This post Chinese Noodle Soup was last updated on 2022.
Chinese Noodle Soup is incredibly quick and easy – if you know the secret seasonings! You’d swear the Asian soup broth is from a Chinese restaurant, it’s that good.
Only 10 minutes 350 calories for a large bowl. Use any noodles, any vegetables, any protein – or not! Fantastic fridge food.
Fast Chinese Noodle Soup!
This Chinese Noodle Soup is one of my classic “back pocket” recipes because it’s so versatile and incredibly quick. Because people who cook all day for a living need quick dinners for real life – ask any chef!!
Here’s a run down of how it goes:
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Broth: Plonk and simmer 6 ingredients for 10 minutes (no trip to the Asian store required!);
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Noodles:Make fresh or dried noodles according the package directions.
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Toppings: Rummage in fridge and locate vegetables & proteins of choice. Cut the vegetables into small pieces and add to the soup. broth;
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Serve:Put noodles in bowls. Add soup and toppings.
See? 10 minutes!
Seasonings to make Chinese soup broths
If you’ve ever been disappointed by a recipe for an Asian soup broth before, it’s probably because it was missing basic but essential flavourings. A Chinese soup broth is more than just chicken broth or soy sauce.
Here’s WhatEverything you need:
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Chinese cooking wine – the key ingredient. 1.5 tablespoons of chicken stock can add complexity and depth to the broth. Without it, the broth will taste “flat” ie missing something. Substitute dry sherry with mirin or cooking wine. Best non alcoholic sub for this recipe: substituting some of the soy sauce with oyster sauce (which adds extra “umami” into the broth to compensate);
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Ginger and garlic – smash the garlic and slice the ginger to allow the fresh flavours to infuse into the broth. Keeping them whole makes it easy to pick out later – you could very well grate them straight into the broth using a fine grater, but you will get little bits in the soup (rather than being a clear broth);
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Sesame oil – for the flavour!
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Chicken broth/stock – use low sodium otherwise the broth may be a touch too salty for your taste. Use a decent one, because it’s the foundation of the soup broth (🇦🇺 I use Campbells. Better than Continental. The best choice if you have homemade chicken stock;
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Soy sauce – either all purpose or light soy sauce will work here. Don’t use dark soy sauce or sweet soy sauce – the flavour of these are too intense; and
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Sugar – just a touch, to balance out the flavours.
What’s in the noodle soup?
And here’s what I put in the soup:
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Noodles – Chinese noodle soups are traditionally made with thin egg noodles (pictured above, and below in the soup). They are better than dried noodles if they are fresh (they can be found in the fridge section). But any noodles will be fine here – fresh or dried, rice noodles, white or yellow noodles, Hokkien, Singapore noodles, wide, thin, vermicelli, ramen noodles (yup!), diet noodles (like konyaku – been there, done that), zoodles (been there too). Really. Any noodles can be used in this broth.
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Bok Choy (also known as buk choi, buk choi, pak choi, or pok choi – crazy right??!) – or any vegetables. Bok choy is my favorite because you can just cut them in half down their middle. bam! You’re done! (Recipe notes contains a large list of common vegetable chopping and cooking directions.
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Grilled chicken (poach it using this method that guarantees juiciness)- or any other protein, as desired. You know how everyone keeps small containers of cooked shredded poultry in the freezer?!
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Green onion or coriander/cilantro, or chives, or even finely sliced onion (red, white, yellow brown) – something for a little hit of freshness.
How to make Chinese Noodle Soup
And here’s how it happens in 10 minutes. (And to all those cheeky buggers who will point out that if you have to simmer for 10 minutes, then it takes longer than 10 minutes – fine!You can reduce the simmer time by 2 minutes!😉)
TIP: If you are making a specific recipe, don’t cook the noodles in the soup broth. Noodles suck up loads of liquid when they cook, so if you do that you’ll end up with way less broth than you expect. This was the hardest lesson I have ever had to learn. 😖
Make it more HEALTHY!!
Noodles are the key ingredient in this noodle soup recipe. It is only 352 calories per bowl.
If you are looking to reduce the amount of calories and carbs, skip the noodles and add tons of vegetables to make a Chinese vegetable broth. In fact, it’s one of my “go-to” diet dinners (which should happen more frequently than it does…).
Do I miss the noodles? Yes, I do. However, I keep my cool with plenty of fresh herbs and chilli paste, Chicken Pho style.
But before you make it diet, try it the way it’s intended. Then, healthify it!! – Nagi x
You can see how it is done.
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Chinese Noodle Soup
Ingredients
Broth
- 3 Cups Low sodium chicken stock/broth (Note 1)
- 2 Garlic cloves , smashed. (Note 2).
- 1.5 cm/ 1/2″ ginger piece, Slice into 3 pieces (optional, but strongly recommended).
- 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce Or, normal all-purpose soybean sauce (Note 3-)
- 2 tsp Sugar (any)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese wine for cooking (Note 4)
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp Sesame oil , toasted (optional) (Note 5)
Toppings & Noodles
- 180g / 6oz fresh egg noodles (Note 6)
- 2 Large bok choy, or other vegetable of your choice Any blanched vegetable can be used – Note 7
- 1 Cup Chicken shredded (or another protein of choice).
- 1 Scallion / shallot Green part of the vegetable should be finely sliced (optional garnish).
Instructions
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Combine all the Broth ingredients in saucepan. Heat on high. Put the lid on and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and let simmer for 8 to 10 minutes.
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While you wait, prepare the noodles according to the package directions.
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For small or medium sized bok choys, cut in half (for small/medium sized) or quarter (for large). Wash well.
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Cook the bok choi either in the soup broth or in the noodle boiling water for approximately 1 minute (if noodles are to be boiled).
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Take out the soup with ginger and garlic.
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In a bowl, place the noodles. Add chicken and bokchoy. Top soup with chicken and bok choy. Garnish with green onions. Serve with fresh chilli paste or chilli paste.
Recipe Notes
2. Smashed Garlic wack the side of your knife onto a garlic clove using the heel of your hand so it bursts open but remains mostly in one piece. This allows the flavor to seep into your soup, but can also be removed before you serve it. It is possible to mince the garlic with a garlic crusher, but this will result in a broth that has little garlic bits visible.
3. Chinese cooking wineThis is an essential ingredient that transforms store-bought chicken stock into high-quality soup broth. Dry Sherry can be used as a substitute. Japanese cooking sake or mirin will work well as substitutes.
If you can’t drink alcohol, the following is my recommendation:
- Reduce the amount of soy sauce to 1 tablespoon
- Add 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce (this is a good option). umamiThis will enhance the flavor of the broth and compensate for any loss of cooking wine
4. Additional broth flavoring optionsStar anise, chilli and green onion (just fold them), or onion quarters.
5. Sesame oil Use toasted (brown colour, stronger sesame flavour) and not untoasted (yellow), which is not very common in Australia.
6. Noodles:You can use whatever you like, fresh or dry, but make sure to reduce the amount. Here are some guidelines for the amount of noodles in each serving.
- Fresh noodles, thin, (ie from fridge, this is what you use) – 90g/3 oz for each serving
- Fresh noodles, flat and wide (like thick Thai rice noodles), 150g / 5 oz per portion (denser so you will need more).
- Pasta, dried noodles (yes, it is possible!) – 60g / 2 oz per serving
- Ramen – 1 pack / “cake” per person
Follow the instructions on the packet. do not Add the broth to the pot. It will absorb a lot of broth.
7. Toppings:You can cook protein separately for simplicity. Shredded chicken is my “go-to” because I keep small bags in the freezer. Poaching preserves its juicy texture. Egg is also great – just whisk it lightly, pour it in and whisk to create egg “ribbons” like in Hot & Sour Soup and Chinese Corn Soup. It’s amazing to make Chinese BBQ Pork Slices. I order it in restaurants with soup, but it never leaves me with any leftovers.
Vegetables If noodles need to be cooked, cut the vegetables and then cook them in the noodle water. If the noodles only require soaking, cook the vegetables in broth. Place the vegetables that take longer to cook first (such as broccoli) and the delicate ones last (such as beansprouts).
Veggie suggestions – Toppers commonly found in Chinese wonton and noodle soups:
- Any Chinese vegetables (bok choy/buk Choi/pak Choi, gai Lan/Chinese Broccoli, choy sum). Bok Choy should be cut in half (or quarters) lengthwise.
- Carrots – Sliced on the diagonal
- Bean sprouts
- Green beans
Other vegetables It’s not common in Chinese restaurants but it works great!
- zucchini (sliced)
- Green beans cabbage (thick cut)
- Asparagus, broccoli, / or broccolini, and cauliflower
- Any other vegetable that can easily be boiled.
8. NutritionThis is per serving, assuming 1/4 tsp sesame oil is used. Adding more vegetables can significantly increase the nutrition. Use low sodium soy sauce to reduce sodium.
Nutrition Information:
Original publication June 2016. It’s long overdue that a video was added, with new photos and steps.
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