Deconstructed Asian Noodle Soup for the Toddler with a Tummy Bug

The Toddler had (for reasons that I am too polite to mention) lost a lot of fluids in the last 24 hours. I needed to give her something that was liquid and soothing but full of garlic and ginger...and it had to be fun. When you have been at home sick for two days straight then the food has to double as entertainment before the next sleep for recovery.

I adapted the Asian Soup Stock recipe from Moosewood Daily Restaurant Daily Special by the Moosewood Collective. After making the stock I poured several ladles over some vermicelli noodles and, after the noodles had cooked, draped them on on her flat eating tray along with a few pieces of carrot that had cooked in the stock. The noodles were great for playing with and slurping up but in the end it was spoonful after spoonful of the warm gingery broth she wanted (or perhaps she just liked sucking it out of the white china soup spoon).

10 cups water
2 leeks or onions chopped
2 carrots chopped
4 celery stalks chopped
5 chopped and peeled cloves of garlic
4 cm square (roughly) of peeled and sliced ginger
5 whole black peppercorns
5 dried shiitake mushrooms (optional)
Vermicelli noodles (as much as you would like to serve)

Bring all ingredients except noodles to the boil. Turn the heat down and let it simmer gently for 1 hour. Place noodles in a bowl and pour enough broth to cover. Stir occasionally and wait for noodles to cook through. Serve.

Notes:
* The recipe makes far more stock than you need for one serving. After straining out the cooked vegetables, freeze the rest or convert into an easy meal for older children/adults by adding cooked chicken or sliced and steamed vegetables after the noodles have 'cooked' in the stock. Seasonings like soy sauce, fish sauce or freshly chopped chilli and lime juice will make it more interesting for more sophisticated palates.
* The recipe would be even better with a few pieces of organic chicken like wings, drumsticks or all of the bones from a roast chicken dinner added at the start. If you do this, cook the stock for a lot longer - up to three hours.