Soup with chicken, wong bok, hokkien noodles, tofu and chilli

Put chicken stock and water in a saucepan. Roughly chop 3 of the spring onions and add, along with 1 chopped chilli, garlic, ginger and coriander stems (reserve leaves). Slowly bring to a gentle boil – this will extract more flavour– then turn heat to lowest setting, cover pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes; it should not bubble. Turn off the heat and leave stock to infuse for 5-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove all fat from chicken, rinse and pat dry. Cut chicken into strips of a similar thickness – to do this, cut off the thinner parts (tenderloins) first, cut breasts in half and then cut the two fatter pieces through the middle. Cut remaining spring onions and chilli into slivers and set aside. Put noodles in a colander and rinse well under running water.

Strain stock into a bowl then return it to the pan, adding 1/2 tsp salt. Bring it back up to a very gentle bubble (turn to the lowest setting), add soy sauce and chicken. Poach for 5-6 minutes, until chicken is just cooked through (poaching means the water is rippling, not bubbling; to check if the chicken is cooked, remove the fattest piece from the stock and slice into the middle – there should be the merest hint of a blush). Transfer chicken to a board with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle lightly with salt.

Meanwhile, fry tofu in a little peanut oil in a small pan until golden. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towels.

Add noodles to hot stock and heat through for 2 minutes. Add wong bok and cook for about 2 minutes, until crisp-tender but not soft. Slice chicken and add to soup along with tofu and coriander leaves. Dish into bowls and garnish with chilli and spring onion.