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. 😉
So glad I stumbled across your recipe on a night when I’m having major cravings for homemade Chinese noodle soup and just happened to have almost all ingredients on hand to make this! I subbed ground ginger for fresh ginger, since that’s what I had on hand, and it still turned out amazingly. Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Sounds like you nailed it Cathy!
Any time I ask my 5 year old what she wants for dinner, you can guarantee she will say “Nagi’s chicken noodle soup”. I often leave out the ginger, simply because the shops only have huge pieces of ginger available, but It is still delicious and you wouldn’t even know it was missing
Just a tip, you can always peel the ginger and freeze it! It stays for a very long time!!!
Hey! You might not know this, but you can just rip a piece off and buy however much you want. No one expects you to buy a whole ginger root.
Haha thanks for the heads up. I did that recently and felt like a total thief lol. I just harvested my first lot of ginger last week, so I shouldn’t need to buy any for a while 🙂
Woah that’s so great Amy! I’m so glad it’s a hit!
I wanted to soup up some store bought Croatian veggie soup mix and use up my bok choy. So I used this broth recipe with water instead of chicken broth and added it to the soup water. It turned out so good.
I also subbed chickpeas for chicken cause I didn’t feel like cooking the chicken.
Sounds amazing Beck!!
May I know is there any simply chicken broth steps for this?
This is EXACTLY what I felt like tonight, and it was amazing! I followed everything to the letter but added some oyster mushrooms as well. I’m so pleased to be able to make my own delicious soup and not have to rely on my favourite noodle take away!
That’s awesome to hear Nicole!!
Note to self n all..if ur gonna substitute ingredients make sure to READ THE NOTES!!
i used rice vinegar instead of chinese cooking wine but did not change the amount! Result…a rather vinegry soup!!
Oh no!!! Were you able to salvage it??
This sounds so good!
One question please. You mentioned yiur go to chicken is shredded cooked chicken that you keep in little bags in the freezer.
Please could u tell me how to do this, sorry for my ignorance? Thank you so much in advance
Hi Mari, I’ll either use a store bought roast chicken or poach chicken and then shred – N x https://promotown.info/foolproof-poached-chicken-breast-with-ginger-shallot-sauce/%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
Wow is all I can say.. i was so skeptical about the baking soda and chicken. Oh boy what a big difference! and then I went and splurged 5.99$ on the Shaoxin wine Goodness- what a big difference (sherry isn’t a real good sub- get the Shaoxin what a fabulous difference and it doesn’t take much per recipe! the velveting of the chicken and then “charlie ” sauce – thank you so much Nagi – you have really elevated my cooking skills with just 2 things already- thank you! From Frozen Ontario, Canada
That’s awesome Monica! Shaoxing will totally transform your cooking, I’m so glad you’re loving these recipes ❤️
This is a bi weekly go-to meal when I’m short on time. We really love it! Thank you!
You are a funny and inventive writer, makes your recipes even more attractive and interesting, thank you!
That’s great Sue!
Fantastic and easy to cook 👨🏻🍳
I’m so glad you loved it Heiko!
Finally found a wonderful noodle soup base. Especially like the flavor of star anise. Thank you we love it.
Paula Johnson.
Kalispell, Montana USA
A question, when the recipe said to use two large bok choy. Does that mean two large ribs of bok or two stalks of bok choy
I have searched forever and finally found your chicken noodle soup exactly as I wanted including shao Xing wine and the added star annise thankyou so much.Am making it tonight.Your detail is wonderful…..Jenny Shaw…Sydney
Hope you love it Jennifer! PS I’m in Sydney too! Up in the northern beaches 🙂 N x
Boy does this bring back memories of being a child and going for a special lunch at Frank Fat’s restaurant in Sacramento. My favorite thing to order was simply called Chinese Noodles. It had the most delicious chicken broth and it was garnished with slices of char siu pork, slices of hard boiled egg, and green onions/scallions. I don’t even remember chicken or veggies in it but there may have been. The restaurant is still going strong since 1938, but they no longer offer Chinese Noodles. I am going to make yours in a day or two as the weather is going to be getting cooler. Perfect comfort food! Thanks, Nagi!
Hope you get a chance to Suzy! And imagine this with the homemade char siu! YUM!!!
Hi Nagi, I’ve just come across your recipes and they look great. I’ll be trying this one. BTW, either Dozer is a very big dog or you’re very small 🙂
Hi Nagi,
I love your recipes! However, I live in Arizona (ugh, no ocean or lakes) and I wonder if the ingredients Campbell’s Chinese broth, Chinese cooking wine, etc. are available here. Our biggest diversity is Latino not Asian. In California, Hawaii and Washington (where lived most of my life) the diversity was mch greater which I loved.
I’ve been looking for a perfect noodle soup recipe for years after my favourite noodle bar closed down, and you hit the flavour right on the nail. Made with king prawns and coriander, just perfect, thank you so much!! My daughter says she’s in heaven (she’s 10)
Hi! I made this last week and oh wow. Sooooo good!
I want to make it again tonight but with wontons. Never made those so we’ll see how that goes. Anyway just wanted to ask. Can I make the soup part in the day and put it in the fridge to heat up for later? Without all the toppings of course.
Hi Emily – absolutely! Perfect for making ahead and reheating later!
Ah, I would love to try more of your Chinese recipes, but the sodium content is so very high. This soup looks perfect, except for the sodium content. Is there any hope for those of us who are trying to keep their families on heart-healthy diets?
Hi Mariko! If you use low sodium chicken broth and low sodium soy sauce that will reduce the salt considerably!
Thanks so much for the reply! In re-reading the recipe, I see your Note 7 mentions this. (Sorry that I didn’t read more thoroughly the first time.) There must be some very salty commercial chicken broths in Australia! Must be very tasty, though. 🙂 Since reduced sodium soy sauce and chicken stock are alwin my pantry, I’ll definitely give this soup a try.
Low sodium stock would be great for this recipe, although I make my own with just water, chicken and all my left over veg scraps ( when I peel carrots, onions, garlic skins ,celery etc I freeze them and use for stock.
we don’t eat salt at all due to kidney disease in our daughter.
Tasted so good! You’re absolutely right about chicken broth and soy sauce not being enough to make a good soup I’m glad I found this recipe.
That’s great to hear! Thank you for letting me know you enjoyed this – N x
Tonight I made Chinese chicken noodle soup, and although it was good, my brother and I both thought it lacked something important, but we aren’t sure what. 😣
I didn’t have the cooking wine, but I wonder if fish sauce would be helped.
Any suggestions?
Hi Carey! Chinese cooking wine is the secret ingredient 🙂 Trust me – get some, try it with that and I bet you will notice the difference! N x
made this again, yummo great bowl of goodness, I poached the chicken in the broth and then shredded it, so easy.
Thank you
That’s terrific to hear Joecool! So glad you enjoyed this! N x
Another fantastic recipe. Made this last night, ate left overs for breaks. Thx for sharing. The broth was incredible.
That’s terrific to hear Tania! So glad you enjoyed this! N x