Vietnamese Noodle Soup

This is one of Jeff's favorite soups. We made it the other night for dinner and had leftovers for lunch. It was fantastic both times! You should be able to find fresh ginger and cilantro in the produce department of most grocery stores and the Asian ingredients in the ethnic food aisle.

Meatballs
1/2 lb ground pork
2 T minced scallions
2 T chopped fresh cilantro
1 T fresh ginger minced
1 T garlic minced
1 T soy sauce
1 t sweet chili sauce
1/4 t each salt and pepper

Combine all ingredients together until everything is mixed in. Scoop into teaspoon size meatballs. Heat a nonstick pan over medium heat and add 1 T vegetable oil. Brown meatballs but do not cook through. They will finish cooking in the soup.

Soup
1/4 lb rice stick noodles
6 C chicken broth
2 T soy sauce
1 T fresh ginger
1 T sugar
1 t sweet chili sauce
1 t fish sauce
1 C napa cabbage, cut into 1 inch strips
1/4 bean sprouts
1 T fresh lemon juice

Put the noodles in a large bowl and pour boiling water over them to soften. Let stand for about 15 minutes then drain and separate clumps. While meatballs are cooking, start the broth. Simmer the chicken broth, soy sauce, ginger, sugar, chili sauce, and fish sauce in a large pot or dutch oven. Cook over low heat until the meatballs are browned. Then add the meatballs and simmer until they are cooked through. They should float when they are done, usually 10 minutes or so.

Add cabbage, bean sprouts, and lemon juice and serve.

8 servings

1 C per serving- 190 calories, 9 g fat, 1 g fiber, 9 g protein