Vietnamese Shrimp Noodle Soup

Vietnamese Shrimp Noodle Soup

I have been on a Vietnamese kick lately... craving lots of light, fresh flavors.  This soup was my attempt to create them at home, loosely based off a recipe from a friend for a pork noodle dish.  And for my first attempt of cooking Vietnamese food at home, I'd say I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out and could eat this for dinner once a week.

-4 c broth (you could use all chicken broth, or all seafood stock, but I used a combination of clam juice and chicken broth)
-1/4 c soy sauce
-1/4 c sherry
-2 Tbsp brown sugar
-1/2 Tbsp sriracha sauce
-4 cloves garlic, minced
-1 2" piece ginger, sliced
-2 star anise 
-1 head bok choy, chopped
-1 pack mushrooms sliced (I used button, but shitake would be more traditional)
-1 lb med-large shrimp, shells removed 
-4 oz vermicelli rice noodles, cooked according to package directions
-assorted toppings: chopped cilantro, lime wedges, bean sprouts, scallions, and/ or basil

Combine broth through star anise in a large pot.  Simmer over medium heat for at least 20 minutes, but up to several hours (the longer the better).  Remove star anise, add bok choy, mushrooms, and shrimp.  Cook an additional 10 minutes, or until veggies and shrimp are cooked through.  Place noodles into bowls, top with shrimp, broth and veggies.  Sprinkle with desired toppings.

*Per the initial recipe that I worked off of I actually did the whole soup in a slow cooker, but the original recipe was intended for lengthy cooking because it used a pork shoulder.  With quick cooking shrimp, you don't need to use a slow cooker, but I found it very low maintenance to cook it that way.  I combined the broth- star anise in the slow cooker over low for several hours.  Removed the star anise, added the bok choy and mushrooms for 20 minutes.  Added the noodles for 10 minutes.  Then added the shrimp and cooked a final 5 minutes before serving.