Asian Chicken Noodle Bowl.

Truth: Soup season is OVER.

I crave a steaming bowl of soup when there’s a chill in the air. A pot of soup bubbling on the stove goes with with a fire in the fireplace and slippers on my feet. Those days are gone now, (at least until September). With sun on my skin and bare feet, it’s been all about the grill lately- which is why it took me a week to get around to trying a new recipe I tore out of Cooking Light. A recipe for SOUP.

Something about the Chicken Noodle Bowl seemed fresh and light. This wasn’t stick-to-your-ribs kind of soup. It sounded warm weather-appropriate. Last week, we gave the grill a break. I added more veggies to the pile of ingredients called for in the recipe and dove right in!

First, I got some brown rice spaghetti noodles going on the stove. Next, I chopped up garlic, ginger, red onion, red bell pepper, yellow bell pepper, sugar snap peas, and two kinds of mushrooms. Ginger makes any recipe taste fresh, doesn’t it? Yum!

Next, I drained the pasta and set it aside. I chopped up one big chicken breast, seasoned it with some garlic salt, and browned it in a little olive oil on the stove. The late afternoon light made the trees glow.

The chicken came out and half of the onion went in, along with MANY shakes of crushed red pepper. After a couple of minutes, I added half of the ginger and garlic and let it all soak up some of the chicken flavor in the pan.

It was time to add some liquids and make this a soup! First came some chicken stock, then some water. On a whim, I poured in the rest of my glass of wine. I scraped the browned bits of yummy off of the bottom of the pan, put a lid on it, and let it simmer away for 15 minutes or so.

I poured some sesame oil in a small soup pot and let it warm up. Do you cook with sesame oil? It’s got a serious nutty flavor that goes well in Asian cooking. I added the rest of the onion, the bell peppers, and the mushrooms and sautéed them for awhile (seasoning with garlic salt). Once the mushrooms had softened and cooked down a tad, I added the rest of the garlic and ginger. Between the stock on the stove and the veggies sautéing away, the kitchen smelled heavenly!

I chopped up some green onion and set it aside. It was time to add the liquids to the veggies, so I placed a strainer over the soup pot and poured it right in.

Just a few more additions! A tablespoon of sugar, a tablespoon of soy sauce, and the chicken. Right before serving time, I stirred in the sugar snap peas and some of the green onions. I didn’t let them cook too long so they’d keep some of their CRUNCH.

To serve, I placed some noodles in the bottom of the bowls and ladled the soup right over them. Some green onion for garnish, a shake of sesame seeds- SOUP’S ON!

For a brothy soup, the Asian Chicken Noodle Bowl is super filling. The extra veggies added texture and tasted fresh, brightened up by the ginger-garlic flavor. I swirled some Sriracha sauce into my bowl for even more heat. Scrumptious! John’s the one who said that we should eat this soup all year long– it was light enough for a summer day.

And that’s a good thing. Because the big sun is here to stay-  and there are plenty of leftovers. Maybe soup season ISN’T over, after all.

Asian Chicken Noodle Bowl (adapted slightly from Cooking Light)

You’ll need:

• 5 ounces skinny pasta (spaghetti or linguine)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large chicken  breast, cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons garlic, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 3 cups chicken stock
• 1 ½ cups water
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 ½ cups sliced mushrooms (I used Italian brown and shiitake)
• ¼ cup sliced red bell pepper
• ¼ cup sliced yellow bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¾ cup sugar snap peas, cut diagonally in half
• 3 green onions, chopped
• Garlic salt to taste
• Sesame seeds for garnish

Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil; swirl to coat. Add chicken and sauté until browned. Remove and set aside.

Return pan to medium high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add half of the onion, then half of the ginger and half of the garlic. Add crushed red pepper and a little garlic salt. Cook for a few minutes, then add the chicken stock, water, and wine. Bring to a boil, scraping the pan for the browned bits. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

Heat sesame oil in a small soup pot over medium high heat. Add remaining onion, mushrooms, and bell peppers. Sauté for five minutes. Add remaining ginger and garlic, and sauté for a couple of minutes. Through a strainer placed on the soup pot, pour the liquid over the veggies. Discard the solids in the strainer. Add the chicken, soy sauce, and sugar to the soup. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Stir in sugar snap peas and most of the green onion. Cook for 3 minutes. To serve, place pasta noodles in a bowl and ladle soup over them. Garnish with green onions and sesame seeds. Serve any time of year. It’s always soup season. YUM!

**Check out the FOOD BLISS link above for all of my culinary adventures (and a list of recipes)!**