When your nostrils need clearing...

I love spicy food.  Not burn a hole in your small intestine spicy, but a good heat that compliments the flavor of what you are eating and brings the dish together.  So, in keeping with my soup kick, I thought to make something along the lines of a Chinese Hot & Sour soup, but with a bit more substance on the protein front.  A meal in and of itself.  Also, I wanted this all to happen in a reasonably short timeframe and with a minimum of fuss...

My friends, I have created such a soup.  I call this soup:

Andrew's 3 Hankie Soup

We are going to make something pretty tasty, reasonably easy and with minimal shopping.  Perfect for a cold night and not too heavy, this soup will quickly warm you up and make you feel full without feeling stuffed.

First, let's take a look at what we'll need to make it...

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 lb +/- of chicken breast, cut up into bite-sized pieces
• Sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon ground Turmeric
• 2 - 2 1/2 teaspoons of chopped, fresh ginger root
• 2 Tablespoons of chile paste (look in the asian food section, usually has a rooster on the jar)
• 1 cup, or so, of chopped celery
• 1 medium chopped onion
• 1 qt of chicken broth
• 1/4 cup of soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 pkg of ramen noodles
• 1 cup of chopped bok choy (green leaves)
• 3/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (pale green part)

Ready kids?  Let's do this thing...

Okay, in a decent sized pot, I like to use my round 2 1/2 quart Le Creuset, heat up a bit of olive oil over medium heat and cook up the chicken breast until it is almost cooked through.  You can sprinkle a little salt and pepper on, if you'd like, but it probably isn't necessary (I do out of habit).  Once that's cooked up, dump the chicken into a bowl and set off to the side.

Put about 2 tablespoons of the sesame oil into the pot over medium-low heat and warm it up.  When you think it's warm enough, toss in the turmeric, ginger, chile paste, onion and celery and cook it up until the veggies start to soften a touch, about 4 minutes.

WARNING:  Do not stick your nose into the pot and take a big sniff, you will regret it.

Okay, lets pour in the broth and the soy sauce as well as add the chicken back in and put in the sugar.  Stir that up, cover and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally.  Once you get it to a boil, lower the heat and toss in the ramen noodles (not the spice packet) and cook for 3 minutes.  Finally, remove from heat, stir in the Bok Choy and let the flavors mingle for a minute or two.

Serve garnished with the green onion floating on the top and enjoy.

All told, this took around 45 minutes with prep and cooking and it made up 4 main course servings or probably about 6 - 7 starter course servings.