I had been craving a steaming bowl of ginger scented soup for the past week, but having just spent four days in Perth in scorching weather, that sort of a meal was out of the question. So now that I have returned to Sydney, which is currently beautifully breezy, I decided to kick off the week’s dinner repertoire with this spread. Aromatic ginger-garlic noodle soup with plump poached chicken and a colourful array of finely shredded vegetables. I also added a small plate of extra grated ginger, coriander and mint leaves and hot chillies for those in my family who want extra zing!

The secret to achieving maximum flavour in this easy and nutritious family meal, is to use a well raised chook. That means a fresh chicken that is either free range or organic with the skin left ON. You can remove the skin after the chicken is poached if you are not keen on eating it, but the skin must remain on during poaching for flavour and tenderness. I used an almost 2kg Saskia Beer chicken for this evening’s dinner. Leftover chicken can be used in school lunches the next day.  

My inspiration for this dish came from a Donna Hay recipe which is part of her excellent  Basics to Brilliance series. Although I didn’t follow her exact recipe, as I was keen on using whatever I had left in my fridge before the “next big shop”, I found her hints and tips to be practical and reliable. 

Aromatic Ginger Garlic Noodle Soup with Poached Chicken to serve 6 adults


For the soup stock
4 litres cold water
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 large brown onion cut into quarters
6 fresh bay leaves
2 long stalks celery roughly chopped
1 large carrot roughly shopped
1 TBL soy sauce
2 heaped teaspoons sea salt
good grind of black pepper
decent knob of ginger sliced into thin rounds – I used a piece of ginger about 6cm (L) x 4cm (W)
1 x free range or organic chicken

Essential accompaniments
Vegetables of your choice (carrots, cabbage, broccoli, capsicum, beans, cauliflower, mushrooms…)
Finely grated extra ginger
Finely chopped fresh coriander and mint
Hot chillies
Dried Vermicelli rice noodles


Put all of the ingredients into a large, deep pot making sure the chicken is submerged. Clamp on the lid and bring briefly to the boil. Immediately turn the heat to LOW and SIMMER for 35 minutes with the lid ON. Turn off the heat but leave the covered pot on the burner for 1 hour. The chicken will continue to gently cook in this aromatic liquid. *If using a smaller chicken (1.3-1.5kg) poach for 20 minutes only and then leave for the hour with the heat off. 

If you are going to serve this dish immediately, then do the following:

1) Using tongs, lift the chicken out of the pot and onto a board and gently pull apart and slice into bite sized pieces. Make sure you remove all the bones (you may like to remove the skin as well). Arrange the meat on a platter and sprinkle with some coriander and mint.

2) Finely slice or shred your chosen vegetables and place in separate serving bowls.

3) Separate the rice noodles and submerge in the hot liquid soup stock. Use a fork to separate the strands and leave to steep for 2 minutes. In the meantime, set out deep bowls, spoons and chopsticks.

4) Ladle the soup with noodles into each person’s bowl. Top with tender poached chicken and a selection of the vegetables, chilli, extra ginger and herbs.

Important tip – If you wish to serve this dish later, then REFRIGERATE all of the ingredients as soon as the resting poaching hour is up. Bring the soup to the boil briefly when you are ready to serve and then add the noodles once the liquid is hot so that they cook in the stock. The chicken does not need to be heated up once it comes out of the fridge as it will become warmed though once it hits the hot soup stock. 

Flavour, texture, colour…Yum!