Vietnamese chicken soup

Well, I didn't take a picture of our finished soup, but the picture in the weight watchers cookbook looked so good, that I just had to make this soup.  It has some spices I would never think to put in a soup, but it looked so appealing I thought I would give it a try, and I highly recommend it.

Here is the recipe:
4 oz. rice stick noodles
8 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
6 small basil sprigs (I used fresh basil leaves)
6 cilantro sprigs (I am not a fan so I left this out)
3 scallions
2 garlic cloves, peeled
10 whole pepper corns
1 whole star anise (I believe this and the coriander were key to the flavor)
1 teaspoon coriander seeds (I used 1/4 teaspoon of ground coriander)
15 oz. of boneless skinless chicken breast
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fresh Asian mushrooms such as Enoki or Beech-I used regular mushrooms minus the stems since we cannot get Asian mushrooms in Rapid City
scallion tops sliced (I used the top from the three I put in the broth)
extra basil

Cook the rice noodles according to the package directions and drain.

Meanwhile, combine the broth, basil sprigs, cilantro (if using), 2 of the 3 scallions, the garlic, peppercorns, star anise and coriander seeds in a large pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 5 minutes.  Add chicken and salt, return to simmer.  Simmer covered until chicken is cooked through, 10 - 12 minutes.

Transfer chicken to plate. Pour broth mixture through a fine mesh sieve placed over a large bowl; discard solids.  Return broth to clean pot.

Cut chicken into 1/2 cubes, add to broth.  Add noodles, mushrooms and remaining scallion to broth.  Cook soup over medium heat until heated through, about 3 minutes.  Stir in scallion tops and extra basil.

Per serving (2 1/2 cups) 715 g. 342 cal, 6 g. total fat, 2 g sat. fat., 0 g trans fat, 63 mg. chol., 764 mg. sodium, 37 g. carbs., 1 g total sugar, 3 g. fiber, 38 g. protein

We held the extra salt (the 1/4 tsp) and added salt as needed...I tried soy sauce in one bowl: DO NOT ADD SOY SAUCE!!!!!  It ruined the flavor and over powered all the delicate spices... This is four good size servings so it is a meal or you can have less and use it as a side.