By Request Betty Shimabukuro

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Thai-style chicken soup
satisfies soul

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It may seem too hot for soup these days, but give this bowl of Thai comfort food a chance anyway. Two reasons: It's a light soup that depends more on vegetables than protein and that's a nice touch for summer; and if your office has been hit (like mine) with a migrating cold, your soul could probably use some chicken soup.

Cathleen Thompson e-mailed a request for a chicken soup made with clear vermicelli noodles. "My husband and I recently moved from beautiful Kailua to Ann Arbor, Mich., and our search for the comfort foods of home has not been the most productive."

Chai Chaowasaree, owner of Chai's Island Bistro and Singha Thai Cuisine, said the soup -- called Kaeng Jude Woon Sen -- is comparable to American chicken soup in that it can be made many different ways.

It's a staple of home kitchens, although casual restaurants often include it on their menus. Chaowasaree said it is a lot like the Hawaiian dish of chicken long rice, but with more broth and with fish sauce used as a salt source instead of soy sauce.

In local restaurants, you're likely to find this soup made with chicken, oyster mushrooms and baby corn, but Chaowasaree said there are no rules. It could be made with seafood or even ground pork, he said, and with any vegetable, fresh or canned.

The only trick -- and it's not a difficult one -- is to skim the surface of the soup as the chicken cooks. This assures a clear broth. If you're using fresh mushrooms, Chaowasaree suggests pre-cooking, as fresh fungi tend to darken the broth.

Kaeng Jude Woon Sen

4 ounces dry bean-thread noodles
6 cups chicken stock
8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced
1/4 cup EACH canned straw mushrooms, canned baby corn and sliced carrots, blanched
1-2 tablespoons fish sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
Pepper, to taste
1 stalk green onion, chopped
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro

Soak noodles in cold water for 10 minutes to soften.

Meanwhile, heat stock in a pot over medium-high heat. Add chicken and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked; skimming the surface to keep broth clear.

Drain noodles. Add mushrooms, corn, carrots and noodles to pot. Simmer 1 minute.

Stir in 1 tablespoon fish sauce, sugar and pepper. Taste and add more fish sauce if desired. Stir in green onion and cilantro. Serves 4.

Approximate nutritional analysis, per serving: 200 calories, 4 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, greater than 1,500 mg sodium (using canned stock), 26 g carbohydrate, 18 g protein.

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Send queries along with name and phone number to:
"By Request," Honolulu Star-Bulletin,
500 Ala Moana, No. 7-210, Honolulu 96813.
Or send e-mail to bshimabukuro@starbulletin.com

Asterisk (*) after nutritional analyses in the Body & Soul section indicates calculations by Joannie Dobbs of Exploring New Concepts, a nutritional consulting firm.