Helen's Sotanghon Recipe (Filipino Glass Noodles)

I harrassed my friend Lenore for months for her mother's Filipino sotanghon recipe.  You gotta love those family recipes that call for a "little bit of this, a little bit of that..."  I experimented with until I got it right, since I hadn't forgotten how good it was at Lenore's house.  This is some goood comfort food.  The wings add rich chicken flavor, but substituting chicken breast was a great low-fat option for me when I was first recovering from pancreatitis.  Thanks Lenore and Helen!
 

Helen’s Sotanghon Recipe – Flipino Glass Noodles

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp oil (any kind)

2 cloves finely chopped garlic 

½ medium onion, finely chopped

1” fresh ginger peeled and sliced into rounds

6-8 chicken wings cut in half or 2 chicken breasts, cubed

2.5 tsp fish sauce, divided

Glass (aka cellophane) noodles - dehydrated noodles that come in a wrapped block

White Rice - I like jasmine

Method:

In a large pot, heat the oil and saute the onion until sweated out.  Add ginger and cook “until you smell it” then add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.

Add the chicken and 1 tsp fish sauce.  Cook the chicken until tender and not quite done. 

Add enough water to cover the chicken by 1 inch and another ½ tsp of fish sauce.  If you want it soupier, add more water (duh).  Simmer 20 minutes or until cooked through.

While the chicken cooks, soak the glass noodles in warm tap water.  In a separate pot, make some white rice.

Once the chicken is cooked, use kitchen shears to snip the noodles into the broth in 1-inch pieces.  Add another ½ tsp fish sauce. 

Serve in a bowl with a mixture of rice, noodles, and chicken.