Shortcutting Vietnamese-Style Noodle Soups

Published March 1, 1999.

The secret to making superquick, Asian-style noodle soups is to enliven canned chicken broth with classic Vietnamese flavorings.

The Problem

Asian-style soups rely on a highly seasoned, homemade broth--which is too time-consuming when what's wanted is a quick, simple meal.

The Goal

Vietnamese noodle soups are based on a homemade broth, enhanced with exotic flavorings, and then filled with rice noodles, paper-thin and barely cooked slices of beef, thin rounds of raw onion, angled scallion slices, crisp bean sprouts, and lots of whole fresh mint and coriander leaves. We wanted to create a flavorful yet simple base for quick Asian-style soups using canned chicken broth and ingredients easily accessible to the home cook.

The Solution

To our surprise, the quickest cooking method worked best. We combined strong flavorings with hot, canned chicken broth, simmered for 20 minutes, and then added a combination of raw and cooked ingredients. The result: fast, aromatic, and tasty Vietnamese-style soup.

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