No Nonsense Noodle Soup

 It has been a sweltering past few days and any food that includes thick, oily coconut cream is definitely out of the menu (for now at least!)  During hot weathers like what we are having now, the best food to have is something simple with a lot of clear broth.  So, using her better judgement, my wife prepared our Flat Noodle Soup with Garlic-flavoured Pickled Chili.  Of course, one would need to leave the pickled chili aside for a while before consuming it to get the true flavour of the garlic.  I like to garnish my noodle soup with shallot crisps, sliced scallions and bean sprouts.

We always prepared two types of noodles to choose from when eating this dish, but sometimes I mix both the flat noodles and vermicelli.  For the stock or soup, you would need to first of all dry roast 2 tsp each of cumin and coriander, then crush lightly with pestle and mortar and put into a muslin bag. 

2 lemon grass, bruised

6 pips garlic, blended

10 shallots, blended

2 thumb size ginger, blended

2 chicken thighs, cut into small portions

About 20 fresh fishballs
3 pieces bean curd sheets, broken into small pieces

Heat some oil in a stock pot and saute the lemon grass, followed by the blended ingredients and the two spices.  Then mix in the chicken and fish balls followed by five liters of chicken stock.  Lastly add in the bean curd sheets and continue to simmer for about 20 minutes.   Season with salt and pepper to taste.

For the garlic-flavoured pickled chili, you will need :
10 green chilies, sliced
5 pips garlic, lightly bruised
1 cup distilled rice vinegar
1 cup plain water
1/2 sugar

Boil the sugar, vinegar and water until the sugar dissolves and let cool.  Stir in the garlic and chilies and leave aside to steep for about five minutes.