"Asian" noodle soup

After making Carolina BBQ Ribs, you'll have a big pot of lovely broth left. Let it cool, then skim the fat off the top. Then have fun creating your own "Asian" soup - this is what we did on Sunday, but it all comes down to what we happen to have in the fridge and pantry.

3 Quarts broth
4 pork chops
2 inches fresh ginger, skinned and chopped
4 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
4 green onions (we happened to have the whole bulbs, not the green parts)
1 box rice noodles
2 hearts of Romaine, chopped
2 T hoisin sauce
2 T chile and garlic sauce

1. Simmer the broth
2. Add the ginger, garlic and green onions
3. Add the pork chops, cook gently for about 30 minutes
4. Remove the pork chops
5. Add the rice noodles and lettuce, cook for 5 minutes
6. Add the sauces
   
7. In the meantime, cut the pork chops from the bones, remove the fat and cube the meat.

Serve in big noodle bowls with chopsticks. If you have cilantro and lime, garnish away.

This is soooooo good. You can substitute about a million ways - using tofu or chicken for the protein, using actual bok choy or spinach for the greens, adding mushrooms, heck, you can even use angel hair instead of the rice noodles. The real key is the fresh ginger, I think.

Oh, and by the way...we threw this together as a quick meal before going to see Fiona Apple in concert last night. Kiddo really enjoyed the cubed pork and noodles, sans broth. And he enjoyed his first non-classical concert, too. The boy is destined to play in a band, I'm sure of it. After all, his mom did!