Chicken stock and chicken noodle soup

Peel and cut the stock vegetables into a few pieces each, cut the head of garlic across the centre without peeling, and quarter the onion.

Cut the chicken spines into one or two inch lengths to expose the inside of the bones.

Heat a little neutral oil to a shimmer over high heat and brown the chicken pieces, or at least half of them, leaving them undisturbed until a crust forms and they lift off the pan. Skip this for a lighter stock.

Add the rest of the chicken and the prepared vegetables; the onions can also be seared or everything roasted in a high temperature oven for more roasty flavour.

Add the thyme, parsley and peppercorns, but no salt.

Bring slowly to a bare simmer and skim the scum off with a soup ladle, otherwise the stock goes cloudy.

Simmer a bare minimum of four hours, up to 12.

Drain the stock through cheesecloth if possible, or a regular strainer, letting it drain a good long while, and keep it warm.

Heat olive oil over medium-high until shimmering and add the onion first, cooking until softened.

Add the rest of the chopped vegetables just to warm through, then add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer over high heat.

Add the roughly chopped parsley early, then the grated ginger and lemongrass.

Once at a rolling boil add the boneless skinless chicken thighs, skimming the fat as it rises, and boil 15 to 20 minutes.

Pull the thighs out and shred them with two small forks into bite-sized pieces, then return them to the pot; take the soup off the heat if the vegetables are getting too soft.

At the very end add a lot of freshly chopped dill and the minced scallions, cooking no more than a minute.

Season only now that the soup is complete.

Store the soup without noodles; ladle out the portion to be served into a separate pot, cook the egg noodles in it and season a little more.