Home alone? Can’t be bothered cooking, but actually wouldn’t mind something fresh and tasty? Oh, and you want to eat in 15 minutes? Welcome to leftovers noodle soup.
I have another noodle soup recipe here, adapted from Recipe Tin Eats. The leftovers noodle soup recipe on this page is even more basic. It arose from the challenge of trying to come up with a dish with whatever ingredients I had to hand. As I slurped it down in front of the television, I felt particularly wholesome, knowing I used up little bits of this and that, which may otherwise have gone to food waste.
In the photos time, I used:
- leftover rotisserie chicken (you can leave this out for vegetarian)
- last bit of a zucchini
- last bits of all the fresh herbs I had left
- few packets of instant noodles that had been sitting around
- supermarket stock (I actually like using a vegan chicken-style stock because of the milder, less salty taste)
- dried spices, oyster sauce and soy sauce.
The main point is to throw together flavours you think might work, and then taste, and adjust the flavourings if need be, as the soup reduces. I was also happily surprised to find that herbs I would normally keep for, say, an Italian dish, worked well, as long as they weren’t overpowering. Oregano actually gave it an interesting texture.
“I’ve said that for thirty years my mother served her family nothing but leftovers, and it wasn’t until I was out of college that I began to wonder ‘Left over from what?’ We sent a team of anthropologists in to look for the original meal, but it was never found.”
-Calvin Trillin.US Journalist, humorist. As quoted in The New Yorker Nov 14, 2008
Leftovers Noodle Soup
Ingredients
Broth
- 3-4 cups quality chicken stock (use 3 at first & keep extra cup on hand to adjust stock if necessary) Note: a cup is either 250ml or 240 ml (US) depending where you live. I am using 250 ml
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce
- ½ tsp chilli flakes (optional, also can add more)
- 1 tsp ground ginger (can add more)
- 1 clove garlic, minced or ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
Ingredients & Garnish
- 2-3 packs instant noodles (this depends on size of the packet & how many noodles you like. These days with shrinkflation you may need 2 packs per person)
- leftover cooked chicken or beef, finely sliced or shredded (leave out meat for a vegetarian dish)
- whatever vegetables you have to hand cut into slices that won't drown in the stock and are easily picked up with chopsticks. I used half a zucchini here. You can throw in anything that cooks quickly in broth eg mushrooms, beans, bok choy, broccoli or tinned goods eg baby corn
- fresh herbs to garnish
Instructions
- Put all broth ingredients together in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 10 minutes.
- Taste the broth and adjust to your taste. I ended up adding a little more of the sauces and chilli. Best to start conservatively, and add a very little at a time. If it's too spicy, add in a little of your leftover stock. You will have too much broth, but that's ok, because you can set it aside for tomorrow.
- Turn up the heat and add noodles to the broth. When they boil, add the vegetables. Cook until noodles are done. It's ok if vegetables have some crunch.
- Portion out the cooked, shredded (or finely sliced) meat of your choice into bowls, and ladle hot soup and noodles over the top. Stir through.
- Serve garnished with fresh herbs.
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