It’s the weather for making stocks, no? TBH we make stocks year ‘round because they’re easy, and you can portion and freeze them so you’ve always got some on hand. Nothing beats the flavour of a home made stock and because they’re made by simmering bones with vestiges of meat and connective tissue still on them (sorry to sound so Patricia Cornwell), they acquire body and ‘texture’ during the long cooking process. Try getting that out of a tetra pack. 

Chicken stock is particularly easy to make; sometimes, if we’re feeling lazy, we don’t even bother putting vegetables in ours. We just tip a whole bunch of chicken frames into a large saucepan, cover them with cold water, then bring them to the simmer and cook them gently for 2-2½ hours, skimming the surface occasionally to get rid of impurities and the fat that rises. Once the stock has been strained, we let it settle, skim off the remaining fat, then either use it, refrigerate it for a few days, or freeze it. Or a combination of them all. What could be simpler? We realise Asian stocks are different to Western ones, in case you’re suddenly feeling all Keyboard Warrior-ish and want to write and point this out. But we find that even with a recipe like this, a classically made, Euro-centric chook stock is totally neutral enough to carry the day. 

About those vegetables,; if we were to add any, we only use onion, carrot and celery… nothing strong-tasting and certainly not whatever is hovering around the vegetable crisper, looking like it’s about to go off and needs a home. Making a stock is not the opportunity to put your fridge odds and ends out of their misery…. well we don’t believe so, anyway. A bay leaf or two and some thyme sprigs are good to add, and maybe any parsley stalks you might have saved. We wouldn’t make a dish like this with anything other than homemade stock – it’s a bit of a feature here so you want it to be good. If you’ve never made your own chicken stock before, we hope you’ll give it a go. Chicken frames are cheap and if you have a large enough saucepan, you can cook 2.5kg-3kg-worth at a time. Cooking more is no extra work and simply means you’ve got more stock to use. And maybe we’ve delivered our Stocks Are Easy sermon before; we don't honestly remember. But it’s a message worth repeating and chances are, we’ll deliver it again, some time soon.

SERVES 4

30g (about 1 cup) dried shiitake mushrooms 

2 tbsp vegetable oil

6 chicken pieces (about 1.5kg)

1 onion, finely chopped

8 thin slices ginger

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

2½ tbsp crushed yellow rock sugar

2½ tbsp Shaoxing wine

2 star anise

1 cassia stick

6 dried chillies

3 tbsp fermented tofu with liquid

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tsp dark soy sauce

1.5 litres (6 cups) chicken stock

300g thick sweet potato noodles (4 bundles)

sliced spring onion and coriander springs, to serve

Soak the dried mushrooms in 375ml (1½ cups) boiling water for 25 minutes or until softened. Drain well, reserving the soaking liquid, then slice the mushrooms and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based saucepan or casserole over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and cook for about 4 minutes on each side or until browned all over. Remove the chicken and set aside. Add the onion, ginger, and garlic to the pan, then cook, stirring often, for 6 minutes or until the onion is softened.

Add the rock sugar, stirring until it dissolves, then cook for 4-5 minutes until it begins to caramelise. Add the shaoxing wine, stirring to dislodge any browned bits stuck to the base of the saucepan. Return the chicken to the pan and add the star anise, cassia, and dried chillies.

In a small bowl, mash the fermented tofu with its liquid until smooth. Stir into the saucepan with the soy sauces, stock, and reserved mushroom liquid. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low so the liquid is simmering. Cover and cook for 30 minutes or until the chicken is tender.

Meanwhile, soak the noodles in hot water for 20 minutes until softened, or according to the packet directions. Drain well, then add to the chicken mixture and stir to combine and heat through.

Serve the chicken and noodle mixture in bowls, garnished with sliced spring onions and fresh coriander.