The past few days had been really cold. Not so much snow out there, it’s just pure cold. ICE! It always freaks me out seeing the shiny sheen on the pavement or streets. Well, you get the idea. I’m not so much of a winter person but again, there’s nothing I can do about changing the temperature. But, I can do things to warm myself up and all I could think of was warm soupy dishes to warm up the soul.
I grew up with awesome duck noodle soup at our little home town. It always got me excited when my dad got some of those for us for breakfast. The duck noodle soup I grew up with are made of soup brewed out of Chinese herbs and the great duck itself. Super aromatic and I swear you will lick the bowl clean. This duck noodle soup I made, not exactly the one like that. I made a “simpler” version but still very delicious and my husband love this dish. Kinda like the Vietnamese Pho noodles, but not exactly. When I ladled the hot soup over the noodles, I just felt so blessed with the food in front of me and for everything around me.
DUCK NOODLE SOUP
Ingredients
- 1 lb of duck breast
- 1 lb of dried rice-stick noodles (soak in cold water until soft)
- 5 cups beef broth
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp of freshly ground black pepper
Spices:
- 1 star anise
- 3 slices of fresh ginger
- 1 tsp of black peppercorns
Garnishes:
- Cilantro leaves
- Basil
- Mints
- 2 cups fresh bean sprouts
- 4 spring onions (finely chopped)
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375 F. In a large pot, pour in the beef broth, add in the spices and bring to a rolling boil and then lower the heat and let it simmer and bring it back to a boil when ready to serve the noodle. In another large pot, bring a water to a boil and cook the noodles and cook until soft, but not mushy, about 3-4 minutes. Drain off the water and set aside
- Wash the duck in a clean cold water and pat dry with paper towel. Place on a roasting pan and rub the duck with salt and pepper. Place it into the oven and roast until it's cooked through, about 45 minutes or longer. When the duck is done, save the juice from roasting the duck and pour it into the pot where you boil the broth. Turn on the broiler on high and broil the duck until the skin is brown, but not burnt. Remove from the oven and cover with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes before slicing
- In a individual serving bowl, portion out the noodles, the duck slices. Top with bean sprouts, few sprigs of basil leaves, mint leaves, cilantro and sprinkle with some spring onion. Ladle the hot soup over until it covers the noodles and serve immediately
