Vietnamese chicken noodle soup - Good Food Middle East

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 shallots, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 lemongrass stalk, chopped
• 2½ cm piece ginger sliced
• 3 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp coriander seeds
• ¼ tsp Chinese five spice
• ¼ tsp black peppercorns
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1¼ - 1½ litres good quality fresh chicken stock
• 3 large chicken breasts(about 500g)
• 450g rice noodles
• 4 spring onions, finely sliced on an angle
• 1 carrot, shredded or peeled into ribbon with a vegetable peeler
• 2 large handfuls (150g) mung bean sprouts
• large bunch coriander, chopped
• small bunch mint, leaves chopped
• 1 red chilli, thinly sliced (optional)
• 2 tbsp crispy fried shallots(optional)
• 1 kaffir lime leaf, tough central stalk removed, very finely sliced, (optional)
• 1 lime, cut into wedges