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A bowl of phở gà, a Vietnamese noodle soup

Noodle soup refers to a variety of soups with noodles and other ingredients served in a light broth. Noodle soup is an East and Southeast Asian staple. Less well known, a form of fresh (typically home made) noodle is used in soup in certain parts of Europe (see Spätzle), and in northern China; usually, it is served for breakfast or brunch. The type of noodles range from rice noodles to egg noodles.

Varieties[link]

Cambodia[link]

• Ka tieu - a pork broth based rice noodle soup served with shrimp, meat balls, pork liver and garnished with fried garlic, green onions, cilantro, lime and hoisin sauce.

China[link]

A bowl of Zhūròu Mǐxiàn

There are a myriad of noodle soup dishes originating in China, and many of these are eaten in, or adapted in various Asian countries.

• Ban mian (板面) - Hokkien style, flat-shaped egg noodles in soup.
• Crossing the bridge noodles (Chinese: 过桥米线; pinyin: Guò qiáo mĭxiàn) - served as a bowl of chicken stock with uncooked rice noodles, meat, raw eggs, and vegetables and flowers on the side that get added and cooked when one is ready to eat. Stock stays warm because of a layer of oil on top of the bowl. Typical cuisine of Kunming, Yunnan Province (昆明, 云南省).
• Wonton noodle (雲吞麵) - a Cantonese dish

Japan[link]

A bowl of Tokyo-style ramen

• Traditional Japanese noodles in soup are served in a hot soy-dashi broth and garnished with chopped scallions. Popular toppings include tempura, tempura batter or aburaage (deep fried tofu).
  • Soba (そば) - thin brown buckwheat noodles. Also known as Nihon-soba ("Japanese soba"). In Okinawa, soba likely refers to Okinawa soba (see below).
  • Udon (うどん) - thick wheat noodle served with various toppings, usually in a hot soy-dashi broth, or sometimes in a Japanese curry soup.

• Chinese-influenced wheat noodles, served in a meat or chicken broth, have become very popular in the past 100 years or so.
  • Ramen (ラーメン) - thin light yellow noodle served in hot chicken or pork broth, flavoured with soy or miso, with various toppings such as slices of pork, menma (pickled bamboo shoots), seaweed, or boiled egg. Also known as Shina-soba or Chuka-soba (both mean "Chinese soba")
  • Champon - yellow noodles of medium thickness served with a great variety of seafood and vegetable toppings in a hot chicken broth which originated in Nagasaki as a cheap food for students

• Okinawa soba (沖縄そば) - a thick wheat-flour noodle served in Okinawa, often served in a hot broth with sōki (steamed pork), kamaboko (fish cake slice), beni shoga (pickled ginger) and koregusu (chilli-infused awamori). Akin to a cross between udon and ramen.

• Hōtō

Korea[link]

A bowl of kalguksu

• Janchi guksu (잔치국수) - noodles in a light seaweed broth, served with fresh condiments (usually kimchi, thinly sliced egg, green onions, and cucumbers)
• Jjamppong (짬뽕) - spicy noodle soup of Korean-Chinese origin
• Kalguksu (칼국수) - Hand-cut wheat noodles served in a seafood broth
• Makguksu (막국수) - buckwheat noodles with chilled broth
• Naengmyeon (냉면) - Korean stretchy buckwheat noodles in cold beef broth, with onions, julienned cucumber, boiled egg sliced in half, and slices of pears. This dish is popular in the humid summers of Korea.
• Ramyeon (라면) - South Korean noodles in soup, served in food stalls, made of instant noodles with toppings added by stalls. In the 1960s, instant noodles were introduced to South Korea from Japan. Its quick and easy preparation, as well as its cheap price, ensured it quickly caught on. It is typically spicy with chili and kimchi added, amongst other ingredients.
  • Shin ramyun (신라면)

Indonesia[link]

• Soto ayam - spicy chicken soup with rice vermicelli. Served with hard-boiled eggs, slices of fried potatoes, celery leaves, and fried shallots. Sometimes, slices of Lontong (compressed rice roll) or "poya", a powder of mixed fried garlic with shrimp crackers or bitter sambal (orange colored) are added.
• Mie ayam - chicken noodle soup comprising a bowl of chicken stock, boiled choy sim, celery leaves, diced chicken cooked with sweet soy sauce , and fried shallots. Some variants add mushrooms and fried/boiled pangsit (wonton). Normally it is eaten with chili sauce and pickles.

Malaysia and Singapore[link]

A bowl of Prawn Hae Mee

• Hae mee (虾面; pinyin: xiāmiàn), or "prawn noodles" - Egg noodles served in richly flavored dark soup stock with prawns, pork slices, fish cake slices and bean sprouts topped with fried shallots and spring onion. The stock is made using dried shrimps, plucked heads of prawns, white pepper, garlic and other spices. Traditionally, small cubes of fried pork fat are added to the soup, but this is now less common due to health concerns.
• Curry laksa - Rice noodles in a coconut curry soup. Topped with prawns or chicken, cockles, bean sprouts, tofu puffs and sliced fish cakes. Boiled egg may be added. Served with a dollop of sambal chilli paste and Vietnamese coriander. Popular in Singapore.
• Assam laksa - Rice noodles in a sour fish soup. Various toppings including shredded fish, cucumber, raw onion, pineapple, chilli and mint. There are regional variations throughout Malaysia.

Myanmar (Burma)[link]

Mohinga

• Mohinga (မုန့်ဟင်းခါး) - said to be the national dish of Myanmar. Essentially rice noodles in a rich, spicy fish soup. Typical ingredients include fish or prawn sauce, salted fish, lemon grass, tender banana stems, ginger, garlic, pepper, onion, turmeric powder, rice flour, chickpea flour, chili and cooking oil.
• On no khauk swe (အုန်းနို့ခေါက်ဆွဲ) - Wheat noodles in a chicken and coconut broth. Garnished for added flavour with finely sliced shallots, crispy fried rice cracker, fish sauce, roasted chilli powder and a squeeze of lemon or lime.
• Kya zan hinga (ကြာဆံဟင်းခါး) - Glass noodles in a chicken consommé with mushrooms, bean curd skin, lily stems, shrimp, garlic, pepper and sometimes fish balls. For the addition of texture and flavour, it can be garnished with coriander, sliced shallots, fish sauce, chilli powder and a squeeze of lime.
• Kyay oh

Philippines[link]

A bowl of batchoy

Philippine noodle soups can be seen served in street stalls, as well as in the home. They show a distinct blend of Oriental and Western culture adjusted to suit the Philippine palate. They are normally served with condiments such as patis, soy sauce, calamansi juice, as well as pepper to further adjust the flavor. Like other types of soup, they may be regarded as comfort food and are regularly associated with the cold, rainy season in the Philippines. They are normally eaten with a pair of spoon and fork, alternating between scooping the soup, and handling the noodles, and are less commonly eaten with the combination of chopsticks and a soup spoon.

• Batchoy - A noodle soup from Iloilo garnished with pork innards, crushed pork cracklings, chopped vegetables, and topped with a raw egg.
• Mami - A noodle soup similar to the Chinese variety, with either a beef, pork, chicken, or wanton garnish and topped with chives. Usually thin egg noodles are used, but there are versions using flat rice noodles (ho fan). Introduced in the Philippines by Ma Mon Luk.
• Sopas - A noodle soup that has a Western influence. It usually has chicken strips and broth, chopped vegetables, and macaroni noodles. Milk is added to give it a richer flavor. The name literally means "soup."
• Pancit Molo - A noodle soup that has wonton wrappers for its "noodles." It is normally made from meat broth, leafy as well as chopped vegetables, and possible wonton dumplings.
• Miswa - A soup with wheat flour noodles. Chopped pork (with fat to give more flavor to the soup) is fried before the water is added. The noodles take very little time to cook, so they are added last. The dish also normally has chopped patola. "Miswa" also refers to the noodles itself.
• Lomi

Taiwan[link]

• Beef noodle soup (牛肉麵) - noodles in beef soup, sometimes with a chunk of stewed beef, beef bouillon granules and dried parsley. Popular in Taiwan.
• 蚵仔麵線 - vermicelli noodles with oysters

Tibet[link]

• Thukpa (Tibetan: ཐུག་པ་, Wylie: thug pa) - flat strip noodles in beef soup, with chunks of stewed beef, spinach and topped with green onions. Popular in Tibet as well as Nepal and India which have large populations of Tibetans.
• Bhakthuk (Tibetan: བག་ཐུག་, Wylie: bag thug) - flattened short noodles in beef soup, with chunks of stewed beef, dried beef strips, seaweed, daikon, potatoes and topped with green onions. Popular in Tibet as well as Nepal and India which have large populations of Tibetans. The soup is thicker and richer than thukpa due to use of dried beef strips.

Thailand[link]

A stall in a food court selling cuts of duck or pork served with either rice or in noodle soup

Thai noodle soups are popular in street stalls, canteens and food courts. The noodles are served in a light (chicken) stock, often topped with meat or fish balls and coriander leaves. The diner then adjusts the flavour by themselves using sugar, nam pla (fish sauce), dried chilli and chilli in vinegar provided at the table. Unlike most other Thai food, noodles are eaten with chopsticks. Both noodles and chopsticks are clear Chinese influences. The word kuaitiao is a direct loan from Teochew.

• Bami nam (Thai: บะหมี่น้ำ) - egg wheat noodles in soup, often with minced pork, braised or roast duck, or cuts of mu daeng (char siu)
• Kaeng chuet wunsen (Thai: แกงจืดวุ้นเส้น) - glass noodles in soup
• Khanom chin kaeng khiao wan kai (Thai: ขนมจีนแกงเขียวหวานไก่) - Thai rice noodles served with chicken green curry
• Khao soi (Thai: ข้าวซอย) - rice or wheat noodles in a Thai curry soup; a speciality of northern Thailand
• Kuaitiao nam (Thai: ก๋วยเตี๋ยวน้ำ) - rice noodles in soup

United States[link]

• Chicken noodle soup
• Wedding soup (Italian-American)

Hawaii[link]

• Saimin - Soft wheat banana egg noodles in dashi broth. A popular hybrid dish reflecting the multicultural roots of modern Hawaii. Toppings include baby bok choy, nori seaweed, kamaboko (fish cakes), char siu (Chinese roast pork), linguiça (Portuguese sausage) or SPAM.
• In Hawaii, ramen noodles are sometimes referred to as saimin.

Vietnam[link]

• Bánh canh - a soup made with bánh canh noodles (thick noodles, similar in appearance to udon)
• Bánh đa cua - a soup made with bánh đa đỏ noodles (red noodles) and crab-roe. It's a special fish of Hai Phong.
• Bún bò Huế - signature noodle soup from Huế, consisting of rice vermicelli in a beef broth with beef, lemon grass, and other ingredients
• Bún riêu - rice vermicelli soup with meat, tofu, tomatoes, and congealed boiled pig blood.
• Cao lầu - signature noodle dish from Hội An consisting of yellow wheat flour noodles in a small amount of broth, with various meats and herbs.
• Hủ tiếu - a soup made with bánh hủ tiếu and egg noodles. This dish was brought over by the Teochew immigrants (Hoa people).
• Mì Quảng - signature noodle dish from Quảng Nam, yellow wheat flour noodles in a small amount of broth, with various meats and herbs.
• Phở - white rice noodles in clear beef broth with thin cuts of beef, garnished with ingredients such as scallions, white onions, coriander leaves, ngo gai ("saw leaf herb"), and mint. Basil, lemon or lime, bean sprouts, and chilli peppers are usually provided on a separate plate, which allows customers to adjust the soup's flavor as they like. Some sauces such as hoisin sauce and fish sauce are also sometimes added. Bánh đa dishes in northern Vietnam are also similar to phở.

See also[link]

• Asian cuisine

References[link]

External links[link]

• BBC Food Recipe