Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Chicken & Lemongrass Noodle Soup
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
45 minutes
1 hour 55 minutes
2 hours 40 minutes
Serves:
4 bowls + 4 spring rolls
Joyce created this dish for MasterChef UK ™ Series 22. A Vietnamese-inspired chicken and rice-noodle soup, it pairs a fragrant galangal, ginger and lemongrass broth with shiitake mushrooms, ribbons of sweet soy-egg omelette and a generous scatter of crisp caramelised garlic, served alongside a crunc...
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Ingredients
FOR THE AROMATIC CHICKEN BROTH:
Chicken (whole, or thighs + carcass) — 2 lb / 900 g, on the bone for body
Water or light chicken stock — 8 cups / 2 L
Garlic cloves, smashed — 4, for the broth base
Shallots, halved and charred — 2, charred for depth
Lemongrass stalks — 6, bruised hard
Fresh galangal, sliced — 2 oz / 60 g, generous and bruised
Fresh ginger, sliced — 1.5 oz / 40 g, bruised
Coriander stalks — small bunch, tied in (reserve the leaves)
Fish sauce — 3 tbsp / 45 ml, to lift the aromatics
Sea salt — 2 tsp, to taste
Lime juice — 2 tbsp / 30 ml, to finish and brighten
FOR THE NOODLES & TOPPINGS:
Garlic cloves, finely sliced — 6, for the crispy garlic
Neutral oil, for frying the garlic — 1/3 cup / 80 ml
Eggs — 3, for the soy omelette
Light soy sauce — 2 tsp / 10 ml, for the omelette
Flat rice noodles — 10 oz / 280 g, soaked per packet
Shiitake mushrooms, sliced — 6 oz / 170 g
Spring onions and coriander leaves — to garnish
FOR THE SAUSAGE-MEAT SPRING ROLLS:
Sausage meat — 9 oz / 250 g
Shiitake or chestnut mushrooms, diced — 3 oz / 80 g
Fresh coriander, chopped — 2 tbsp
Oil, for deep-frying — as needed (350°F / 175°C)
EQUIPMENT:
Large stockpot or saucepan for the broth
Fine-mesh sieve and muslin, for a clear broth
Rolling pin or heavy pan, to bruise the lemongrass and galangal
Non-stick frying pan, for the thin omelette and crispy garlic
Small heavy saucepan, for frying the garlic
Deep pan or wok with an oil thermometer, for the spring rolls
Microplane or fine grater
Tongs and a slotted spoon
Small bowl for a water/flour sealing paste
Method
STEP 1: BUILD A BROTH THAT TASTES OF ITS AROMATICS
Add the chicken, water, smashed garlic and charred shallots to a large pot and bring to a bare simmer, skimming off any scum. Bruise the lemongrass, galangal and ginger hard with a rolling pin so their oils are released, then add them in two stages — half at the start and half in the final 20 minutes — so the volatile top notes survive. Tie in the coriander stalks. Simmer gently for 1 to 1.5 hours, kept well below a rolling boil.
STEP 2: SEASON TO CARRY, THEN FINISH BRIGHT
Strain the broth through a fine sieve, lined with muslin for clarity. Season with fish sauce and salt until the aromatics step forward — under-seasoning is the usual reason galangal and lemongrass seem to disappear. Off the heat, stir in the lime juice to lift everything. Taste: you should clearly read lemongrass, then ginger, then galangal. If not, steep a few more bruised slices for 10 minutes and re-strain.
STEP 3: MAKE THE CRISPY GARLIC
Put the finely sliced garlic into cold oil and bring it slowly up to a gentle sizzle, stirring, until pale gold. Lift it out just before it colours fully and drain on paper — it crisps as it cools. Reserve the fragrant garlic oil for dressing the noodles.
STEP 4: SOY-EGG OMELETTE
Beat the eggs with the light soy sauce. Cook as a thin omelette in a non-stick pan, roll it up and slice into ribbons. The gentle sweetness comes from the soy.
STEP 5: SAUSAGE-MEAT SPRING ROLLS
Mix the sausage meat with the diced mushrooms and chopped coriander. Roll tightly in the spring roll wrappers, sealing the seams with a flour-water paste. Deep-fry at 350°F / 175°C until deep golden and crisp, then rest on a rack so they stay crunchy.
STEP 6: NOODLES AND ASSEMBLY
Soak and cook the rice noodles per the packet, and sauté the sliced shiitake. Divide the noodles between warmed bowls, add the shiitake and ladle over the hot, properly seasoned broth. Top with the soy-egg ribbons, a generous scatter of crispy garlic, spring onions and coriander leaves. Serve each bowl with a spring roll on its own small plate so it stays crisp.
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Instructions
FOR THE AROMATIC CHICKEN BROTH:
Chicken (whole, or thighs + carcass) — 2 lb / 900 g, on the bone for body
Water or light chicken stock — 8 cups / 2 L
Garlic cloves, smashed — 4, for the broth base
Shallots, halved and charred — 2, charred for depth
Lemongrass stalks — 6, bruised hard
Fresh galangal, sliced — 2 oz / 60 g, generous and bruised
Fresh ginger, sliced — 1.5 oz / 40 g, bruised
Coriander stalks — small bunch, tied in (reserve the leaves)
Fish sauce — 3 tbsp / 45 ml, to lift the aromatics
Sea salt — 2 tsp, to taste
Lime juice — 2 tbsp / 30 ml, to finish and brighten
FOR THE NOODLES & TOPPINGS:
Garlic cloves, finely sliced — 6, for the crispy garlic
Neutral oil, for frying the garlic — 1/3 cup / 80 ml
Eggs — 3, for the soy omelette
Light soy sauce — 2 tsp / 10 ml, for the omelette
Flat rice noodles — 10 oz / 280 g, soaked per packet
Shiitake mushrooms, sliced — 6 oz / 170 g
Spring onions and coriander leaves — to garnish
FOR THE SAUSAGE-MEAT SPRING ROLLS:
Sausage meat — 9 oz / 250 g
Shiitake or chestnut mushrooms, diced — 3 oz / 80 g
Fresh coriander, chopped — 2 tbsp
Spring roll wrappers — 8
Oil, for deep-frying — as needed (350°F / 175°C)
EQUIPMENT:
Large stockpot or saucepan for the broth
Fine-mesh sieve and muslin, for a clear broth
Rolling pin or heavy pan, to bruise the lemongrass and galangal
Non-stick frying pan, for the thin omelette and crispy garlic
Small heavy saucepan, for frying the garlic
Deep pan or wok with an oil thermometer, for the spring rolls
Microplane or fine grater
Tongs and a slotted spoon
Small bowl for a water/flour sealing paste
Heading 5
Ingredients
STEP 1: BUILD A BROTH THAT TASTES OF ITS AROMATICS
Add the chicken, water, smashed garlic and charred shallots to a large pot and bring to a bare simmer, skimming off any scum. Bruise the lemongrass, galangal and ginger hard with a rolling pin so their oils are released, then add them in two stages — half at the start and half in the final 20 minutes — so the volatile top notes survive. Tie in the coriander stalks. Simmer gently for 1 to 1.5 hours, kept well below a rolling boil.
STEP 2: SEASON TO CARRY, THEN FINISH BRIGHT
Strain the broth through a fine sieve, lined with muslin for clarity. Season with fish sauce and salt until the aromatics step forward — under-seasoning is the usual reason galangal and lemongrass seem to disappear. Off the heat, stir in the lime juice to lift everything. Taste: you should clearly read lemongrass, then ginger, then galangal. If not, steep a few more bruised slices for 10 minutes and re-strain.
STEP 3: MAKE THE CRISPY GARLIC
Put the finely sliced garlic into cold oil and bring it slowly up to a gentle sizzle, stirring, until pale gold. Lift it out just before it colours fully and drain on paper — it crisps as it cools. Reserve the fragrant garlic oil for dressing the noodles.
STEP 4: SOY-EGG OMELETTE
Beat the eggs with the light soy sauce. Cook as a thin omelette in a non-stick pan, roll it up and slice into ribbons. The gentle sweetness comes from the soy.
STEP 5: SAUSAGE-MEAT SPRING ROLLS
Mix the sausage meat with the diced mushrooms and chopped coriander. Roll tightly in the spring roll wrappers, sealing the seams with a flour-water paste. Deep-fry at 350°F / 175°C until deep golden and crisp, then rest on a rack so they stay crunchy.
STEP 6: NOODLES AND ASSEMBLY
Soak and cook the rice noodles per the packet, and sauté the sliced shiitake. Divide the noodles between warmed bowls, add the shiitake and ladle over the hot, properly seasoned broth. Top with the soy-egg ribbons, a generous scatter of crispy garlic, spring onions and coriander leaves. Serve each bowl with a spring roll on its own small plate so it stays crisp.
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