Sotanghon Soup

Hot on the heels of Ting-aling's post, here is another version of the dish. This is very nice to have on a cold windy autumn night. Besides warming me, it reminds me of the time I was slurping it up in Kaka Luming's corner store.

Sotanghon is the Filipino name for the bean thread noodles (aka cellophane noodles) which is made from mung beans. It is thin, like vermicelli, almost transparent, smoother and more slippery than most other noodles. Used not only in soups but also in lumpia (spring rolls) and pancit (chowmein-like dish).

The key thing in this recipe is the garlic - lots and lots of it. It says 1/2 head of garlic which is around 2 tablespoonfuls. Do not skimp on it because it imparts a somewhat lemony flavour (curious isn't it?) and great aroma. Besides garlic is good for you, it lowers cholesterol, minimises high blood, even acts as an antibiotic. Just make sure you brush your teeth afterwards. :-) Also, I know there are variations with carrots, celery and other vegs but I like mine as simple as this.


Sotanghon Soup

6-7 cups chicken stock
2 Tbsp oil
1/2 head of garlic - minced
1/2 medium onion - sliced
1 cup chopped or flaked cooked chicken meat
1 Tbsp patis (fish sauce)
4 dried Chinese black mushrooms (shiitake)
200 g  sotanghon (bean thread) noodles
chopped green onions

1. Soak the dried mushrooms in hot water for about 20 minutes. Remove and squeeze out excess water. Cut and discard stems, slice caps into fourths.
2. Heat oil in a pot. Saute garlic and onion in low to medium heat. Make sure the garlic is not burned.
3. Add chicken meat, mushrooms and patis. Cover and simmer for 3 minutes.
4. Add chicken stock and bring to boil.
5. Drop the sotanghon noodles in the soup and simmer for about 3 minutes or until noodles are tender and cooked. You may at an early stage cut the noodles with scissors to shorten lengths and make it more manageable to handle.
6. Garnish with chopped green onions. Serve hot with combined lemon juice and patis on the side.