My Japanese Glass Noodle Soup is made of chicken tenderloin, vegetables, glass noodles (also called bean vermicelli), and Chinese-style chicken broth. Glass noodles are called ‘harusame’ (春雨) in Japanese. It is a simple and comforting clear soup, which is great to have on a cold day.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 2 chicken tenderloins (about 125g/4.4oz, note 1)
- ½ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp sugar
- 500ml water
- 1 tbsp cooking sake
- 30g/1.1oz carrot cut into 3cm/1⅛" long, 3mm/⅛" wide buttons
- 30g/1.1oz shiitake mushrooms thinly sliced
- 30g/1.1oz snow peas ends removed, diagonally halved (note 3)
- 15g/0.5oz bean vermicelli (before soaking, note 4)
- 1 tsp Chinese chicken broth powder (note 5)
- 1 tsp light soy sauce (note 6)
- A pinch of white pepper
- A pinch of salt (if needed)
- ½ tsp sesame oil
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Remove the tendon from each chicken tenderloin. See the post, Marinated Chicken Tenderloin, which shows you how to remove the tendon.
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Rub the tenderloins with salt and sugar thoroughly and leave them for 15 minutes. Pat dry.
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Soak the vermicelli in a bowl of hot water for 30 seconds. Drain into the sieve and rinse them under running water to quickly cool them down.
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Add water and cooking sake to the pot and bring it to a boil.
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Add the chicken tenderloins to the pot and reduce the heat to medium.
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Cook for 2 minutes, during which remove scum if it arises.
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Turn off the heat and put the chicken pieces on a plate/bowl (keep the broth). Cover the plate/bowl so that the surface of the chicken does not dry.
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When the chicken pieces cool down slightly, shred them by hand into thin small pieces.
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Add carrot, shiitake, chicken stock powder, light soy sauce, and pepper to the broth in the pot (note 7) and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for a couple of minutes until the vegetables are nearly cooked.
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Add snow peas, vermicelli, and shredded chicken to the pot, and cook for 30 seconds or so.
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Taste test and add salt if required. Add sesame oil to the pot and turn the heat off.
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Serve while hot.
1. I used chicken tenderloin, but chicken breast is OK too. You could use chicken thigh, but I think the leaner meat suits today’s soup better.
2. You can vary the combination and quantity of vegetables. Other vegetables that suit the soup include (but not limited to) cabbage, zucchini, beans, Chinese greens, lettuce, Asian mushrooms, and green onions.
3. If you can, remove the tough string along both sides of the pod. If you gently break the end and pull it down along the pod, the string will come off. If the string breaks half way or you cannot take it off, don’t worry.
If your snow peas are small, you don't have to halve them.
4. Vermicelli is called ‘harusame’ (春雨) in Japanese. Harusame is made from either mung bean starch, potato starch or combination of those starches. I like harusame as it is semi-transparent.
Bean vermicelli sold at Asian grocery shops and supermarkets is very close to harusame. If you prefer, you can also use rice vermicelli as an alternative.
5. I used Knorr chicken powder, but you can use other stock powder or chicken broth powder/paste such as Lee Kum Kee brand chicken bouillon stock powder. See the sample photo in the post.
6. If you don’t have light soy sauce, you can use normal soy sauce, but the colour of the soup becomes slightly darker.
7. If there are a lot of scum and/or tiny coagulated chicken protein bits are in the broth, you may want to put the broth through a sieve to remove them before adding other ingredients to the broth.
8. Nutrition per serving.
serving: 381g calories: 145kcal fat: 3.1g (4%) saturated fat: 0.6g (3%) trans fat: 0.0g polyunsaturated fat: 0.8g monounsaturated fat: 0.9g cholesterol: 46mg (15%) sodium: 884mg (38%) carbohydrates: 10g (4%) dietary fibre: 1.5g (5%) sugar: 2.4g protein: 16g vitamin D: 0mcg (0%) calcium: 26mg (2%) iron: 1.0mg (5%) potassium: 365mg (8%)