Vietnamese Chicken Tapioca Noodle Soup (Bánh Canh Gà)
I can never pass a homey noodle soup with incredible texture. This is my family's weekend go-to recipe that still gets me excited after nearly 30 years!
Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 8 L / 33.8 US cup chicken and pork stock
- 1/2 cup dehydrated shrimp
- 10 chicken drumstick
- 2 bag tapioca noodle (purchased from a local Asian grocery store)
- 1/2 kg duck giblet (optional)
- 1 box blood jelly (optional; We get it from the Asian butcher)
- 5 tbsp fish sauce
- 50 g / 0.11 rock sugar (or to taste)
- 1/2 tbsp chicken bouillon powder
- 2 tsp salt (or to taste)
Garnishes
- coriander (finely chopped)
- spring onion (finely sliced)
- chili (optional)
- lemon or lime
- fried shallots (optional)
Instructions
- Throw in the dehydrated shrimps.
- Wash the chicken drumsticks and bring the broth to a boil. Put the drumsticks in the stock for 20-25 minutes.
- Scoop the chicken drumsticks out and run it under cold water to slow down the cooking process.
- Transfer the drumsticks into a bowl of cold water for a few minutes, drain then pat them dry.
- Refrigerate the chicken to keep the meat firm.
- Lightly season the broth with 5 tbsp fish sauce and 50g rock sugar.
- Cook the blood jelly in a separate small pot. If you don't eat blood jelly, skip this step.
- Wash and add the duck giblets to the soup. If you don’t eat giblets, you can also give this step a miss.
- Prepare the garnish: give each aromatic a double wash, drain and finely chop them.
- Quarter the lemons or limes.
- Take the chicken out of the fridge and shred it onto a communal serving dish.
- Boil a pot of water and quickly soften the tapioca noodles. It will take no longer than a few minutes because it’s already cooked. Use a colander to drain the liquid out.
- Serve the noodles with chicken, blood jelly, giblets and the seasoned broth.
- Add the fried onions, coriander, spring onions and a squeeze of lemon or lime as the garnish.