•  1.5 litres chicken stock
•  1 long red chilli, seeded and sliced
•  1 teaspoon brown sugar
•  1 tablespoon soy sauce
•  200g button mushrooms, chopped
•  270g somen noodles*
•  3 green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
•  2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted

  Place the stock, chilli, sugar and soy in a large saucepan over high heat and bring to the boil. Add the mushrooms, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the noodles and cook for a further 2−3 minutes or until the noodles are tender. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with the green onions. Serve with the sesame seeds. Serves 4.

  * Somen noodles are thin white Japanese noodles made from wheat flour. Usually sold dried, they’re available from Asian grocery stores.