Chicken Noodle Soup

I have had an exciting culinary weekend during which I ate Wildebeest and Ostrich burgers, biltong and dim sum, so when I got back I thought I would try something vaguely oriental - inspired as I was by the dim sum (and my almost successful attempts at using chopsticks - the steamed pork buns almost all made it from steamer to mouth without a stop on the floor in-between), and also by the desire to eat something that wasn't too heavy, after all the rich food I had consumed over the last few days

So here is my attempt at chicken noodle soup

Ingredients

For the stock
1.5 litres of water
3 Chicken stock cubes
2 Onions
2 Carrots
2 Sticks Celery
3 Bay leaves
Black Peppercorns

For the soup
300g Chicken Breast
200g fresh egg noodles
1 Carrot
1 Stick Celery
4 Spring Onions
2 Pak Choi
1tsp Grated fresh ginger
1tsp Crushed Garlic
2 tbsp Light Soy Sauce
2tsp Seasame Oil

Method
1. First of all, not having any stock left, but not wanting to just throw some stock cubes in the pan, I boiled up a 1.5 litres of water with some stock cubes, 2 diced carrots, 2 roughly chopped onions, a couple of sticks of celery, 3 bay leaves and a handful of black peppercorns, then brought the pan to the boil, simmered for about 30 mins and then strained out all the veg - a sort of halfway house stock if you don't have any chicken bones available, but want some stock for your soup that has a bit more depth of flavour than you get from stock cubes alone

2. Add the chicken to the stock and poach gently until its cooked all the way through - this will vary depending on which bits of the chicken you are using - then remove the chicken.

3. Next, add the garlic, ginger, Soy Sauce and Seasame Oil, then finely chop the vegetables.  Add them and the noodles to the stock and simmer for 5 minute.  Finally, add the chicken back to the soup, heat through and serve

Also, I can never eat this soup without thinking of this