Today I’m sharing a humble dish that is perfect for when it is starting to get cold.

HK macaroni soup.

A popular breakfast dish in Hong Kong. It’s not glamorous so it doesn’t get international recognition. It won’t have traveled far and wide to any restaurant or dinner party. It’s just not that kind of a dish.

This breakfast soup is found at every no-frills diner/cafe in Hong Kong. Featuring a sunny side up egg, with ham or SPAM. It is so popular it is even served in Hong Kong McDonalds. Not as a limited edition menu item, but as part of their regular breakfast menu. Yes, you can get a combo with macaroni soup, coffee and a hash brown. Macca’s version features their sausage patty. I have fond memories eating this at McDonald’s in Hong Kong in the wintertime and it’s super easy to recreate at home.

HK MACARONI SOUP

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 1L chicken stock
  
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  
• 1 teaspoon sugar
  
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
  
• A pinch of white pepper
  
• A pinch of 5 spice
  
• 1 cup macaroni elbows
  
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

  TO SERVE
  

• Sliced ham, pan fried
  
• 4 fried eggs
  
• A handful of chopped spring onion
  
• Toasted sesame oil
  

PREPARATION

1. Bring chicken stock to the boil and add seasoning ingredients: soy sauce, a splash of rice vinegar, salt a little sugar, a pinch 5 spice and white pepper.
   
2. Add macaroni and cook for 10 minutes.
   
3. Add a little water if needed plus mixed vegetables and boil for a further 3 minutes. Season to taste.
   
4. Ladle into bowls, top each with a fried egg, slices of fried ham (or SPAM or a sausage patty), a scattering of spring onion and a tiny drizzle of sesame oil (a little goes a long way).