trader joe's hack

so, you know that thing where people buy a standard-issue ikea item, then they take it home and go all "outside of the box" on it? and hack it into something amazing?

i did that. but with trader joe's.

my friend tj has these simple little soup bowl mixes. kind of like ramen, but with less msg and shorter noodles.

i saw these and my brain instantly had this soup idea. so i bought six, along with some other ingredients, and set about making actual soup out of instant soup.

verdict? uh-mazing. and even better on day two, which almost NEVER happens with a noodle soup.

so, here's what you need:

trader joe's hacked spring onion soup

- 4 pkg spring onion soup bowls (i used six and we had enough leftover for probably 2-3 more servings. so four packages would probably feed four people sufficiently. but keep in mind: better on day two!)

- 4 baby bok choy - trimmed and chopped into smaller pieces

- about a pound of snow peas, sliced into smaller pieces

- 1 onion, diced

- 1 pint of small button mushrooms, sliced

- 3-4 chicken breasts

- 1.5 tb tamari (or soy sauce. or aminos. whatever you prefer.)

- 1/4 tsp ground ginger

- 1/4 tsp garlic

(i used dried garlic and ginger, but next time will use the fresh stuff.)

 

1. the soup packages require about 2 c water each, so get 8 cups of water - along with the spice and oil packets from the packages - boiling in a pot.

2. cut up the chicken into small pieces and cook in a hot wok or pot with some olive oil until done. set aside.

3. in the chicken pot, saute the diced up onion for a few minutes in another tablespoon or so of olive oil. (if using fresh garlic and ginger, i would add these to the pan at this time, too.) once the onions start to soften, add the rest of the veggies. saute until tender, then add the chicken back to the pan. then add the tamari. (if using dried garlic and ginger, mix it into the tamari before adding it to the pan)

4. while the veggies are cooking, add the rice noodles to the boiling, seasoned water. cook for 3-4 mins, until the noodles are ready.

5. add the veggies and chicken to the noodle pot, and let it all warm up and mingle for a few minutes. then serve.

the tamari, garlic, and ginger can be adjusted according to taste. also, the soup packages come with these little hot oil packets ... i used half, because harper is not a fan of the hot oil thing. marc and henry each added another packet to their own bowls. we also put sriracha in our bowls, but harp did not.

and that's it. such a yummy ad hoc soup.

and - i repeat - better on day two.

go forth and hack away.