Soup season is here and I am not mad about it. When it gets cold I want a bowl I can wrap both hands around. So I pulled together all my favorite Asian soup recipes in one place, from 30 minute chicken miso ramen to my Lola's chicken tinola and a pot of beef bulalo that falls off the bone.
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New on the list: my chicken miso ramen. Crispy ground chicken, caramelized butter corn and a rich miso bone broth. It is the one I make just for me.
Every soup here is one I make at home on repeat. Some are Filipino classics I grew up eating. Some are lazy weeknight shortcuts with frozen dumplings. All of them are easy, and none of them need a restaurant.
What Makes a Good Asian Soup?
It starts with the broth. Most of the soups here lean on a few hard working ingredients: fresh ginger and garlic, fish sauce or soy sauce for salt, and something for depth like miso, curry paste or bone marrow. That is it. No 20 ingredient spice blends.
The other secret is time, or a smart shortcut. Bulalo and tinola get their flavor from bone-in meat simmered low and slow. Ramen and curry dumpling soup cheat with bone broth, miso and coconut milk, so you get big flavor in 20 to 30 minutes.
Tips for Better Asian Soups
A few things I swear by:
- Use bone-in chicken for tinola and arroz caldo. Boneless gives you a weak broth.
- Strain miso into the pot through a fine mesh strainer. No lumps, ever.
- Add fish sauce at the end. Taste first, then add more.
- Cook noodles separately so they do not drink all your broth.
- Store broth and toppings apart. Most broths keep 3 days in the fridge.
- Make a double batch. Broth freezes beautifully.
The Best Asian Soup Recipes
Chicken Miso Ramen
The ramen I make when I need something deeply comforting. Rich miso bone broth, crispy ground chicken, caramelized butter corn and jammy eggs. Ready in 30 minutes, which is faster than delivery.
Ingredients:
Crispy chicken topping:
1 pound ground chicken (you can use any ground meat)
1 tablespoon neutral oil
1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
4 stalks green onion (white and green parts separated)
1 tablespoon chili bean paste (doubanjiang)
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon mirin
sesame seeds (for garnish)
Caramelized corn:
2 cups frozen corn
2 tablespoons butter
salt and black pepper to taste
Miso broth:
2 tablespoons neutral oil
2 tablespoons garlic (minced)
1 tablespoon ginger (minced)
1 tablespoon chili bean paste (doubanjiang)
6 tablespoons white miso paste
2 tablespoons sake or mirin
10 cups chicken bone broth
Noodles:
4 servings fresh ramen noodles
Toppings:
ramen eggs (halved)
fish cakes (optional)
nori sheets (optional)
chili crunch (optional)
green onions
Beef Bulalo (Filipino Beef Soup)
Filipino beef shank and bone marrow soup with sweet corn and cabbage. The beef falls apart, the marrow melts into the broth, and you do not need a single bouillon cube. Stovetop or pressure cooker.
Ingredients:
Soup:
5 pounds beef shank
8 cups water
1 onion (quartered)
4 cloves garlic (whole, peeled)
1 thumb-size piece ginger (sliced)
2 bay leaves
To season:
2 tablespoons fish sauce (plus more to taste)
salt and black pepper (to taste)
Vegetables:
4 ears corn (cut into thirds)
1 head cabbage (chopped into large pieces, green or napa)
Garnish:
lime wedges
cilantro
Lola's Chicken Tinola
The soup my Lola made every time one of us was sick. Bone-in chicken simmered in a ginger forward broth with chayote and spinach. Light, cozy, and pure Filipino comfort.
Ingredients:
4 chicken leg quarters (split into drumsticks and thighs)
Salt and pepper to season
1 inch fresh ginger (sliced)
2 cloves garlic (smashed)
1 onion (quartered)
2 chayotes (peeled, seeded, and cut into quarters)
4 cups fresh spinach
2 tablespoons fish sauce (to taste)
4 litres water (or use boiling water for faster cooking)
Neutral oil for searing
Thai Red Curry Dumpling Soup
My best lazy dinner ever. Frozen dumplings, shrimp, rice noodles and bok choy in a creamy coconut red curry broth. Twenty minutes and you are eating.
Ingredients:
10 frozen dumplings
10 prawns (peeled & deveined)
8 oz rice noodles
1 can full-fat coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth or water
1 cup shiitake mushrooms (sliced)
2 cups bok choy (sliced)
2 stalks green onions (sliced (reserve greens for garnish))
1 inch ginger (minced)
1 garlic clove (minced)
2 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
2 tablespoon fish sauce
½ lime (juiced)
1 tablespoon chili crisp
1 tablespoon oil (avocado oil)
No Water Chicken Soup
Six ingredients and not one drop of water. A whole chicken, napa cabbage, apple, onion and ginger release their own juices into the richest, most concentrated broth you will ever make.
Ingredients:
1 whole chicken (about 3 to 4 pounds)
½ head napa cabbage (cut into large pieces)
1 apple (sliced, sweet and firm like Fuji, Gala or Honeycrisp)
1 onion (sliced)
1 inch ginger (peeled and sliced)
1 tablespoon salt
Caramelized Miso Chicken Rice and Broth
Miso gochujang chicken caramelized in the pan, then served over rice with a ginger miso bone broth, napa cabbage and mushrooms. Cozy, loaded with flavor, and weeknight easy.
Ingredients:
Chicken:
8 boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 tablespoon miso paste
1 tablespoon gochujang paste
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 teaspoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon sesame oil
Broth:
2 cloves garlic
2 stalks green onion (sliced into 1-inch pieces)
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1 teaspoon miso paste
2 cups bone broth
1 head Napa cabbage (quartered)
Mushrooms (any variety)
For serving:
Cooked white rice
Chili oil
Green onions
Sesame seeds
5 Ingredient Beef Hot Pot (Mille Feuille Nabe)
Napa cabbage and thinly sliced beef layered in a pot like pages of a book, then simmered in dashi broth with a sesame chili crisp dipping sauce. Twenty minutes, and it looks like you tried way harder than you did.
Ingredients:
Beef hot pot:
½ head of napa cabbage (rinsed and leaves separated)
1.5 lbs thinly sliced beef (shabu shabu-style, from Costco or Asian grocery store)
1 pack shimeji mushrooms (or substitute enoki)
4 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoon Shiro dashi
Hot pot dipping sauce:
2 cloves garlic (minced)
1 stalk green onion (finely chopped)
2 tablespoon tahini
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
1 tablespoon chili crisp
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
Filipino Arroz Caldo
The rice porridge I grew up eating every rainy day in Manila. Chicken, ginger and rice simmered into a thick, golden congee. Pile on a jammy egg, crispy fried garlic, chicken skin chicharron and green onions.
Ingredients:
5 chicken thighs (remove chicken skin and make chicken chicharron)
4 cups of chicken bone broth
2 cups cooked rice
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
1 medium onion (minced)
3 inch ginger (peeled and minced)
2 pinches saffron
1 teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoon fish sauce
2 bay leaves
Garnish:
6 minute hard-boiled egg
Chicken Skin Chicharron
Fried garlic (10 cloves minced and fried in oil, strain and enjoy crispy garlic)
Green onions
Lime wedge
Sriracha
Instant Pot Arroz Caldo with Brown Rice
Same cozy arroz caldo, made hands off in the Instant Pot with brown rice. Keep it simple or go all out with the toppings.
Ingredients:
Arroz caldo - soup:
4 chicken thighs (with bones *TIP: use the skin to make chicharron. Remove the chicken skin and set aside.)
1 cup brown rice
¼ cup of white wine
6 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoon minced fresh ginger (smaller the better)
3 tbs minced garlic
1 minced shallot
1 pinch of saffron (substitution: 2 teaspoon turmeric)
Dash of fish sauce
Salt and black pepper to taste
Toppings:
Spicy Chicken Chicharon
Perfect 6-minute hard-boiled egg
Spicy Garlic Corn
Fried Garlic
Green Onions
Fresh lime wedges (substitution: lemon juice)
Cilantro
Frequently Asked Questions About Asian Soup Recipes
What are the most popular Asian soups? The most popular Asian soups include ramen, pho, miso soup, wonton soup, tom yum, and Filipino favorites like sinigang and tinola. Every country has its own comfort bowl, from Japanese ramen to Filipino bulalo.
What is the easiest Asian soup to make at home? Thai red curry dumpling soup is the easiest one on this list. Frozen dumplings, curry paste and coconut milk do the heavy lifting, and dinner is ready in 20 minutes.
Are Asian soups healthy? Many Asian soups are a full meal in one bowl, with protein, vegetables and a light broth. Tinola and no water chicken soup are lean and packed with veggies. Soy sauce, fish sauce and miso add sodium, so season to taste.
Can I freeze Asian soups? Yes, most broths freeze well for up to 3 months. Freeze the broth on its own and add fresh noodles, eggs and leafy greens when you reheat so nothing goes mushy.
What is the difference between tinola and arroz caldo? Tinola is a clear ginger chicken soup with chayote and greens. Arroz caldo is a thick Filipino rice porridge made with chicken, ginger and rice, closer to congee.
What should I serve with Asian soup? Steamed rice, dumplings or a crunchy salad. My spicy Asian cucumber salad and crispy rice paper dumplings are perfect on the side.
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