This dish was inspired by Nigella Lawson’s Thai Chicken Noodle Soup from her most recent book, Kitchen.
To be honest, I was rather skeptical of this recipe when I first saw it. I’m not sure how the Thai would feel about having this dish ascribed to their region as I suppose it is more “Thai flavoured” than authentically Thai. Nigella makes the same faux pas with a Vietnamese soup in Kitchen but I’ll save this discussion for another time!
As with a lot of Nigella’s recent recipes, she takes a lot of shortcuts, the most common being the use of store-bought stock or stock cubes. I also happen to be a frequent user of both but when it comes to soups, particularly Asian soups, I think pre-made stocks tend to be too salty and overpowering. As the recipe calls for already cooked chicken (which we did not have), I decided to go the extra mile and made my own simple stock.
Although I had doubts about this recipe before I made it, the final dish was rather delicious! The turmeric adds a nice, golden colour to the soup with a distant reminder of the taste of curry. However, the bright yellow of the soup was somewhat muddied after the tamarind paste was added. The ginger and coconut milk gave a nice fragrant note to the soup, making it “Thai flavoured”, I suppose. My choice of vegetables were bok choy and baby corn.
Overall, hubby and I enjoyed this soup and it is definitely one I will make again soon 
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Oh Thanh! These photos are absolutely wonderful! The colours!!! And oh I have to say i have bowl envy! Gorgeous bowl that! I love it when you post Asian food! I want a bowl right now!
What kind of stock did you make? At first thought, I would consider one with the usual Thai ingredients like lemongrass, galangal and lime leaves. Would this be a ‘good’ way to make an Asian stock you think?
Thanks Carrie
I’m slowly getting around to updating my blog with recipes and I have just added the recipe for this soup! I simply make a stock from chicken breasts on the bone, but you could also use chicken thighs on the bone or Maryland pieces (thigh with drumstick attached). I find it to be a quick way of making stocks for simple soups like these. I had thought about adding lemongrass and lime leaves but I didn’t want to deviate from Nigella’s recipe too much. Though, next time, I think lime leaves would be a great idea!
What a beautiful photograph. Beautiful bowl, beautiful soup, beautiful photo!
Oh thanks Mandy
The photos were taken moments before dinner so I’m glad that you like them!