Basically ramen. But I cheated, and made it quick and easy, like almost as easy as 2 minute noodles but full of goodness and yummy nourishing things rather than a weird dehydrated sachet of ‘flavour’. But let’s be honest, I might be trash talking that stuff but I crave it sometimes as it was the comfort food of my childhood and then hangover food of my teenage years and very early twenties. Don’t judge me, just admire how far I’ve come;)

A noodle soup might not seem seasonally appropriate but hear me out. It’s December, a time of indulgence and this noodle soup is full of nourishing goodness so you’re going to need it. It’s also the perfect thing if you accidentally over indulged at a Christmas party the night before or just want a quick dinner. Plus I have all these beautiful northern hemisphere humans to keep happy too so am attempting to pipe down about beach nags and summer salads for a hot minute. Which is super easy when you live in Melbourne and flitting between seasons on an hourly basis is just an average day rather than a ‘weather event’.

The other really excellent thing about this dish is that you’re making it all in the one pot. Yep, you cook the noodles along with everything else in the one pot so there’s minimal fuss, it’s super easy and cleaning up is a breeze. Plus the noodles help add thickness to the broth as the starch stays in the broth.

I’ve used coconut milk in this to also give it a thicker consistency, as that’s what I like in my ramen, but it’s a cheats way as the broth is made super quickly with the flavour coming from the miso paste, toasted sesame seeds and ginger. You’ll be surprised at how flavoursome this simple mix is. It’s so good and so comforting. And totally inspired by last weekends storms making me crave a bowl of warm goodness.

I love the chicken mince through this as it means you get a little protein with every bite rather than using sliced breast or something, that always leaves me rationing my protein bites. I hope you love it as much as I do!

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 egg

1 tsp olive oil

300g chicken mince

1 heaped tsp miso paste

1 Tbs freshly grated ginger

1 Tbs finely chopped coriander stalks

170ml coconut milk

500 ml water

1 Tbs toasted sesame seeds

80g dried udon noodles or noodles of your preference

1 carrot, finely sliced

1 zucchini, cut into zoodles

2 cups spinach or pak choy, roughly shredded

1 bok choy, leaves separated

1/3 cup finely chopped spring onion

Finely sliced chilli, a few drops of sesame oil, coriander leaves and extra sesame seeds to serve.

Directions

Bring a medium pot of water to the boil. Add the egg, in its shell, and boil for 6 minues and 30 seconds. Remove and place in cold water until cool. Peel and set aside.

Drain boiling water from the pot into a jug/container. Add olive oil to the pot and once hot add the chicken, miso, ginger and coriander stalks. Cook, stirring often, until chicken is lightly coloured. Add sesame seeds and coconut milk, then 500mls of the reserved hot water, 1/2 the spring onion and bring to the boil. Add the udon noodles and cook for 5-10 minutes or as long as the noodles require (check the packet).

In the final minute place the bokchoy on top of the soup to steam lightly.

To serve place the spinach or pak choy in the base of each bowl along with the raw zucchini noodles. Top with the noodles, chicken and broth mixture and then the bok choy, half an egg, a few drops of sesame oil and garnish with the remaining spring onion, coriander, chilli and extra sesame seeds.

HH. x