Chicken Mami Noodle Soup

From chicken mami noodle soup

One of my favorite comfort foods is the chicken mami noodle soup. When I was still in the Philippines working, I would usually stop by the nearest mami house (usually owned by a Chinese) and get myself a bowl of chicken mami noodles. My usual toppings would be spring onion and lots of ground pepper. Optional add-ons would be sliced hard-boiled eggs, or crummbled chicharon (like in lugaw). This type of mami I prefer over the instant mami (like Lucky Me).

My sons are in love with the instant ramen noodles. I have "trained" them to be self-sufficient when preparing their breakfast before going to school. And this is their favorite breakfast. However, they are not as imaginative as I used to be when I was a child. They do not have add-ons and toppings, making it mainly a carb-laden breakfast. I have taught them to do what I do to prepare the one in the photo above; that is, after I prepare the chicken stock and have separated the meat from the bones. I may add leftover fish/squid balls, if any.

I don't have an exact recipe for this. Amount depends on how much you want to add. Basically, the ingredients are chicken stock, chicken meat (refrigerated less than 2 weeks, from bony parts of chicken that I boiled to make chicken stock) and other add-ons as desired, noodles, salt and pepper, and spring onions.

I usually bring out from the freezer a 2-cup frozen chicken stock, microwave for 2 minutes, then add the noodles and chicken meat and microwave for another 2 minutes. I then top with spring onion and sprinkle as needed with salt and pepper....Ahhh...tastes like home. Indeed a comfort food for me. My kids love it, but only if I was the one who prepared it. They never make it if they have to prepare it.

As a side note, such soups as this (wonton, mami, etc.) are perceived by my husband as "washings of dirty socks." Sarap batukan...