Vietnamese Noodle Soup

To continue with the weekly soup theme I made a Vietnamese noodle soup.  A few weeks ago we went to a local restaurant and ordered this.  My first impression was,  "This is it?  And they get paid for this?"  I knew there was  room for improvement on this recipe.  The broth was average and the chicken was "pressed like" slabs mixed in with some rice stick noodles.   This was a candidate for "recipe redo" if I ever saw it.   I know I'm sounding judgemental but don't you want a nice presentation and an equally great tasting meal when you go out?  I do!

So, the game was on to try my hand at the Vietnamese noodle soup.  I roasted an organic chicken a day or two before and only served the thighs, drumsticks and wings.  The leftover shredded white meat from the breast would go nicely in the broth for the soup.  With the chicken out of the way, the soup went together rather quickly.

I adapted an online basic recipe and omitted the fish sauce.  This version is practically sodium free.  Did you know that fish sauce used in most Asian recipes is over 1300 mg of sodium per serving?  Yikes...  If you care about your blood pressure steer clear from this stuff.

Ingredients:

About 7 cups of fat-free, sodium reduced chicken broth
1/4 c shallots, sliced
2 1/2 T minced ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp black pepper
1-2 segments of rice sticks, uncooked
2 c shredded chicken
2 T sliced green onions
1 c bean sprouts
2 T fresh sliced basil
lime wedges for taste
2 T fresh mint, sliced
2 T cilantro, thinly sliced
Jalapeno pepper slices, about 2 depending on degree of hotness you like.
 Thai chili sauce

Condiments of choice

Combine the first 5 ingredients and bring to a boil, reduce and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Add the chicken and cook for 5 more minutes.  Cook the rice sticks or noodles in boiling water, drain and divide into 4 bowls (serves 4).  Ladle the chicken and broth over the noodles and add all the condiments on the side.