New York City really does have it all.

There are over 300 restaurants that will deliver food directly to my apartment, I can enjoy a glass of Sancerre al fresco 50 stories up, and most importantly, I can get bone broth in a coffee cup from a to-go window in the East Village.

It’s a place called Brodo and they make long-cooked, rich, and comforting broth with fun additions like roasted garlic and turmeric.

You think walking around with a coffee cup full of broth is weird?

Just wait till you try it.

It’s like having chicken noodle soup to go, which sounds especially good as winter starts to get its hands on the city.

And it gets even better--they sell it frozen, so you can take it home and use it for soups like this Asian Noodle Soup Bowl, which is really all about the broth.

Now if you can’t stop by Brodo or make your own all-star stock, don’t panic.

This recipe does have some delicious add-ins like ginger, soy sauce, and sriracha, which can really elevate a less-than-stellar broth.

And with the crunchy cucumbers and silky rice noodles, you're going to think you've died and gone to noodle soup heaven.

(It’s like regular heaven, but with a lot more noodles.)

Spicy Asian Noodle Soup Bowls with Pickled Cucumber

servings: 4

Ingredients:

1 English cucumber, sliced to 1/16-inch-thick slices
¼ cup rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 bunches scallions, (about 12 to 16), very finely chopped, green parts separated from the light green and white
2 tablespoon sesame oil
8 garlic cloves, sliced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 pound wide rice noodles
Two 32-ounce boxes of vegetable or chicken stock
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 to 6 teaspoons sriracha sauce (depending on how spicy you like it)
Zest + juice of 1 lime
1 pound jumbo shrimp, peeled, deveined + cut into bite-sized pieces

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine the cucumber, rice wine vinegar, sugar and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Stir to mix well, then set aside.
Heat a medium pot of salted water over high heat for cooking the noodles. While it is heating, place a large pot over medium heat and add the white and light green parts of the scallions, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and the remaining ½ teaspoon salt. Sauté until tender--about 5 minutes.
Cook the noodles in the now-boiling water until tender--4 to 5 minutes, or according to the package instructions. When the noodles are done, drain and set them aside.
To the pot with the cooked scallions and garlic add the stock, soy sauce, sriracha, lime zest, and lime juice and bring to a simmer. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Add the shrimp to the broth and cook until it is pink and firm--about 2 minutes more.
Divide the noodles equally among 4 bowls, then pour the broth and shrimp over the noodles. Top each bowl with the cucumber mixture and the remaining green parts of the scallions.

Notes:

If you don’t want it to be very spicy, just add less sriracha (about 2 teaspoons will give you a mild heat level).
The cucumber mixture can be made ahead of time--even the day before.
Store leftover broth and noodles separately. This way your noodles won’t get waterlogged and mushy while they sit in your fridge.

: @NikkiDinki

: @NikkiDinkiCooking