Japanese-style One-pot supper

This is a recipe from Sunset (December 2007) that I made last night (1.5X recipe below - should feed us 3! nights and maybe a lunch). It was good, fast, and healthy, but could use a few improvements. I used chicken breast instead of thighs, and it was a little bland, but still not worth using the fatty thighs we get. Also it all stuck together when I threw it in the pot. Next time I'll try sprinkling the chicken cubes with some salt and pepper and letting it sit for a while, then coat them in flour just before adding it.

Yield: Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 ounces dried bean-thread noodles (saifun or cellophane noodles; see Notes)
• 5 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 cup mirin (see Notes) or cream sherry
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3 to 5 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
• 12 ounces boned, skinned, chicken thigh meat, trimmed of fat and cut into 1-in. chunks
• 1 small red bell pepper, seeded, stemmed, and cut into thin slices
• 4 ounces sugar snap or snow peas
• 4 ounces button mushrooms, sliced
• 8 ounces firm tofu, drained and cut into 1-in. cubes
• 3 green onions (green and white parts), cut into 1-in. lengths
• Sriracha (see Notes)

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, soak bean-thread noodles in boiling water until soft, about 5 minutes. Drain and cut into 6- to 10-in. lengths.

2. In a 5- to 6-qt. pot or a 12-in. frying pan (with sides at least 2 in. high), bring broth, mirin, soy sauce, sugar, and ginger to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 5 minutes.

3. Arrange noodles, chicken, bell pepper, peas, mushrooms, tofu, and green onions in separate piles in the pot. Cover and simmer, without stirring, until chicken chunks are no longer pink in the center (cut one to test), about 5 minutes. Set pot on the table so people can serve themselves, with Sriracha on the side.