Noodle Soup with Meatballs

I originally planned to fry these meatballs, but I found out that I was out of wonton skins so I decided to make soup instead. Hubby loved the gingery taste of the meatballs, and I loved the tasty broth. It turned out to be a win-win situation.


What you need:

• 1 pound ground pork
• 5 - 6 pieces dried Chinese mushrooms
• 1 carrot
• 2 stalks green onion
• 1/2 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon rice wine
• 1/2 thumb-sized ginger, peeled
• 1 1/2 tablespoon oyster sauce
• 2 bundles of vermicelli noodles
• 8 cups of chicken broth
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1/4 of a large Vidalia onion
• 1/2 tablespoon Canola oil

What to do:

Soak the vermicelli noodles in water to soften them up a bit.

Re-hydrate the dried mushrooms by soaking them in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes. Discard the stems afterward. Cut the mushroom caps, green onions, ginger and carrots in small pieces then put them in a food processor. Pulse for 2 to 3 seconds, until all the ingredients are chopped finely.

Thanks for making life so much easier, food pro!

Transfer the chopped ingredients in a bowl with the ground pork. Add the sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine, oyster sauce and pepper. Mix well with your hands. Get a heaping tablespoonful of this mixture and shape it like a ball using the palm of your hands. Continue doing so until you use up all the mixture.


Heat the Canola oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Saute the garlic and onion for a minute or two, or until onions are translucent. Add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and lower the heat to medium. Gently drop the meatballs in the hot broth and cook for 10 to 12 minutes. Serve hot.


Tips, Tricks and Tweaks:

1. No food processor? No problem. Just chop the veggies finely.
2. Use water chestnuts instead of carrots.
3. Reduce the amount of ginger in half if you don't like the flavor.
4. You can use water if you don't have broth. Just add bouillon!
5. Garnish with chopped green onions or toasted garlic.