Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

Have you ever had P. F Changs Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup?  I am in love with the stuff.  Again, I am a self proclaimed non-chicken soup lover, but this soup is just so unusual.  It's actually one of the things I crave on occasion.

It's described on the menu as this: "CHANG'S CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP Our version of the classic with fresh shiitake mushrooms, grape tomatoes, pin rice noodles and cilantro in a spicy chicken broth."

While my version is an adaptation of a copycat version of the soup, I think it comes pretty close to the real deal.  I'll still go out to Chang's and get my fix of the original, but in the meantime, I can make some at home too and now so can you!

My version of this soup gets it's spicy kick from Sriracha sauce and a sprinkle of red pepper flakes.  I'm sure it's not the way Chang gets their spice on...but it really works.  You can use as much of the two as you want, to adjust the heat to your liking.  For that reason, I didn't include amounts of either ingredient.

You could use any kind of mushrooms you like as well, I opted for the good old white button ones, because I can get them already cleaned and sliced...and well, sometimes I'm lazy like that.   I was also able to buy my chicken breasts already thin sliced (for stir fry), which left me with only needing to slice them in half.  Yay for shortcuts!

I looked high and wide for pin rice noodles with little luck.  Of course, the Asian population in my neck of the woods is not that large, so I didn't expect to be able to find them.   I subbed udon noodles.  They worked out just fine.  Some day though, I'd like to find the pin rice noodles and use them instead. 

This soup came together very quickly, making it a great recipe to make even on a weeknight. 

Spicy Chicken Noodle Soup

adapted from HERE

Printable Recipe

Servings - approx. 8-10   Serving Size - approx. 2 cups   Points Plus per Serving - 5 Points+

Calories - 198.1,   Total Fat - 1.3g,   Carb. - 26.7g,   Protein - 18.6g,   Fiber - 1.9g

2 - 32 oz. boxes of non-fat, low sodium chicken stock

1 TBSP granulated sugar

3 TBSP white vinegar

2 cloves fresh garlic, minced

1 TBSP minced fresh ginger

1/4 cup reduced sodium soy sauce

Sriracha sauce, to liking

red pepper flakes, to liking

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced thinly longways and then in half again ( to form about 2 - 3 inch thin pieces) 

3 TBSP cornstarch

salt to season chicken

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1 cup halved grape tomatoes

3 green onions, sliced

2 TBSP chopped fresh cilantro

salt, to taste

1 - 8 oz. box dried Udon pasta, cooked to just under package directions, and drained

1.  In  a large dutch oven or stock pot, heat the chicken stock, sugar, vinegar, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, Shiracha, and red pepper flakes to boiling.  Turn heat down to simmer and allow the broth to simmer for about 5 minutes.  

2.  Combine the chicken with some salt and then the cornstarch.  ( easy to do in a plastic bag ) With the broth simmering, slowly add the chicken piece by piece to the broth until it's all in the pot. Add in the mushrooms. Allow the chicken to simmer in the broth until it's done ( about 5 minutes or so) The mushrooms should be almost cooked at this point too.  

3.  Add in the tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, and udon pasta ( cooked).  Taste for salt and add as needed.  Adjust heat with more Shiracha if desired.  Cook until the tomatoes are just heated through.  ( a minute or two)  Serve with garnished with more cilantro. 

Recipe yields approx. 4-5 quarts 

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The soup isn't dead on...but it is pretty close to the original. Two cups is a nice serving size for 5P+.   I've got some leftover and am looking forward to having some for lunch today.  I will continue my local search for the pin rice noodles to help make it even more authentic.  

This has been a super crazy week...I am sure for many.  I am still in shock over the fact that Sandy the hurricane actually reached NE Ohio and did some damage.  We had high winds and lots of rain.  It is still raining.  It has been raining pretty much non-stop since Friday.  Many in my area are without power, but I have been lucky to have service throughout the storm.  Still, I know others had it much worse.  I pray for them and a swift recovery back to normal.  Today is Halloween, but there will be no trick-or-treaters in my neighborhood, as that festivity has been postponed to the weekend, when we are supposed to see better weather.  I don't ever remember Trick-or-treat being postponed to a later date!  We still have a bazillion leaves to clean up, as well as sticks and branches in the backyard, so I know we will be busy this weekend! 

Stay safe, warm and dry my friends!