Asian Shrimp and Noodle Soup

We usually eat dinner right about 6 o'clock. More often than not, I don't have a clue what I'm going to cook until an hour before that. Oh, I may have already thawed some venison or chicken breasts and I always have fresh veggies and a potato or two, but as far as the finished dish... nope... it's even a surprise to me.

My gardener went to Wal-Mart the other day for some fishing lures (you can never have too many lures, you know) and came home with a bag of frozen, cooked shrimp. I asked him get the frozen raw shrimp next time, because I think the already-cooked shrimp is rubbery. Turns out, the cooked shrimp was one sale. My gardener loves nothing if not a sale.

I thought our soup days were over for a while, but it was cold and rainy yesterday and I was ready to eat something warm. I remembered the shrimp in the freezer, so made this soup, which was as good a soup as I've eaten anywhere. I used a mandoline to slice the carrots and sweet potatoes, so they didn't take very long to cook at all.  It was a little spicy... not too spicy, I'm just glad I stopped adding the hot sauce when I did! I garnished the soup with some chopped chives and a couple of chive flower buds.

If you're looking for a really quick and easy soup, this one's it. This recipe made two generous servings.

Asian Shrimp and Noodle Soup

32 oz. chicken stock

1 carrot, thinly sliced

½ sweet potato, thinly sliced

½ cup frozen green peas

Spaghetti

1 tomato, chopped

2 green onions, sliced

16 frozen, cooked shrimp

1 T Soy Sauce

Srichacha, or your favorite hot sauce, to taste

1.     -- Pour chicken stock into saucepan. Add carrots and sweet potatoes and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are cooked.

2.    --  Add spaghetti to pan; increase heat and cook until spaghetti is al dente.

3.     -- Add soy sauce and hot sauce.

4.     -- Add chopped tomato, green onions and shrimp.

5.     -- Simmer until shrimp are heated through – about 5 minutes.