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Ginger Garlic Noodle Soup with Bok Choy is a nutritious, comforting, and flu-fighting twenty-minute recipe made with a vegetarian broth, noodles, mushrooms, and baby bok choy. You can easily make this Bok Choy Soup your own by adding chicken, shrimp, spicy chilis, or other veggies.
The most popular recipe on my blog, this Bok Choy Soup remains a personal favorite thanks to its delicious simplicity. If you love this bok choy soup you may also enjoy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, Kimchi Ramen Noodle Soup, or this fast and healthy 10-Minute Garlic Bok Choy Recipe.
I have made a lot of soup in my life. Creamy soups, brothy soups, vegetable soups, and meaty soups. I’ve made them all. However, if I had to pick one soup to eat for the rest of my life it would be this Ginger Garlic Noodle Soup with Bok Choy. This Bok Choy Soup is that good.
Some of you may be wondering…why?
WHY THIS IS THE BEST GINGER GARLIC NOODLE SOUP WITH BOK CHOY
- The broth. The key to a delicious and memorable brothy soup is the broth. Unfortunately, achieving this wonderous broth often takes HOURS (learn how to make bone broth here!). The broth in this Bok Choy Soup? Twenty minutes, my friends. Thirty minutes tops.
- It tastes a lot like Phở. Ok, I know, this is basically the same as what I said above. But it deserves two points because it kinda blows my mind a little.
- It’s like chicken noodle soup…but better.
- This Bok Choy Soup will fight your flu. Now, I can’t claim that it will cure anything (I’m not a doctor), but things like ginger and garlic are there to help when you feel like crap.
- It’s completely customizable. In other words, you have the base, but that doesn’t mean you can’t go wild with it. This bok choy soup loves all the veggies and really loves shrimp.
INGREDIENTS IN THIS GINGER GARLIC NOODLE SOUP WITH BOK CHOY
- Shallots and green onions (white AND green parts)
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Low-sodium chicken broth (or veggie broth/water to keep it vegan)
- Soy sauce (or Tamari to keep it gluten-free)
- Bok Choy
- Mushrooms
- Rice noodles
- Star Anise
That’s the basic overall list of what you need to make this awesome soup. You’ll also need salt, pepper, and red chili flakes.
What is star anise?
This is one of the most frequent questions I get from readers planning to make this recipe. Every other ingredient is fairly easy to find, but whole star anise? What’s this? Star anise is the seed pod from the fruit of the Illicium verum plant. Shaped like a star, star anise has six to eight points, each containing a single seed.
This Ginger Garlic Noodle Soup with Bok Choy Recipe calls for 2 whole star anise. The star anise is not meant to be eaten. I repeat- you do not eat the whole star anise. Star anise provides wonderful flavor to soup, sauces, and marinades, but tastes horrible when eaten whole. Remove the seed pod after simmering the broth.
What does star anise taste like? Star anise is a mix of sweet, spicy (not the chili kind of spicy), and very similar to licorice. As someone who mostly hates licorice, I guarantee you won’t feel like your slurping a bowl of licorice (unless you forget to remove the star anise pods and bite into one).
No idea where to buy star anise? Most major supermarkets sell this must-have spice, but just in case,
If you are one of those people who absolutely HATE star anise, simply substitute with cinnamon sticks. The flavor won’t be quite the same, but it will still be delicious.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOK CHOY AND BABY BOK CHOY
Since several of you have asked, I did a little research and this is what I have found.
- Baby bok choy and Bok choy are basically the same things.
- The difference is that baby bok choy is harvested earlier producing smaller, more tender leaves.
- This means that baby bok choy is much sweeter than bok choy and is often served directly in soups (oh HAY!) or even in salads.
- Bok choy, on the other hand, is much heartier, perfect for longer cooking times as in stir-frys.
That said, this Ginger Garlic Noodle Soup with Bok Choy could technically handle either baby bok choy or bok choy. Just remember that bok choy will be slightly more bitter and less sweet.
Bok Choy Soup Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I freeze this soup? Yes and no. Yes, you may absolutely freeze the broth. However, I do not recommend freezing this soup with the vegetables or the noodles. Fortunately, the vegetables and noodles in this bok choy soup take only minutes to heat together.
- Do I pre-cook the noodles? No no no no nooooo. Rice noodles cook super fast. Add the noodles to the broth just a few minutes before you are ready to eat.
- Does this bok choy soup taste good leftover? Similar to freezing, this soup can be eaten leftover but tastes best fresh- unless, of course, you make a big batch of broth and keep the vegetables and noodles separate.
WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS GINGER GARLIC NOODLE SOUP WITH BOK CHOY
“This was a-mazing. A lot of flavour and very little prep and cooking time. Makes you feel warm inside. Tasty, delicious and satisfying, yet light. This seriously picked me up!” -Emma
“This really was delicious. I used ramen noodles from a pack, I think any kind of noodles, even angel hair pasta would work well. I love bok choy but don’t usually buy it to fix just as a veggie. Now I have an excellent reason!” -Judith
“OMG! Thank you for this recipe, it is sooooo good! I couldn’t help myself and had a second bowl.” -Bonnie
For more bok choy recipes check out,
- Easy Sheet Pan Thai Chicken with Bok Choy
- Sweet Chili Tofu with Coconut Rice and Bok Choy
- Spicy Stir Fried Tofu with Bok Choy
- Udon Noodle Soup with Bok Choy and Poached Egg
- Spicy Stir Fried Tofu with Bok Choy
For more soup recipes check out,
- Easy Chicken Avocado Soup Recipe
- Vegetarian Butternut Squash Black Bean Soup
- Turmeric Broth Soup with Wild Rice and Vegetables
- Pho Recipe (How to Make Vietnamese Noodle Soup)
- Minestrone Soup Recipe
- Easy Six Onion Soup
DON’T FORGET TO PIN THIS GINGER GARLIC NOODLE SOUP RECIPE WITH BOK CHOY TO MAKE FOR A FAST AND EASY DINNER, WHEN YOU HAVE THE FLU, OR ANY OTHER TIME YOU WANT TO MAKE A BIG BOWL OF BOK CHOY SOUP.
If you try making this Bok Choy Soup Recipe, please leave me a comment and let me know! I always love to hear your thoughts.
Ginger Garlic Noodle Soup with Bok Choy
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 shallots, diced
- 1 bunch green onions, chopped, green and white divided
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoon ginger, fresh, minced
- 5.5 cups low sodium chicken broth, or vegetable broth for vegan
- 2 whole star anise
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce, or Tamari for a Gluten Free option
- 10 oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
- 6 oz rice noodles
- 1.5 heads bok choy, roughly chopped
- sesame seeds, for topping
- red pepper flakes, for topping
Instructions
- Heat 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium-sized stockpot over medium heat.
- To the oil add the diced shallots and mix well. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, or until the shallots turn translucent and start to soften. Stir often.
- Chop the end off of each green onion- dividing the white part from the green part. Chop and set aside the green part for topping. Meanwhile, finely chop the white part of each green onion.
- Add the white part of the green onions, minced garlic, and ginger to the shallots and mix. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1-2 minutes or until garlic and ginger is fragrant.
- Carefully pour the chicken stock or water (or mix) into the pot and bring to a simmer. To the pot add the star anise and soy sauce. Cover and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
- Remove lid from the pot and carefully remove and discard each star anise from the soup.
- Add the sliced mushrooms, uncooked noodles, and bok choy to the pot and simmer for 5-8 minutes, or until noodles and bok choy are tender. Season to taste.
- Divide soup between bowls and garnish with sesame seeds, the green parts of green onions and red pepper flakes (if desired).
Video
Notes
- Not everyone loves the taste of star anise. However, I find that it plays a crucial role in the flavor of the broth. That said, if you hate it or don't have any on hand, I have found cinnamon sticks to be a good substitute.
- Need a little protein? Don't be shy about adding some chopped chicken or shrimp to the soup approximately 5 minutes before serving (assuming the chicken has been previously cooked).
- For a lower sodium diet, you can substitute low sodium soy sauce, and/or substitute unsalted chicken broth.
- Garnish with Cilantro optional.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I made this on a whim and now must add it to my “Favorites”! The star anise is definitely the “star” of this soup!
Thanks, Judy, I appreciate your 5 star comment 🙂
I loved it! I hate ginger but I still really loved the flavors here, though I did use ground ginger. The star anise is what I was missing before.
Made today. A big hit with the family. Will keep this one in My Favourite Recipes! Thank you for sharing it.
I appreciate that Anne, thanks 🙂
I love this soup. It is so flavourful and is my go to for winter colds. Sometimes I make it by the recipe, sometimes I switch things up. Thanks for this recipe it’s great
Thanks, Carola 🙂
Really love this soup!! Made exactly as written (didn’t have star anise so I used cinnamon stick). Only one suggestion- saute the white ends of the bok choy with the garlic and ginger at the beginning. I will absolutely be making this again and again.
Super delicious. Thank you!
We enjoyed it! I put fish sauce in as well and was thinking fermented bean curd with chili to round out the harness of chili flakes. Can the nutrition info be updated? How could it be 32g of protein?
I personally read every single label of food I buy for myself and my family, so I truly appreciate the importance of nutritional labels when buying food. When cooking a recipe, specific ingredients can vary in nutrition depending on size, ripeness, brand, and even in different seasons.
We create the recipe cards at the bottom of the recipe posts with the WordPress plugin WP Recipe Maker. WP Recipe Maker utilizes the Spoonacular API to calculate the nutritional information from the ingredients I list on the recipe card. Because ingredients can come in various sizes, ripeness, and brands with differing nutritional qualities, this API is not perfect, and I do sometimes modify the data for information that I feel is not 100% accurate. As such, the nutrition information provided on all my recipes is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and specific ingredient brands.
Please use this information as more of an approximation or guide.
It’s one thing to be off by a gram or so but to claim this has 32 grams of protein is pretty misleading — and if you’re checking for errors, it’s simple enough to see what happened.
The API thinks it’s calculating chicken, not chicken broth. Rather than say “chicken broth” which is a group of ingredients, you’ll need to list those individually to get an accurate reading.
Protein content is important, and one assumes that accuracy is also important, within reasonable limits.
Hi Kel,
I dug into this further, and 1.5 heads of bok choy has approximately 17 grams of protein. Plus there are 9 grams of protein in 10 ounces of crimini mushrooms… so long story short the API is in fact pulling: “low-sodium chicken broth (canned and jarred) – Calories: 208kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Fat: 8g | Protein: 26g”. With two servings and rest of the ingredients, every seems to add up.
Enjoy 🙂
Go figure! I stand corrected. Meanwhile I just made this soup, subbing in fennel and some five spice since I don’t have star anise at the moment. I also didn’t have green onions so I used regular and cut up some shishito chilies for the green crunch. It was absolutely awesome! Great recipe, thank you. I especially like that the way you’ve done it, the mushrooms and bok choy both still have some nice texture. The bok choy still had a bit of crunch!
I am glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
This is perfect- worth all 5 stars! Easy to make on a busy night. Our 9yr wanted to try baby bok choy for the first time, so this is the recipe we chose. Entire family loved it. YUM!!!
I’m so glad your family enjoyed the bok choy soup, and it’s fantastic to hear it was a hit even on a busy night! Thank you for the wonderful feedback, and cheers to your 9-year-old for being adventurous with new vegetables!
We really enjoyed this recipe and will use it again. I have been trying to eat out and my husband loves Pho. The problem is I do not know what is in there which always affects me negatively. I usually have a headache and not feel great by the evening. I have been trying to find something that my husband and I can enjoy and know what is in it. Yes, this recipe made the grade. Restaurant food quality taste with ingredients I can enjoy. I did add some shrimp at the end also. YUM
Thank you for your kind words about the bok choy soup recipe! I’m glad it was a hit and met your needs for transparency and taste. Adding shrimp sounds delicious! If you’re looking for other straightforward, tasty recipes, feel free to explore more on my blog.
DELICIOUS!!! I LOVE IT!! Be aware. the prep takes much longer than the recipe indicates. A lot of chopping. I plan on making a lot of the broth and freezing it. That will make prep much faster! thank you for u r this satisfying reecipe.
I’m so glad to hear you loved the bok choy soup! Yes, the chopping can definitely take a bit of time, but your idea to make a large batch of the broth and freeze it for later is brilliant—it’ll streamline the process significantly for future meals. Thanks for that tip and for your kind words about the recipe.
Tastes great! Consider adding a teaspoon or so of fish sauce to increase umami, finish with a squeeze of lime in your bowl for additional flavor.
Thanks for the great feedback and rating, Alyssa 🙂