Indonesian Chicken Soup (Bihuhnsuppe)

In Germany they have Asia weeks in Aldi every now and then and when that happens everyone is rushing there like crazy to buy canned Bihuhnsuppe because it is so good. Well, here is a recipe that I found with the help of some of the wonderful chefs at Zaar to make it from scratch. I haven't tried it yet, but thought I'd share and posted it for safe-keeping. The cloud ear mushrooms are also called wood ear mushroom and are quite common in Chinese cooking. If you can't find them dried in your supermarket or Asian market, you can just use more button mushrooms. In the UK you can buy them in Tesco Extra stores, they are shelved together with the other dried mushrooms, beans and vegetables.:D

• Ready In: 50 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 150  g chicken breasts, cooked and sliced thinly
• 150  g  rice noodles
• 10  button mushrooms, sliced
• 5  cloud ear mushrooms, dried
• 40  g bean sprouts
• 80  g bamboo shoots, sliced
• 1  small carrot
• 1  red pepper
• 1  liter water
• 1  chicken stock cube
• 3  tablespoons dark soy sauce
• 1  teaspoon pepper
• 1  tablespoon curry powder
• 3  tablespoons rice wine
• 1  tablespoon rice vinegar
• 2  tablespoons  sesame oil
• 1  tablespoon sambal oelek
• 3  tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
•  salt, to taste

Directions

1. Rehydrate the mu-err mushrooms by soaking them in water for 30 minutes, then slice.
2. Slice the carrot and red pepper.
3. Break or cut the noodles into approximately 2 inch long pieces.
4. Bring the water to the boil in a large pan, add stock cube and all other ingredients, apart from the noodles and spices.
5. As soon as it comes back to a boil, add the noodles and spices and simmer for approximately six minutes.