Oh yeah... I already made this!

I'm sitting here making my menu for next week and going through my reader. Again, another Joelen recipe piqued my interest and I opened it up and realized, I already made this! AND IT WAS GOOD!!!

I made this when we had our first little spurt of cool nights, you know before we hit 90 again! And now that we're in the 50s at night, I'm thinking this should be made again next week.

This is a great take on hearty and warm chicken noodle soup. And yes, of course, I made changes so that's what's here - Joelen's recipe as is is at the link above.

Really the only change I made is, well, I'm still not eating chicken unless it's ground, so I made mine with Tofu. I know you're all rolling your eyes or scratching your heads. "Chicken is healthy and easy and good." Maybe for you but not to me. I don't like chicken, I realize I never have! So why bother eating something I don't like? I keep trying again and again, but it's now been about 7 months since I've eaten chicken and I have to tell you, I don't miss it!

So when I get recipes that call for chicken, I break it up and make mine with Tofu or beans and the hubs with meat. It's working fine and great and no problems.

So I divided this recipe in two in two separate small pots and put tofu in mine and chicken in the hubs. We both loved ours, it made TONS of food and was a great, warm and satisfying meal.

Spicy Asian Chicken Noodle Soup
recipe adapted from America's Test Kitchens
Via Joelen's Culinary Adventures

6 cups low sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons Asian chili sauce
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces (if you're making 2 pots, do 1 chicken breast and a half of brick of lite firm tofu)
2 packages of dried ramen noodles
3 scallions, sliced thin
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves, minced
4 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
pinch of red pepper flakes for garnish (optional)

Bring broth, soy sauce, mirin, ginger, and chili sauce to a boil in a large saucepan or Dutch oven. Add the cut up chicken breasts to the pot and simmer, covered, over medium-low heat until chicken is cooked through.

Open the packages of ramen noodles and discard the seasoning packet included. Place the dried ramen noodles into the broth and cook, stirring occasionally, until they're just about cooked. Stir in the scallions and cilantro and serve in bowls.

Garnish each bowl additional fresh cilantro leaves and a drizzle of 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil. If you like things on the spicy side, sprinkle a few red pepper flakes for garnish too!