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. 10 minutes and just 352 calories for a big bowl. Use any noodles, any vegetables, any protein – or not! It’s terrific fridge-forage food.
This is a reader-favourite recipe included by popular demand in my debut cookbook “Dinner”!
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:
Broth: Plonk and simmer 6 ingredients for 10 minutes (no trip to the Asian store required!);
Noodles: Prepare fresh OR dried noodles according to packet directions;
Toppings: Rummage in fridge and locate vegetables & proteins of choice. Chop roughly and cook with the noodles or in the soup. broth; and
Serve: Place noodles in bowls. Pour over soup and toppings.
See? 10 minutes!
Seasonings for 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. It takes more than just chicken broth and soy sauce to make a Chinese soup broth!
Here’s what all you need:
Chinese cooking wine – the key ingredient. Just 1.5 tablespoons adds complexity and depth of flavour to the store bought chicken stock. Without it, the broth will taste “flat” ie missing something. Substitute with: dry sherry, mirin or cooking sake. 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);
Garlic and ginger – 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);
Sesame oil – for the flavour!
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). Best option if you have it: homemade chicken stock!;
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
Sugar – just a touch, to balance out the flavours.
What goes in the noodle soup
And here’s what I put in the soup:
Noodles – Chinese noodle soups are traditionally made with thin egg noodles (pictured above, and below in the soup). Fresh ones (sold in the fridge section) have a better texture than dried. 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 will be great in this broth!
Bok Choy (also known as buk choi, buk choi, pak choi, or pok choi – crazy right??!) – or any vegetables. I like bok choy because you just split them in half down the middle and bam! You’re done! (Recipe notes includes an extensive list of chopping and cook directions for common vegetables)
Cooked Chicken (poach it using this method that guarantees juiciness)- or any other protein, as desired. Everybody keeps little containers of cooked shredded chicken in the freezer, right?!
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 take a 2 minutes off the simmer time!😉)
PRO TIP: Never cook noodles in the soup broth unless a recipe specifically calls for it. 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. Learnt this the hard way. 😖
Make it even HEALTHIER!!
Being that this is a noodle soup recipe and all, noodles are a key ingredient here. Even so, it clocks in at just 352 calories for a bowl.
But if you want to cut down on the carbs and calories even further, just skip the noodles and load it up with tons more vegetables to make a Chinese vegetable soup. In fact, it’s one of my “go-to” diet dinners (which should happen more frequently than it does…).
Do I miss the noodles? Of course I do. But I console myself with a healthy dose of chilli paste and lots of fresh herbs, Chicken Pho style.
But before you make it diet, try it the way it’s intended. THEN healthify it!!! – Nagi x
Watch How To Make It
This recipe features in my debut cookbook Dinner. The book is mostly new recipes, but this is a reader favourite included by popular demand!
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Chinese Noodle Soup
Ingredients
Broth
- 3 cups chicken stock/broth, low sodium (Note 1)
- 2 garlic cloves , smashed (Note 2)
- 1.5 cm / 1/2" ginger piece, cut into 3 slices (optional, but highly recommended)
- 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce , or normal all purpose soy sauce (Note 3)
- 2 tsp sugar (any)
- 1 1/2 tbsp chinese cooking wine (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 vegetables of choice (use any blanchable veg – Note 7)
- 1 cup shredded cooked chicken (or other protein of choice)
- 1 scallion / shallot , green part only finely sliced (optional garnish)
Instructions
- Place Broth ingredients in a saucepan over high heat. Place lid on, bring to simmer then reduce to medium and simmer for 8 – 10 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
- Meanwhile, cook noodles according to packet directions.
- Cut bok choys in half (for small / medium) or quarter (for large). Wash thoroughly.
- Either cook the bok choi in the broth in the soup broth OR noodle cooking water for 1 min (if noodles required boiling).
- Pick garlic and ginger out of soup.
- Place noodles in bowls. Top with chicken and bok choy. Ladle over soup, garnish with green onions. Great served with chilli paste or fresh chillis.
Recipe Notes:
- Reduce soy sauce to 1 tbsp
- Add 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce (this has umami and will add complexity into the broth flavour to compensate for leaving out cooking wine).
- Fresh noodles, thin (ie from fridge section, this is what I use) – 90g / 3 oz per serving
- Fresh noodles, wide and flat (like thick Thai rice noodles) – 150g/ 5 oz per serving (much denser, so you need more)
- Dried noodles, pasta (yes, really!) – 60g / 2 oz per serving
- Ramen – 1 pack / “cake” per person
- Any Chinese veggies (bok choy/buk choi/pak choi, gai lan/Chinese broccoli, choy sum). Cut Bok Choy into half or quarters lengthwise (pictured / video), for other veg, cut into batons about 5cm / 2″ long
- Carrots – sliced on the diagonal
- Bean sprouts
- Green beans
- zucchini (sliced)
- green beans cabbage (thick slice)
- asparagus, broccoli / broccolini and cauliflower,
- any other vegetable that can be boiled.
Nutrition Information:
Originally published June 2016. Long overdue for a video to be added with brand new photos and process steps!
MORE ASIAN SOUPS YOU’LL LOVE!
Life of Dozer
Baby Hands and Giant Paws. Evidence for anyone who has wondered how small my hands really are. 😉
Love this! I added star anise to the broth and dried shiitake. YUM
I use the broth for Steamboat (Chinese Hot Pot) Amazing.
Love this recipe! Very quick and easy to make and so tasty. Great for using up fading greens from the fridge!
This broth in it’s simplicity to make results in a wonderfully tasty broth for Asian noodle based soups. Make it, eat it….
I have literally made this 2-3 times a week this year, adding a good helping of chilli and chilli oil. It’s so easy, easy to add random ingredients to, and very satisfying
OMG… this was so good my daughter and I made it twice in 3 days. We used thinly sliced beef (think bulgogi) and made this hot-pot style. Second time we used Nagis poached chicken (cause yes we do have bags of this in the freezer all the time). Amazing both ways. Even used leftover broth to make Nagis garlic rice. SO GOOD!! Thank you Nagi…again
Absolutely PHENOMENAL dish! Very easy to make. Broth is so easily reheated the following day, and it’s going to be on frequent rotation at my house – especially because leftovers taste the same as if I had just made it.
Absolutely delicious flavor!! I didn’t listen and cooked my noodles in the broth, you’re right.
More of a dinner than a soup. My husband loved the flavors and I predict we’ll be having some version everyweek. So quick and easy!
We loved this broth. Easy and delicious.
Hi Nagi! Do you have gluten-free substitute for this recipe? 🙂
This is a great recipe!!!!
Another delicious quick winter warmer that I whip up on a Sunday for the kids, they have a quick and easy well loved home made option instead of takeout. Thanks again Nagi, your recipies are my little life savers
Once again I kind of stuffed it up but turned out amazing. I added zucchini and carrot as well as baby pak choy. Also added coriander because I love it. Chopped hot chilli’s to throw on top. Super delicious. Thank you again for a wonderful meal Nagi!
A 10 out of 10 from my whole family! That broth is amazingly flavoursome. We poached chicken tenders, used very fresh noodles and chopped some broccolini that was in the fridge. Also added tofu and spring onions. Will be making again and again!
The best soup! Its my go to whenever i want soup. Whenever my kids are sick they ask for it, comfort in a bowl.
This broth is exactly what I was looking for, and so easy to make and switch up with different proteins and vegetables. I used thinly sliced beef instead of chicken and it turned out delicious. I have used several of your other recipes and every one has been foolproof. Thank you!
If I thinly slice chicken breast would it work to cook it right in the broth if I don’t have cooked chicken?
Thank you very much again, Nagi, for helping us cook delicious food.
My family absolutely loves this soup! In
fact, it has become our favourite soup.
Definitely our go to on autumn and winter weekends.
Keep up the good work!
Absolutely a bomb proof recipe. So very easy to whip up.
Super tasty, and yes…. it is restaurant quality in a bowl. Thanks ‘tineats’
This is one of the best recipes on the RTE site…super easy, delicious and definitely a go to on an autumn or winter night!