Quick Thai Salmon Noodle Soup

Few things are as comforting as a bowl of nourishing noodle soup and this Thai salmon one tastes great, is full of goodness that can be thrown together in no time at all. Win, win.

The great thing about this is you can add any number of vegetables - just use what you have in stock. It's great with a variety of mushrooms that really soak up and take on the flavour of the soup, and topped up with fresh beansprouts before serving for a welcome crunchy.

The below serves two.

Quick Thai Salmon Noodle Soup

Here's how:

• 2 fillets of salmon
• 100g mushrooms
• Handful broccoli florets
• 2 tbsp sweetcorn
• 4 spring onions
• 1 large garlic clove
• 1 red chilli
• 3cm piece of ginger
• 1 tbsp Thai green curry paste
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 lime
• Tin coconut milk
• Handful fresh chives and coriander
• 1 portion of rice noodles (I use Mama)

Firstly pour the sesame oil into the heavy bottomed saucepan and place on a medium heat.

Finely slice the spring onions, chilli and garlic and add to the pan and allow to saute for a few minutes.

In the meantime, slice the mushrooms and set aside, and half the lime and put to one side for the moment too.

Peel and slice the ginger and add to the pan with the green Thai curry paste and broccoli florets and stir.

After a few minutes add the coconut milk, fish sauce and soy sauce.

Meanwhile use this time to carefully remove the skin from the salmon fillets and chop into chunky, bite-sized pieces. 

Add the salmon to the pan at the same time as the mushrooms and sweetcorn.The salmon will only take a few minutes to cook through and you don't want over-cooked fish which will turn rubber and tasteless. It'll be easy to tell when the salmon is cooked as you can see the colour-changing from a deeper red opaque to a lighter pink.

As you can see the colour of the salmon changing, add the rice noodles to the liquid, push them down so they're fully immersed in the cooking liquid. After one minute, remove the soup from the heat and allow to stand for a moment.

Squeeze over all of the lime juice and serve in deep bowls. Scatter over some coriander leaves and some chopped chives and add a touch or sriracha if you like a a hit of extra spice. Enjoy!

Chicken Noodle Soup with Pak Choi

This classic Chicken Noodle Soup is my absolute go-to 'quick dinner' if I'm short on time or have been out all day, as it takes hardly any preparation but is packed full of flavour and is so super nourishing too.

I always turn to this if I'm feeling under the weather too - it's true it is medicinal - it must be the chilli, garlic and ginger. Restorative and delicious this was another soup in my 'Seven Days of Soup' challenge recently - this one is a naughty carbohydrate one though with the noodles but the Mama Instant Rice Noodles complete this meal for just over 160 calories per portion and they're well worth it.

You can of course cook your chicken for this soup yourself, but for me it benefits from being made from cooked chicken (throw the bones in and remove before serving) and using a really good quality, or homemade chicken stock.

Chicken Noodle Soup with Pak Choi

Here's how:

• 500g cooked chicken
• Handful Spring onions
• 1 garlic clove
• 3 cm fresh ginger
• 1 chilli
• Handful mushrooms
• Handful bean sprouts
• Handful fresh coriander
• Handful fresh chives
• 1 tsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp Shaohsing wine
• 1 tsp Sriracha sauce
• 1 lime
• 2 portions Mama Instant Rice Noodles or alternative
• 2 bulbs of Pak Choi
• 1.5 pints good quality chicken stock

Firstly tear up the chicken and throw into a large pot. Use kitchen scissors to snip in the full spring onions.

Peel and slice the garlic and ginger and place all in the pot. Slice the mushrooms and chilli, keeping in the seeds, and add these too.

Pour over the stock, the fish sauce, sesame oil, sriracha, shaohsing and soy sauce and cook for 30 minutes.

In the final few minutes of cooking, add the noodles, and tear in each individual leaf of the pak choi. This will literally need 1-2 minutes more of cooking.

Now remove from the heat and add the final seasonings. Cut the lime in half and squeeze over half into the pot and stir. Now tear in the coriander leaves and throw in, add the bean sprouts, which will cook enough in the heat of the broth and finally again use the kitchen scissors to snip in the chives. Stir thoroughly and serve each portion in a deep bowl with a sprig of coriander and an additional lime wedge for personal seasoning. Chilli fiends may wish to add some fresh, raw chopped chilli too. Enjoy

The other soups I enjoyed during my 'Seven Days of Soup' included:

Asparagus and Crispy Bacon Soup
Red Pepper Soup
Vegetable Soup
Curried Parsnip and Spinach Soup
Thai Sweet Potato Soup
Chunky Lentil Bacon and Kale Soup

Quick Pork Noodle Soup

If you have leftover roast pork, chicken, turkey or even beef this is a lovely, quick and easy noodle soup recipe that is fragrant, warming and makes a welcome change from a traditional British leftover stew.

Using Asian flavours such as Chinese Five Spice, a smidge of Thai Green Curry Paste and plenty of chilli, ginger, garlic and coriander this is an utterly addictive recipe and once you've made it I'm sure it will become a leftover staple.

Quick Pork Noodle Soup

Serves two.

Here's how:

• Three slices of leftover roast pork
• 1 tbsp Chinese five spice
• 1 teaspoon green Thai curry paste
• 2 cloves garlic
• Bunch spring onions
• Two thumbnail sized pieces of ginger
• 1 and a half large red chillis
• 1 carrot
• 1 red pepper
• Handful mushrooms
• Handful bean shoots
• Some green leaves - I used cavello nero here but you can use cabbage, lettuce, greens - whatever you have in stock
• 1 lemon or lime
• 1 tin coconut milk
• 1 packet instant noodles
• Bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1tbsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp Shaohsing wine

Firstly slice the pork into bite-sized pieces and pop into a bowl with a drizzle of the sesame oil and the Chinese five spice. Use a spoon to toss the meat to absorb all the flavours and leave to one side whilst you prepare everything else.

Now crush the garlic, and finely slice the ginger and chill. Place the remaining sesame oil into a wok on a gentle heat and add the garlic, ginger and  half of the chilli to slowly soften and flavour the oil. 

Whilst these are softening in the wok, peel the carrot and very finely chop into matchsticks, slice the pepper, spring onions and mushrooms and shred the greens. 

By then the oil should be full of flavour - now add the marinaded pork including anything left in the bowl to the wok and allow to cook for several minutes until the pork becomes nicely gnarly from the five spice coating. Next add the carrots and pepper and allow to cook for a minute or so.

Now add the coconut milk which will make the basis for the soup, stir in the Thai curry paste and add the mushrooms, most of the bean shoots and greens. Add the soy and Shaohsing wine and squeeze in the juice of a whole lime and give a gentle stir. 

Now gently slice the coriander and remove the stalks - place the stalks into the wok with the soup. 

After the soup has simmered for four-five minutes add the instant noodles to the mix which should cook in three minutes. 

Whilst the noodles are cooking place the red chilli, the other half of lime and a bunch of fresh coriander onto a little plate as additional seasoning for the table and then dish up your soup into deep bowls. Enjoy!