Is a noodle obsession a matter of nature or nurture?
Lane Li was pondering this when she saw her noodle-loving 11-year-old son, Jackson, reach for a chef’s knife the size of his forearm. Certainly knife skills, she decided, require some nurturing.
“Let’s work up to that,” she said, giving him a paring knife instead. This was Jackson’s first cooking lesson, and Li, who owns Noodle Lane in Park Slope, Brooklyn, with her husband, Chris Wang, wanted to pass down more than just safety tips.
When Li was in grade school, her mother taught her how to cook Cantonese noodle soup so that she’d always be able to feed herself something filling and healthy. It became the after-school go-to for her and her friends growing up in nearby Flatbush.
“Other kids ate peanut butter sandwiches,” she said, guiding Jackson’s hands as he sliced scallions. “We ate noodle soup.”
Now that Jackson was starting middle school, it was time to graduate from microwaved instant ramen.
As he chopped vegetables, Li shared her wisdom for making the perfect Cantonese noodle soup.
The first thing was to start with good broth. Li uses a homemade chicken stock that she doesn’t degrease entirely, keeping a touch of fat for flavor and body.
Then the noodles, either rice noodles or Chinese egg noodles, must be boiled in a separate pot of water so they don’t cloud the broth. And it’s important that the broth and noodles meet for the first time in the bowl, which helps prevent the noodles from overcooking. She adds bok choy, pickled mustard greens and a little oyster sauce for brightness and umami depth.
The final step is to combine all the ingredients and season them perfectly to taste. That’s where the real magic happens.
Jackson seized the moment and doused his soup with dark red chile oil, watching it bloom across the golden surface.
He slurped loudly and let out a contented sigh.
“How did it come out?” asked his father, who had just walked into the kitchen.
“Really good,” Jackson replied. Then, he added, a note of pity in his tone, “My dad doesn’t even like noodle soup.”
When asked what his after-school favorite had been, Wang came clean: “Stouffer’s frozen pizza.”
He watched his son dive back into the spicy bowl. “Obviously,” he said, “he gets his noodle soup genes from his mom.”
Cantonese Noodle Soup
A recipe for Cantonese Noodle Soup. A Cantonese classic, which Melissa Clark adapted from Lane Li, of Noodle Lane in Brooklyn, is so easy a middle schooler can make it. Food styled by Hadas Smirnoff. (David Malosh/The New York Times)
This simple Cantonese noodle soup is endlessly adaptable. Choose rice noodles or egg noodles, add pickled mustard greens, oyster sauce and chile oil for pungency and spice, or leave them out for a mellower broth. The combination of good broth, springy noodles and leafy greens makes for a satisfying foundation no matter how you zip it up.
Recipe from Lane Li of Noodle Lane, Brooklyn
Adapted by Melissa Clark
Yield: 4 servings
Total time: 1 hour 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken (dark or white meat), sliced
1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt, more to taste
Pinch of sugar
1 pound rice noodles or Chinese egg noodles
4 cups chicken broth
1 pound leafy bok choy or choy sum, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons chopped pickled mustard greens, rinsed very well (optional)
1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce, more to taste (optional)
4 scallions, thinly sliced
1/3 cup cilantro, leaves and tender stems
Chile oil or chile crisp (optional)
DIRECTIONS
1. Season the chicken all over with 1/4 teaspoon salt and the sugar. Refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight.
2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil to cook the noodles. Add noodles and cook, according to package instructions, until just done. Drain or use tongs to transfer to a colander.
3. Using the same pot, bring the chicken stock, 4 cups water and remaining 1 teaspoon salt to a simmer. Add the chicken and let simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the bok choy, pickles if using, and oyster sauce, stirring well, and cook until the bok choy is tender, 5 to 7 minutes. Taste and add more salt or oyster sauce, if needed.
4. Divide the noodles among bowls and ladle broth, chicken and vegetables over them. Top with scallions and cilantro. Serve with chile oil or crisp if you like.
