• Soak the shiitake mushrooms in a bowl of just-boiled water for 2-3 minutes. Once done remove from water and cut in half.
• In a stock pot (at least 4 L) put in all the soup ingredients + spices and bring to boil.
• Add the chicken to the pot and cook for 12 -15 minutes or until done. Once done, remove and set aside to cool.
• Let the pot simmer with the lid mostly on (leave a 2-3 cm gap for the steam to escape) at medium-low for another 45-50 minutes (so total cook time is roughly one hour).

Prep Ingredients (once chicken thighs can be handled)

• Cut the chicken thighs into this slices. Keep them in a closed container and leave in the fridge.
• Prepare the garnishes / vegetables. Keep in containers and leave until needed.

Blanching the Vegetables (10 minutes left on soup)

• Fill a large bowl with cold water and leave aside until needed.
• In a small pot, boil water on medium-high.
• Once the water is at a rolling boil, add the stems of the Asian greens for 40 seconds or until cooked. Drop the stems in the bowl of cold water to stop it from cooking any further. Fish them out and leave them on a plate until needed.
• Add the leafy parts to the boiling water and cook for 10 - 20 seconds. Once cooked, cool them off in the cold water and then leave them on a plate until needed.

Slice the Shiitake Mushrooms (soup simmering for 1 hour)

• Take out the shiitake mushrooms from the soup pot and cut into thin slices. Leave aside until needed.

Preparing the Noodles

• Cook the noodles according to the package directions.
• Drain with a strainer and divide the noodles equally onto two plates.
• Space out the noodles even on the plate and put it in the microwave for 2 minutes on high.
• Once done, take out and flip the noodles with a pair of tongs until most of the steam has escaped. Repeat with the other plate.

Taste Check & Assembly

• Add the soy sauce to the soup. Taste check and adjust to your preferences. (It is preferable if the soup tastes a little salty since the noodles and toppings will dilute the flavour)
• Increase the heat to medium-high, put the lid on and allow the soup to come to a boil.
• Put the chicken in a strainer and dunk it in the soup pot to warm it up.
• Add the noodles, chicken, mushrooms and Asian greens to the soup bowls.
• Once the soup is boiling, ladle the soup through a strainer into the soup bowls.
• Add the garnishes and serve with red vinegar. (Adding red vinegar to your noodle soup is optional. I always add roughly 1/2 tsp to my noodle soup bowl.)