Japanese-style One-pot Supper

Makes 4 servings

Deborah Green

ingredients

3 oz dried bean-thread noodles or rice noodles
5 C reduced-sodium chicken broth
1/2 C mirin
1/4 C soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
3 to 5 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
12 oz boned, skinned, chicken thigh meat, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-in. chunks
1 small red bell pepper, seeded, stemmed, and cut into thin slices
4 oz snow peas (or spinach, or bok choy)
4 oz button mushrooms, sliced
8 oz firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-in. cubes
3 green onions (green and white parts), cut into 1-in. lengths
Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce (see notes)

1
In a small bowl, soak bean-thread noodles in boiling water until soft, about 5 minutes. Drain and cut into 6- to 10-in. lengths.
2
In a 5- to 6-qt. pot or a 12-in. frying pan (with sides at least 2 in. high), bring broth, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and ginger to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 5 minutes.
3
Arrange noodles, chicken, bell pepper, peas, mushrooms, tofu, and green onions in separate piles in the pot. Cover and simmer, without stirring, until chicken chunks are no longer pink in the center (cut one to test), about 5 minutes. Set pot on the table so people can serve themselves, with Sriracha on the side.
4
Notes: Look for dried bean-thread noodles, mirin (sweet sake or rice wine), and Sriracha (Southeast Asian hot chile sauce) in the Asian section of the supermarket