep it chilled.
1 cucumber sliced and julienned

Notes

Vegan options

Instead of chicken stock, you can use vegetable stock.

Add some dried mushrooms when simmering the soup base to add more flavor to the soup base.

Instead of chicken, I like to use medium firm tofu. For extra flavor, cube the tofu, and air fry / pan fry to get crispy edges. But this is an optional step.

Nutrition