meg, do you REALLY want to know what was added in the shops to give the flavoursome broth?

yup - unfortunately it's not anything you would want to add in at home... but when I'm doing this I often add some nam pla, or some miso (either paste or the freeze-dried soup that DOESN'T have any MSG in it - you need to look carefully!) or both! but yes, it's one of my favourite meals. another trick i like is to add chicken that i have already marinated in a mix of soy/sesame/chili/garlic/ginger and then grilled or stir-fried. gives a bit more flavour, although might not be strictly authentic...

Ah yes, Lil, the infamous gourmet powder, I'd forgotten about that. For the first couple of seconds when I read your comment, I thought you were hinting at giblets or other offally bits boiled in the stock, but MSG is more likely, isn't it?

Thanks for the tips, Vanessa. I'll also try marinating some chicken next time (though one of the things I liked about this meal was that I decided to cook it and 25 minutes later we were eating it - faster than a takeaway!)

yes, the infamous crystallines... at the end of the day, to get a full flavour broth, proper stock is still the best, and you can always add a little oyster sauce (although the soup will look darker) to it...

also, my bro keeps ginger in thin strips marinated in sesame oil, so when he needs some, it's ready and good to use for cooking which i think is great! you can also use it for ginger/spring onion stir fry (with some chicken or fish) so pretty handy really :)

When I make Japanese style noodle broth, I'm lazy, so don't even use meat broth (though most ramen noodle broths would simmer pork bones for forever....). I saute garlic, ginger, sriracha sauce (yes, not japanese, I know), add water, then instant dashi powder (yes, homemade is better and is easy to make), some sake, some mirin, a dash of soy, some miso, and some sesame oil. I think that the few extra ingredients make a big difference. Pho usually starts with duck broth or pork broth, but to make that broth veggie I saute garlic, ginger, chiles, star anise, bruised fresh lemongrass, and sometimes coriander seeds and then add organic veggie broth and fish sauce along with sprouts, veggies, fish/meat, and cilantro.