Noodle soup with fish balls

Noodle soups are so comforting, especially on a cold winter's night. Though it's not actually that cold outside today, I felt like having a familiar meal, something that would remind me of home. Slurping the lovely light yellow strands of noodles; I felt nice and warm inside. This was also a very quick and healthy dinner!

Colourful bowl of noodle soup! The tofu piece was from a previous meal :)

                           
The fish balls were purchased from Chinatown, and were frozen. I did not defrost them; I just put them straight into the boiling soup. You could substitute the fish balls for fish cake, or cooked shredded chicken. Both would work equally well.

Closer shot of the dish before garnishing with the chilli slices

Noodle soup with fish balls
(Serves 2)


3 pieces of dried egg noodles
2 eggs, beaten and seasoned with some pepper and light soya sauce
300 grams of fish balls (or however many you would prefer)
Some bean sprouts
1 cube of chicken stock
1 red onion, thinly sliced
2-3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
2 medium sized chillies, sliced
Some lemon juice
2 tablespoons of light soya sauce
1 tablespoon of dark soya sauce
About 3 tablespoons of vegetable/sunflower oil
About 1-1.5 liters of boiling water
1 packet of beansprouts (about 200 grammes)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

• Fry the sliced red onions in 1 tablespoon of oil till soft in a hot wok/pot. Once cooked, set aside.
• In the same wok, add the remaining oil and the garlic pieces. Once it turns slightly brown, add in the beaten eggs. Let the eggs cook for about 1 minute, and break it up into relatively large pieces before it gets cooked entirely.
• Add the boiling water, once the eggs are cooked, the chicken stock cube and the dark soya sauce. Season with salt and pepper.
• Add the fish balls, and bring the soup to a boil.
• In a separate pot, cook the noodles according to the instructions on the packet. It shouldn't take too long to cook, it should be done within 5 minutes. Drain, and set aside.
• Once the fish balls are almost done (this should take about 3-5 minutes), add the beansprouts. We don't want the bean sprouts to be over cooked, so 1-2 minutes of cooking them should be more than enough.
• To serve, divide the noodles into two portions in two bowls. Ladle the soup into the bowls, and garnish with the fried onions. I usually serve dishes like this with sliced chillies, in some soya sauce and lemon juice. 

Noodle soup with chillies