Twelve dried shiitake mushrooms do the heavy lifting in Gordon Ramsay’s chicken noodle soup. In 10 minutes of strong simmering they swell back into whole dark caps and turn plain chicken stock a deep, savory amber.
He loves the noodle soups of China, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam, whose broths are usually labored over for many hours. Dried shiitake are full of umami, so they’re his shortcut to that depth, as the headnote in Quick and Delicious (2019) explains.
Keep the pot at a strong, steady bubble and keep the surface clear. In that time the chicken thighs poach through, and the ginger, star anise and Shaoxing rice wine scent the broth around them.
Gordon Ramsay’s Chicken and Shiitake Noodle Soup
Course: SoupsCuisine: AsianDifficulty: Easy4
15
minutes25
420
kcalGordon Ramsay’s chicken and shiitake noodle soup from Quick and Delicious, with poached chicken thighs, egg noodles, choi sum and bamboo shoots in a ginger and star anise broth.
Ingredients
- For the broth:
6â…“ cups (1.5 liters) chicken stock, low-sodium if store-bought
4 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on
12 dried shiitake mushrooms
1-inch (2 to 3 cm) piece of ginger root, peeled and julienned
1 star anise
2 scallions (spring onions), trimmed and cut in half
scant ½ cup (100 ml) Shaoxing rice wine
2 tablespoons soy sauce
sea salt and ground white pepper
- For the bowls:
6â…“ ounces (180 g) Chinese egg noodles
7 ounces (200 g) choi sum
3 ounces (80 g) canned sliced bamboo shoots, drained
Asian microgreens or a small handful of cilantro leaves
2 teaspoons sesame oil
Directions
- Broth: Pour the stock into a large (4-quart) saucepan over high heat. Add the chicken thighs, shiitake, ginger, star anise, scallions and rice wine. Season with a big pinch of salt, less if your stock is salted, and a small pinch of white pepper.
- Simmer: Bring to a boil, skimming off any scum that rises. Lower the heat to a strong simmer and cook for 10 minutes.
- Noodles: Meanwhile, cook the noodles in a separate pan of salted boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, or as the package says, until just tender. Drain, rinse under cold running water until cool and drain again.
- Check: Pierce the thickest part of a thigh with a sharp knife. The juices should run clear, or an instant-read thermometer should read 165°F (74°C). If not, simmer 5 minutes more and check again.
- Shred: Lift the chicken and mushrooms onto a plate and trim off any tough mushroom stems. Once the chicken is cool enough to handle, pull off the skin and shred the meat, discarding the bones.
- Season: Fish the star anise, ginger and scallions out of the broth with a slotted spoon. Turn the heat up to high, add the soy sauce and taste.
- Choi sum: Cut the choi sum into about 3-inch (7 cm) lengths, separating the stalks from the leaves. Simmer the stalks for 2 minutes, add the leaves and turn off the heat.
- Serve: Divide the noodles among 4 bowls and top with the mushrooms, chicken and choi sum. Ladle over the hot broth and finish with the bamboo shoots, microgreens or cilantro and a drizzle of sesame oil.
Notes
- Shaoxing rice wine is sold at Asian markets and online. Dry sherry is the usual swap.
- Look for thin Chinese egg noodles, dried or from the chiller, not the wide egg noodles used in American chicken soup.
- Choi sum is Chinese flowering cabbage. Baby bok choy works the same way, stalks first and leaves at the end.
- Stick with dried shiitake, sold in the Asian aisle, since the soft kind from the produce section won't give the broth the same depth.
- For gluten-free bowls, use tamari instead of soy sauce, gluten-free noodles and stock, and dry sherry instead of the Shaoxing wine, which contains wheat. The MasterClass workbook suggests the first two for his udon noodle soup.
- A teaspoon peels ginger faster than a knife and wastes less, the time-saving tip in his book.
- The broth keeps 3 days in the fridge or 3 months in the freezer with the chicken and mushrooms. Bring it back to a boil, then cook the noodles and choi sum fresh, since they turn mushy in the broth.
FAQs
Does he have a classic chicken noodle soup?
No, not the carrot, celery and wide egg noodle kind, at least in the 27 cookbooks we searched. His chicken noodle soups lean Asian, from this one to a chicken ramen and a MasterClass bowl with udon, and his chicken soup is a Scottish cock-a-leekie instead.
How is his MasterClass version different?
It’s built around a roast chicken. The Szechuan-crusted breast and the roasting juices come from his Szechuan pepper roast chicken, and the juices enrich a broth seasoned with soy sauce and rice wine vinegar.
Udon is the noodle in the lesson, though the workbook encourages swapping in any noodle to make the dish yours. It was inspired by one of his restaurants in Singapore, and he pairs it with a citrusy IPA.
Can I use leftover or rotisserie chicken?
Yes, shred about 3 cups and add it with the choi sum leaves at the end, just long enough to heat through. The broth will taste a little lighter, since poaching the thighs in it is part of what flavors it.
Why only a drizzle of sesame oil?
Because its flavor is so concentrated. His MasterClass notes say to use sesame oil in small amounts and never to fry in it, so here 2 teaspoons go over the bowls at the very end.
Zaytouna Studio Team is the kitchen team behind Chef Ramsay Recipes. We cook Gordon Ramsay’s recipes from his cookbooks and videos in a home kitchen and write them up for yours, with US and metric measurements.