Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 package top ramen noodles (chicken, oriental or lamb flavor)
• 2 cans swanson chicken broth
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 can water chestnut
• 1 egg, beaten with fork
• 1 chicken breasts or 1/2 cup chicken (leftover) or 1/2 cup turkey (leftover) or 1/2 cup lamb (leftover)
• 1/2 cup bok choy or 1/2 cup napa cabbage or 1/2 cup celery, chopped
• 2 tablespoons carrots, sliced diagonally in small pieces
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil (can be omitted, but gives distinctive taste)
• 2 -3 tablespoons scallions, chopped, added at the last minute

Recipe

• 1 this soup changes as the ingredients are available in my refrigerator or on my cupboard shelves.
• 2 takes about 20 minutes from start to table. start 2 cups of water to boil; add chicken broth.
• 3 after stock boils, add the packet of seasoning supplied with top ramen.
• 4 while broth is boiling, add 1 raw chicken breast (cut in small pieces), the chopped vegetables and the raw egg.
• 5 the egg will cook into threads.
• 6 just before serving, add the noodles and the peas, then the sesame oil and scallions.
• 7 don't let soup sit around for long time because vegetables need to be a bit crunchy, cooked soft. if using leftover meat in your soup, just add at the end because it only needs to warm up again.
• 8 you can always add another can of chicken broth if soup is too thick or you like more broth.
• 9 you may vary the soup with different chinese type vegetables available. add some garlic and a dash of hot chinese mustard.
• 10 if using strong vegetables such as broccoli, cut small and don't overcook to avoid the strong flavor.
• 11 remember the noodles are already cooked and they do not need to be cooked, only to absorb the moisture from the broth, which does thicken the soup.