Ingredients:

4 cups homemade chicken broth

or one 32 ounce box" Imagine Organic Chicken Broth"

2-3 inch piece of ginger 

1 stalk of lemongrass

2 cloves of garlic minced or pushed through a garlic press.

1 baby bok choy

3 stalks of celery from the inside of the celery bunch

1 leek

Nappa Cabbage

1 cup shelled edamame

Bean Noodles - Saifun is my preference

1 cup cooked shredded chicken or 1 cup LOCAL shimp 

Click here to learn more about commercial shrimping

 Heat the broth to a boil and then turn to low simmer

Add the ginger and garlic and lemongrass.

A note about ginger.  There are several ways to cut it up: grated, sliced into match sticks size pieces or cut into thin round discs.  I have done all these methods, and, of late, I am preferring the latter of the three. There seems to be more ginger flavor and there is no chance you will accidentally bite into ginger.

A note about lemongrass. I cut the lemon grass approx in half.  Tossing the end out. Then I take a hammer and give the lemongrass an easy tap with the hammer to open up the flavor.  Toss those pieces in with the ginger and garlic.

Let this steep while you prepare the other ingredients and add the ingredients in this order.

Chop celery into nice chunky slices  - adds flavor that lessens the need for salt.

Edamame - Fabulous source of protein - one cup shelled.  You can buy them in the frozen section at the market.

Leek - Cut the white part in half lengthwise and then slice into half inch or so pieces.

Napa Cabbage - one cup coarsely shredded.

Chicken - one cup shredded cooked chicken.  Let the chicken heat through before adding the noodles.  They do cook quickly.

If using shrimp, boil until opaque.

Bean Noodles - Drop one of three sections in the package into the broth and stir to help separate the noodles.

When the noodles are done, so is the soup.

Add several splashes of hot sauce, pour into a heated thermos. 

Note on Hot Sauces.

For Asian dishes, I like one of three very different sauces.  Two of the sauces I prefer are Island made.  Rob Kirby's "Heat" and the other sauce is made on Lopez and has goji berries and cacao.  The third one is Tiger Sauce. It is a little sweeter.

Have a blast!

Don't forget your binoculars.