Thukpa - Noodle Soup

I had never heard of this dish until a year before, when I had it for the first time from a small Tibetan restaurant in Viveknagar, Bangalore and more recently heard of it on Roti, Rasta aur India's Ladakh leg of the show. My husband spoke highly of Thukpa. This is what he had to say - light yet a wholesome meal, wonderful for cold and fever. 

I can't agree better. 

It is definitely light but quite filling and what more -it is the best and delicious way to consume the healthy vegetables which you might normally loathe. For all the mothers, it may be a really good way to get your kids to eat some vegetables. My husband swears on the health benefits of the soup. Apparently, he used to have thukpa when he was down with cold and it gave him a lot of relief as the soup found its way down the throat through the food pipe clearing the throat.

I have always brought packets of Knor or Maggie soup but never attempted to make one. That is when I thought about beginning my soup adventure with my version of Thukpa. The recipe below is for chicken thukpa however the same can be made without chicken as well for the vegetarians adding veggies of your choice.

Ingredients

Chicken - 150 gm

Onion -1 sliced lengthwise

Ginger - 2 inch julienne

Garlic - 5 pods finely chopped

Green Chilly - 2-3 finely chopped

Carrot - 1 sliced lengthwise

Cabbage - a handful chopped

Spring Onions - a bunch

Coriander leaf - a handful chopped

Olive Oil - 2 tsp

Soya Sauce - 1 tsp

Tomato Sauce - 1 tsp

Lemon juice - 5 tbsp

Pepper powder - 2 tsp

Water - 5 cups

Bread crumbs - a handful cut into squares

Noodles

Method

Pour the olive oil into a deep bottomed pan and toss in the onions when the oil is hot. Saute for 2 minutes on medium flame and toss in the ginger, garlic and green Chilly. Saute this for another 2 minutes and add in the chopped carrots, cabbage and other vegetables you wish to add. Also add the chicken pieces.

Once this heats up add the spring onions and the coriander leaves and mix it well.  Sprinkle in some salt and pepper powder. Pour in 5 cups of water and bring this to a boil. 

Add tomato sauce and soya sauce and simmer the soup for around 30 minutes on low flame. Remove the chicken pieces from the soup and shred them and throw it back in.

Squeeze in the lemon juice and adjust the salt as per your taste. Let it simmer for another 2 minutes.

Cook the noodles with a little salt and olive oil separately and strain them. Lightly fry the bread crumbs and keep it aside.

Serve the hot soup into a bowl and add the desired amount of noodles into the bowl. Throw in some bread crumbs and finally garnish with coriander leaf or spring onions.

A healthy and perfect dinner the Tibetan way!!

Also a good dish to settle down on a cold winter night.

You may also note -

1.  You can avoid the sauces and it still gives you a good flavor or you may add fresh tomatoes in place of tomato sauce.
2.  You can add in capsicum, celery or any other vegetable that complements.
3.  Always cook and add the noodles and bread crumbs at the time of serving else they might get over cooked and soggy.
4. Add just enough oil to lightly cook your vegetables else your soup may have oil floating on the top.
5. You may increase the pepper and ginger in case of cold or fever.