Welcome to Day 1 of my recipe contribution to the Gourmet Garden Blog Off/Cook Off Competition.
The Herbs arrived safely last week via Courier in these cute little cooler bags packed with ice – protecting the goodness inside. I received Basil, Coriander, Chilli, Garlic, Thyme, and Thai Seasoning in my package.
Over this week I will use all of them in a variety of recipes that all focus on putting a wide variety of veggies into our meals.
I really hope that you try the recipes yourself and see what you think!
This soup is one of my favourite Winter warmers – you can use whatever veggies you have in the fridge and once you have cut them up it takes about 15 minutes before you have tasty steaming hot soup on the table!
Chinese Chicken Five Spice Soup
Serves 4 – 6 Preparation time 15 min Cooking time 10 mins. *Gluten Free* *Dairy Free*
1 Chicken Breast (around 300g) Chopped into bite sized pieces
1 Tablespoon Rice Bran Oil or any lightly flavoured oil
1 Tablespoon Gourmet Garden Minced Garlic
1/2 Tablespoon Gourmet Garden Chilli
1 Tablespoon Gourmet Garden Thai Seasoning
1 L Salt reduced Chicken Stock
1 cup Water
Any combination of the following vegetables cut into julienne slices – Carrot, Cabbage (Purple Cabbage looks great!), Capsicum, Shallots, Zucchini, Bok Choy – or any others you think you might like – Snow Peas are good too!
1 Tablespoon Light Soy Sauce
1/2 Tablespoon Fish sauce
2 Shakes of Chinese Five Spice Blend.
Bean Shoots for crunch and Fresh Coriander to garnish
Dried Egg Noodles or Thick rice noodles (For GF/DF)
Method
Prepare the vegetables by chopping them into Julienne slices. Prepare the Chicken Breast by Chopping into bite size pieces. Prepare the noodles according to the packet instructions.
Put oil into a wok or large saucepan to heat through. Place Minced Garlic, Chilli and Thai Seasoning into the Wok and gook gently until fragrant. Add the stock and water and bring to the boil.
Turn the heat down a little and add the chicken – once you add the chicken you want to cook it for just the right amount of time so that the chicken is nice and tender. Add the Soy sauce and Fish sauce, and the julienne vegetables. Allow to cook on a slow boil for around 2 minutes.
Drain the noodles and add to the pot. Cook for another minute or two.
Shake the Chinese Five spice into the Wok and give the whole soup a stir.
Serve the soup into bowls and sprinkle bean shoots and Coriander over the top.
Serve while steamy!
Chinese Five Spice Soup