I was in the mood for soup. A specific soup. A soup that would take hours of simmering to reach the perfect broth flavor.
I needed to find a day where I could devote the love and attention to it. Finally the day had come that I could create the dish that I’ve been piecing together for the last couple of days. The broth was going to take the longest time to make sure it had the perfect flavours.
2 1/2 hour to be precise.
Something I learned in my Vietnamese cooking classes was the longer you allow the broth to simmer the more robust the flavours would be.
After meeting Molly for lunch this week I raced back home knowing I would finally have enough time to make Chinese Chicken Meatball and Noodle Soup.
This soup is as homemade as it gets.
Homemade broth.
Homemade noodles.
Homemade chicken meatballs.
It doesn’t get more homemade than this!
Yet I have to be honest, while the cooking time takes a while the actual prep time wasn’t so bad. Well not so bad when you have the right appliances lol!
The broth takes the longest time, so you can prep everything while it’s simmering. To get the most flavour out of soup, you really need a good broth. When making a Chinese dish in China, it’s not hard to figure out which ingredients will lead you to the best flavours. Take a look at the wet market. What do you see lots of? Green onions, cilantro, garlic and ginger. Add a little sugar, salt, pepper and fish sauce and you’ll have the killer aroma of this broth floating through your house. I bought my fish sauce in Vietnam, but it’s also available at any grocery store.
Remember to taste the broth regularly and adjust the seasonings to get the best flavours. After 30 minutes of simmering, I ended up doubling the amount of ingredients that I started off with. It took lots of tasting but in the end, I got the ratio! I got it!!!
I’ve been grinding beef since I moved here, but I never tried to ground chicken. Until today. So easy! WHY?! WHY!? Haven’t I done this before! Get ready Nomad Followers for a plethora of ground chicken dishes to come… The perfect Asian-inspired chicken meatball recipe on the Internet comes from my Shanghai Family Magazine predecessor Darcie Hunter. It’s perfect. Perfect flavours and texture. Do not do anything to change the recipe!
Did I mention that it’s perfect?
Thanks to my awesome Philips Pasta Maker, the egg noodles took a whopping 15 minutes to make total time. Start to finish. And that was for 2 batches! If you don’t have the incredible Philips Pasta Maker you could do make the noodles by hand or just buy a pound of egg noodles from the local wet market. It’s a splurge, but if you are a big pasta eating family you’ll seriously love this machine!
The whole Nomad Family loved this Chinese Chicken Meatball and Noodle Soup! I promise you my friends I’m going to make this soup again! YUMMY!
Serves 10
A delicious Asian twist to Chicken Noodle Soup! Serve it with lots of cilantro and green onions!
45Prep Time
150Cook Time
195Total Time
Ingredients
- 1 Kilo Chicken Legs
- 3T Fish Sauce
- 2T Salt
- 2t Sugar
- 1 Bunch Cilantro
- 1 Bunch Green Onions
- 1 Celery
- 1 Carrot
- 2 Garlic Cloves, smashed
- 1.5" Pieve of Garlic, sliced
- 3 Green Onions, chopped fine
- 1T finely minced ginger
- 1T Cilantro, chopped fine
- 2t Fish Sauce
- 1 Egg
- 1t Cornstarch
- 1 Carrot, shredded
- 1/2lb Bok Choy
- 1/2lb Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
- Cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Remove chicken thighs. Take the meat off of the bones and set aside. RETURN THE BONES TO THE STOCKPOT.
- Add remaining broth ingredients. Return to a simmer, covered for 2 hours. Taste regularly and add more salt if needed.
- Strain the liquid. Save the liquid but discard the rest of the ingredients.
- *You can add 2 cups of boiling water if you lost some of the liquid during the cooking process.
- Use your hands to mix together all of the meatball ingredients. Form into small 1" balls. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate until ready to use.
- Add the noodles and vegetables. Carefully stir to combine. Cover and let simmer for 8-10 minutes.
- Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle with cilantro and green onions!
Notes
Makes 30 small chicken meatballs.

