Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup - Mi Ga

To say Shaun and I love Vietnamese food is an understatement.  We would happily eat Vietnamese food for almost ever meal.  We almost always have a supply of home made Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup) broth on hand and have an entire drawer in the freezer devoted to the supplies for making it.  But man (and woman!) cannot live on Pho alone so when I saw The Ravenous Couple's recipe for Mi Ga (a Vietnamese chicken noodle soup) I knew I'd have to try it.  Mi Ga is different from Pho (and even Pho Ga) in that the broth is flavoured with dried squid rather than aromatic spices and it used egg noodles rather than rice noodles.  Steaming bowls are then topped with fresh bean sprouts, and crisp onion.  Try this soup as a break from the usual chicken noodle!

I found dried squid easily at a large Asian supermarket.  If you cannot find it, you can substitute a few tbsp fish sauce or leave it out.  The variety of egg noodles is up to you.  I found egg based chow mein noodles and simmered them briefly before adding to bowls.  If you visit The Ravenous Couple's blog you will see they've used a different variety.  Check your local Asian, or well-stocked supermarket for different types and find one you like!

Vietnamese Chicken Noodle Soup - Mi Ga

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time:  6 hours (slow cooker) - 1 hour (stove top)

Total Time: 1h15m - 6h15m

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Broth
1 whole chicken (about 3lbs)
8 cups water
1 large white onion
1 knob ginger (about 3")
1 medium (or 2 small) dried squid*
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar

Toppings
1 lb fresh egg noodles (Asian variety - we used chow mein noodles)
1 bunch green onions, sliced
1 lb bean sprouts, washed and drained
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 sliced jalapeno
crisp fried onion
sesame oil
sriracha hot sauce

*If you cannot find, or don't want to use dried squid, you could substitute a few tbsp of fish sauce - or leave it out altogether   

Directions

1. Wash chicken under cold running water and place in slow cooker (or pot).  Add water to cover - I used about 8 cups.  
2. Place onion, ginger and squid on a cookie sheet and place under the broiler.  When squid is slightly charred, remove and set aside.  Continue to cook vegetables until slightly charred as well then remove.  Place vegetables and squid in slow cooker (pot) with chicken.  
3. Set slow cooker on high heat and cook 6 hours, skimming any scum that rises to the top.  If using a pot on the stove - bring to a boil on high heat, skimming scum.  Reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover and cook 1 hour.
4. After 6 hours (1 hour on stove), remove chicken from pot and set aside until cool enough to handle.  Remove meat from chicken and shred.  Cut drumsticks into large pieces to serve on the bone if desired.
5. Discard onion, ginger and squid and adjust seasoning of broth with salt and sugar.
6. To cook noodles - follow package instructions.
7. Place a serving of noodles in each bowl.  Top with chicken, bean sprouts, green onions, onion and jalapeno.  Add broth.  Drizzle with sesame oil and sriracha to serve.