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If you’re like half of North Dunedin, you may have been hit by the big C this past week. Whether that is Covid or Chlamydia, this Chinese-inspired chicken noodle soup is sure to bring you back to full health in no time. 
 
Serves 6-8 hungry people! (Probably with leftovers to freeze)
 
Ingredients: 
 
Broth: 
1 whole chicken (approx 1.6kg) 
1 bulb of garlic, head chopped off and cloves separated but kept whole 
2 onions, quartered 
2 tablespoons peppercorns 
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped 
1 thumb of ginger, roughly chopped 
2 stalks of lemongrass (optional) 
 
Soup: 
Chicken broth 
⅓ cup of soy sauce 
2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce 
2 tablespoons of sesame oil 
2-3 tablespoons (or to your tasting) of Chinese Zhenjiang (“Black Vinegar”) or Rice Wine Vinegar 
2 teaspoons of brown sugar
2 carrots, thinly sliced  
200-300 grams mushrooms, thinly sliced. 
2 bunches of baby bok choy or pak choi 
Any other vegetable of your choosing 
200-300 grams of egg noodles (a few packets of Indomie Mi Goreng also goes well if you have them on hand!)
 
Method: 
 
Add the whole chicken and the broth ingredients to a large pot. Add enough cold water to cover all ingredients. Turn the heat up to medium/high heat. When the water is simmering, turn the heat down to maintain the simmer and cook for 25 minutes. 
 
Remove the chicken from the broth. When it is cool enough to touch, use a sharp knife to separate the breasts, wings and legs. Remove all the skin and discard. Place the bones, wings and legs back into the broth and continue to simmer for another 40 minutes. If the breasts are not cooked through, place them back into the broth for another 5 minutes until they are cooked. When they are cooked through, place them aside. 
 
After 40 minutes, take chicken bones, wings and legs out of the broth and set aside. Pour the broth into a sieve over a large bowl/pot, allowing the sieve to collect other ingredients. Pour the broth liquid back into the pot. Discard the other ingredients. 
 
If some of the water has evaporated whilst making the broth, top up the pot with more water. Add soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sesame oil, vinegar, brown sugar, carrots and mushrooms. Bring to a boil.
 
Meanwhile, pull the meat off the bone. Using your hands, or two forks, shred all the meat. 
 
After 5 minutes of boiling, add noodles and cook according to packet instructions (usually 3-5 minutes). Add shredded chicken meat and bok choy/pak choi and cook for 2 more minutes. 
 
Top with any yummy toppings - I recommend chilli flakes/chilli oil/sweet chilli/fresh chilli, sesame seeds, coriander. Serve!