Our trip to Little Tibet Restaurant at Varkala had us craving and dreaming fo a hot bowl of thukpa much, much after the visit. And that is clearly the mark of great food. So we decided to try recreating Chicken Thukpa at home, however possible.
Ingredients (2 servings)
1 tbsp Vegetable oil
4 Chicken Thighs (with skin preferable)
5 - 6 Mushrooms.
2 stalks of Celery* with leaves
5 to 6 Coriander seeds* partially crushed
A handful of Coriander leaves*
1 Onion
1 Carrot
2 Spring Onions*
6 cloves of Garlic*
Ginger* (3 cms in length)
Noodles (Egg noodles or any noodles of your choice)
4 - 5 cups of Water,
½ tsp of pepper
Salt
*The measurements here need not be followed so stringently. The joy of making your own broth is its simplicity and how effortlessly it can be made. The measurements I have arrived at work for me.
Process
There are two ways to go about making the broth. They are as follows:
Method 1
The easier way would be to put all your ingredients into a large pot and boil it all with enough water for about 15 to 20 minutes and then let it simmer for another 1 hour. Strain the broth; tear up the chicken into the clear broth and serve as mentioned below with noodles.
Method 2
Fire up your stove and into a large pot, pour vegetable oil. Once it is hot enough, add in the chicken. Keep them long enough to brown on all sides. Then add in the mushrooms and celery, along with the coriander seeds and pepper. Add in the onions, carrots, spring onions, ginger and garlic as well. Saute all of this till the mushrooms lose their water. The vegetables should appear soft and wilted at this point. To this add in your water, add in the coriander leaves, sufficient salt and bring to a boil.
Once boiled, put it on simmer and let it sit for a good 1 hour, allowing it enough time to slowly bring out all the flavours. Ideally, you are required to let it simmer for two hours and the more days it lasts in your fridge, the more the flavours intensify. You'll notice the kitchen is quiet except for the soft bubbling of the broth.
After the time is up, let the broth sit for 5 to 10 minutes, while you cook the noodles. This is done by boiling a pot of water and adding your noodles to it. Make sure to not overcook. We used egg noodles by Fruitoman’s or even Kim's egg/veg noodles which cook pretty quickly, but you can use whatever kind of noodles you prefer for this recipe. Be careful as you salt the water, considering the broth is salted. Sieve both the noodles and the broth. Separate the chicken thighs and tear them apart from the bone and add them to your broth. The vegetables can be discarded if you wish. However, I like chopping up the mushrooms and carrots and adding them to the broth.
Now the most exciting part - plating your dish.
Into a deep bowl, add in your cooked noodles and ladle out two (or more!) huge scoops of the broth onto this. Make sure you have poured in enough chicken and veggies. Garnish with coriander leaves and spring onions and serve with lime wedges and soy sauce on the side.
Enjoy!
Tips:
Your first bite can be simply to taste the wonderful broth you’ve made. On your second bite, squeeze in some of that fresh lime juice; this takes the dish to a whole other level as the flavours are enhanced. Similarly, try a spoon with soy sauce as well. This way you’ll know how you like your thukpa.
Both methods guarantee yummy flavours. Method 1 is so much simpler, however.
Make sure to taste the broth and see that it is seasoned well. This recipe gets better the more you make it. And you’ll realise how easy it is to get a warm, flavourful homemade broth.
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