Thirteen ingredients and fifty-five minutes for six bowls. Eight cups of broth is a lot of liquid, and nothing in the recipe thickens it — the finished soup is clear and golden.
Ginger and garlic are in the name and neither is visible in the bowl. A tablespoon of grated ginger and four cloves of garlic go in early, cook for two minutes, and spend the rest of the time as flavour in the broth.
Why This Recipe Works
- Lightly browning the chicken first puts colour into a broth that has nothing else to darken it.
- Two minutes of onion, garlic and ginger before the liquid is enough to open them up.
- A gentle simmer rather than a boil keeps the broth clear instead of cloudy.
- Shredding the chicken after cooking gives strands that hold in the broth rather than cubes that sink.
- Cooking the noodles at the end stops them absorbing the broth while everything else cooks.
Ingredient Notes
- Fresh ginger
- A tablespoon, grated. It is half the name of the soup and it is not visible in the finished bowl — it is entirely in the broth.
- Wide egg noodles
- Six ounces, added at the end and cooked to the packet timing. Flat noodles, and they are the only starch in the pot.
- Soy sauce and toasted sesame oil
- A tablespoon and a teaspoon. The soy goes in with the broth; the sesame oil goes in at the very end, where its aroma survives.
- Scallions
- Four, thinly sliced, and the recipe says heavily. They are the most visible thing on the surface of the finished bowl.
How to Make It
Brown the chicken lightly
Heat oil in a soup pot and lightly brown the chicken on both sides.
Onion, garlic, ginger
Add onion, garlic, and ginger and cook 2 minutes.
Broth in, simmer to 165F
Add broth, carrots, salt, and soy sauce. Simmer gently 15 to 20 minutes until chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
Out, shredded, back in
Transfer chicken, shred it, and return it to the clear golden broth.
Noodles last
Add egg noodles and cook according to package timing until tender.
Sesame oil, scallions, chilli
Stir in sesame oil and finish heavily with scallions and red pepper flakes.
Keeping the Broth Clear
Everything in this recipe that could cloud eight cups of broth is either done before the liquid arrives or added after it is finished. That is the whole structure.
Stage 1 of 3
Before the liquid
Steps 1–2 of 6
1 1/2 lb of thighs or breasts lightly browned in 1 tbsp of neutral oil, then 1 sliced onion, 4 garlic cloves and 1 tbsp of grated ginger for 2 minutes. All the browning and all the aromatics happen in a dry hot pot. The ginger and garlic in the recipe's title do their entire work here and are not separately visible in the finished bowl.
- Brown the chicken lightlyHeat oil in a soup pot and lightly brown the chicken on both sides.
- Onion, garlic, gingerAdd onion, garlic, and ginger and cook 2 minutes.
Stage 2 of 3
The simmer - gentle, and clear
Steps 3–4 of 6
8 cups of low-sodium broth with 2 carrots in rounds, 1 tsp salt and 1 tbsp soy sauce, simmered GENTLY 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken reaches 165F. Gently rather than boiled: a hard boil emulsifies fat into the liquid and clouds it, and the finished soup is meant to be clear and golden. The chicken then comes out, is shredded, and goes back in - shredded rather than diced, because strands sit in broth where cubes sink.
- Broth in, simmer to 165FAdd broth, carrots, salt, and soy sauce. Simmer gently 15 to 20 minutes until chicken reaches 165 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Out, shredded, back inTransfer chicken, shred it, and return it to the clear golden broth.
Stage 3 of 3
After the broth is made
Steps 5–6 of 6
6 oz of wide egg noodles cooked to the packet timing, then 1 tsp of toasted sesame oil off the heat and a heavy finish of 4 sliced scallions and 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes. Noodles last, so they do not drink the broth during the simmer. Nothing in this recipe thickens anything: there is no cream, no milk and no starch slurry anywhere in it.
- Noodles lastAdd egg noodles and cook according to package timing until tender.
- Sesame oil, scallions, chilliStir in sesame oil and finish heavily with scallions and red pepper flakes.
Success Tips
- Keep it at a gentle simmer; a hard boil clouds the broth.
- Shred the chicken rather than chopping it — the strands are what the noodles sit among.
- Add the noodles last so they do not drink the broth while the chicken cooks.
Serving Ideas
Six white bowls of the clear golden broth with the flat egg noodles, shredded chicken and carrot rounds through it, finished heavily with sliced scallion and red pepper flakes.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should the broth be creamy?
No. It is clear and golden — there is no cream, milk or thickener in the recipe at all.
Where does the ginger go?
In at the start with the garlic and onion, for two minutes before the broth. Neither is visible at the end; both are in the flavour of the broth.
Can I cook the noodles earlier?
They would soak up the broth while the chicken simmers. Adding them at the end is what keeps eight cups of liquid in the pot.
