Noodle Soup

I felt inspired to make a hot bowl of soup after watching Anthony Bourdain in Laos. The noodle soup he had for breakfast one day looked so great I just had to try making my own. So, here is my attempt to recreate what I saw on No Reservations keeping in mind soups I've had at Thai restaurants and using ingredients I had in the fridge and the cupboard.

Ingredients
Rice Noodles
5 cups water
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 cloves of garlic, chopped
2 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 leek, finely chopped (only the white part)
7 chicken tender strips, cut into 1 inch squares
1 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp pepper
red pepper flakes (topping)
red pepper paste (topping)
green onion (chopped)
2 cloves of fried garlic, finely chopped (topping)

Instructions
Heat the oil over medium heat and add the 3 cloves of garlic, celery, and leek. Cook until tender. Add chicken and cook for about 5-8 minutes or until cooked through. Add water, rice noodles. salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Cook until noodles are al dente and then add the mushrooms and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until mushrooms are done. Pour into bowls and then add the amount of each topping you like for your soup. Mix everything around in the bowl and enjoy!