My comforting baby bok choy soup is loaded with rice noodles and served in an earthy and savory broth made of shiitake mushrooms, garlic, and ginger. It has the same soothing properties as a bowl of Vietnamese pho – minus the meat – and can be served all year-round! It’s the perfect meal to enjoy whenever I crave a bowl of noodle soup that‘s on the lighter side.
I often cook with bok choy because I enjoy the tender leaves and how well they take on the flavors of sauces and broths. It’s a type of Chinese cabbage with bulbish stems, tall and wide leaves, that’s sold in both mature and baby forms. It’s one of those vegetables I always have in my crisper since it’s so versatile and easy to cook with. Making a quick bok choy stir fry only takes a few minutes to put together, and adding it to soups, like this noodle soups, adds depth of flavor and a refreshing element.
This is a simple bok choy soup recipe that can be made with less than 10 ingredients and with ingredients that are easy to find. It’s also 100% vegan which makes it perfect for those on a plant based diet.
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Oil: Use a neutral oil with a high smoke point such as vegetable oil or grapeseed oil to fry the garlic and shallots.
- Garlic: 2 garlic clove is plenty to infuse a slightly pungent element to the soup.
- Shallots: The shallots add a little sweetness to the broth. If you don’t have shallots, you can use half a yellow onion or half a red onion.
- Broth: Using good quality broth is crucial to the success of this soup. I recommend using broths that have depth of flavor and that are low in sodium such as Imagine Organic Vegetable Broth.
- Soy sauce: The reason why I recommend using a low sodium vegetable broth is because soy sauce is needed to make this soup. I recommend using a Japanese soy sauce such as Yamasa because it has more depth of flavor than other types of soy sauces.
- Ginger: I’m using a good thumb size amount of ginger to add heat to the soup. You can add more or less depending on your preferences.
- Dried shiitake mushrooms: Dried shiitake mushrooms are always a better options over fresh ones when flavoring a broth because they are much more concentrated in umami and earthiness.
- Bok choy: I’m using baby bok choy but feel free to use regular bok choy. Sometimes bok choy can be spelled pak choy, pak choi, or bok choi. These are not different types of bok choy, they are all the same, so you can rest assured that you are buying the right vegetable.
- Rice noodles: You can technically use any type of rice noodles for this soup. I personally enjoy the rice noodles used in pho so I picked those ones to use in this recipe.
- Chili paste: Chili paste like sambal oelek is optional but will add more heat and pungency to the soup, if you decide to use some.
Variations
- Use fresh ramen noodles. If you are not big on rice noodles, try using fresh ramen noodles instead. Swapping noodles will make the dish a little heavier since ramen noodles are more springy and dense.
- Add a protein. Add chopped firm tofu for a vegan noodle soup, or turn it into an Asian chicken noodle soup by using chicken broth and shredded chicken as a topping!
- Add a flavored oil. Using a flavored oil is a common way that ramen chefs add depth of flavor to their broths. You can do the same here and they are very easy to make. Simply use a neutral oil such as vegetable oil and add some chopped garlic, scallions, or shallots. Fry the ingredients on very low until they turn golden brown. Transfer the oil to a small ramekin and drizzle a little on the dish before serving. Or, if you don’t feel like making your own, using a little toasted sesame oil is an option if you like the nutty taste of sesame seeds.
How To Make This Bok Choy Soup
- Clean and cut the bok choy.
- Make the soup by combining the broth, soy sauce, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms.
- While the soup is simmering, cook the rice noodles.
- Split the noodles among two soup bowls and top with the broth.
- Serve with chili paste and enjoy immediately.
Expert Tip
- Go very thin with the ginger. Biting on thick chunks of ginger can overwhelm the palate and wipe out some of the delicate notes of the soup. By thinly slicing the ginger, you are ensuring that just the right amount of heat gets blended with the rest of the flavors.
Storage
Once this bok choy soup is assembled, it cannot be saved for later as the noodles will expand and get soggy, and the bok choy will get mushy. However, you can make the broth – without the bok choy – ahead of time and refrigerate it for up to 5 days in a storage container. Take the mushrooms out and saved them separately.
What To Serve This Soup With
This is a light and savory Asian soup that can be enjoyed in the summer as a light meal, or in the winter to warm you up. I like to serve it with a side of veggie or protein to make it a complete meal. Some of my favorite dishes to pair with this bok choy soup are:
- Honey sriracha tofu
- Baked chicken katsu
- Nasu dengaku (Japanese broiled eggplant with miso glaze)
- Edamame with soy and sesame sauce
- Spicy tuna roll
Frequently Asked Questions
Look for stems that are firm and bunched together. The heads of the bok choy should be close fitting and the leaves should be green. Avoid picking bok choy with wilted leaves that are separated from the bunch, or that have any black or discolored spots.
For baby bok choy, you can use the whole thing. For regular bok choy, the base can get a little hard so I recommend cutting off part of it where the stems all come to a point.
Did you like this recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
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Baby Bok Choy Soup (青菜湯)
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Soup
- Method: Boiling
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Vegan
Description
A light and comforting baby bok choy soup full of umami and savory flavors.
Ingredients
- 2 baby bok choy or 1 regular bok choy
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 4 cups low sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger, peeled and chopped into thin strips
- 2 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 4 ounces dried rice noodles
- sambal oelek or other chili paste, to taste
Instructions
- Clean and slice the bok choy. Start by rinsing the bok choy under water to remove any sand or dirt. Chop the bok choy into bite size pieces and put the pieces in a bowl filled with water. This will remove any hidden dirt that might have been hiding between the leaves. Take the bok choy out of the water using your hands – do not drain, you want the dirt to stay at the bottom of the bow – and transfer it to another bowl.
- Cook the garlic and shallots. In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil, garlic and shallots. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the shallots are translucent.
- Simmer the broth. Add the broth, soy sauce, ginger, and shiitake mushrooms, and bring to a boil. Lower heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
- Cook the bok choy. Add the bok choy and turn the heat to a low simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for 4 minutes.
- Cook the noodles. Meanwhile, bring another pot of water to boil and turn the heat off. Add the rice noodles, cover, and let sit for a few minutes until they have softened. There should be instructions on the package – the average soaking time is around 6-7 minutes.
- Put the dish together. Drain the noodles and divide them among two bowls. Add the broth and baby bok choy to the noodles.
- Add some heat. Start by adding 1/4 teaspoon of sambal oelek and do a taste taste (a little goes a long way, it’s very hot!). Add more if you like it very spicy. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 323
- Sugar: 2.6g
- Sodium: 867mg
- Fat: 3.9g
- Saturated Fat: 1.3g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.9g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 61.4g
- Fiber: 2.8g
- Protein: 6.1g
- Cholesterol: 3.5mg
I was looking for a way to jazz up bland white fish which we eat twice a week and is beyond boring. This soup worked beautifully. I used fresh shiitakes and homemade chicken broth because I had it on hand and instructed people to spoon the soup over the unseasoned baked white fish. It was so good. The fish soaked up the flavors and everyone ate everything.
This is an awesome soup. It was so easy to make too. I did not have the right mushrooms but had oyster mushrooms instead and it still worked fine. Great recipe.
Great recipe! I lacked mushrooms and was in a hurry so I used a drop of liquid smoke and some black eyed peas – and wow it turned it great in spite of any weirdness
I made this recipe and it turned out great for a first timer!
I added napa cabbage, carrots, celery then added coconut milk at the very end. Everyone loved it!
This recipe is great as written however second time around I added a tbsp. of soybean paste it really increased the depth of flavour.
This is excellent. I added two twists, Thai ginger and a dehydrated mushroom blend that if out of France. The greatest point of the latter is to USE the broth that the mushrooms make when they rehydrate.
OH.MY.GOODNESS.
Cheers
Thank you so much, Rob! 🙂
This is my favorite soup recipe! Thank you so much for this one, it is so delicious
Thank you Ann! 🙂
I enjoyed this recipe so much…. third time making it…thanks