This is a very easy-to-make, broth-based soup with traditional Asian flavors (garlic, ginger, lime, coriander). Noodles give this lighter soup more heartiness. For variations with vegetables, herbs and spices, and noodles, see the Notes section. Enjoy!
- 8 cups water
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
- 2 teaspoons finely chopped garlic (2 to 3 cloves)
- 1½ teaspoons ground coriander
- 4 medium white or cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 2 medium carrots, sliced on the diagonal (about 1 cup)
- 2 ribs celery, sliced on the diagonal (about 1 cup)
- 2 cups sliced green cabbage
- 4 green onions, sliced (green and white parts)
- 4 ounces brown rice pad Thai noodles (or see Notes below)
- In a soup pot over medium-high heat, add the water, lime juice, ginger, garlic, and coriander, and stir. Bring to a boil.
- Add the mushrooms, carrots, and celery, and boil for 2 minutes. Add the cabbage and green onions, and reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 10 minutes covered, or until the vegetables are tender.
- While the vegetables are cooking in step 2, boil the noodles in a separate pot, according to the package instructions. Drain and rinse. Add the noodles to the pot of vegetables, and serve.
Vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, asparagus, zucchini, corn, chopped tomatoes, greens (bok choy, kale, beet greens, spinach, chard), yellow or white sliced onion, fresh peppers, and bean sprouts. Fresh fennel could also be used in place of celery.
Dried spices: red pepper flakes, cumin, whole star anise pods, clove, black pepper, turmeric, cayenne pepper, paprika.
Fresh herbs: cilantro, parsley, mint, or basil (Thai basil would be really good). Using more than one type of herb is fine too.
Other: 5 to 6 ounces of tofu, cubed (add in step 2; use extra firm tofu). Coconut water in place of some of the water. Dried seaweed of your choice.
I’ve never used these ingredients but they are often used in Asian style soups: galangal, lemongrass, and Kaffir lime leaves.
Noodle substitutions: Since this is such a low-calorie, brothy soup, I like the addition of noodles, but you could also use another starchy vegetable to make it more filling, such as cubed winter squash, sweet or white potatoes; cooked brown rice; cooked beans (such as: black, soy, lima, black-eyed peas, or any type you like), or lentils.
Noodle types: Brown rice Pad Thai noodles are my favorite in this soup (favorite brand is Lotus Foods, in the 8-ounce orange package). I like using 4 ounces in this recipe to keep the noodle-veggie ratio more balanced; but if you want more noodles, add them. Any style of noodle can be used (fettuccine, linguine, spaghetti, angel hair); long noodles are more traditional.
Above: A visual on how I cut my carrots and celery on the diagonal. You can slice your mushrooms, or cut them into chunky quarters or sixths like I did here.
Above: Sliced cabbage and green onions; grated fresh ginger and (on top) finely chopped garlic.
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please share a comment below or on my Facebook page. If you’d like to print this recipe, use the green “Print” button near the top-right of the recipe. Learn more about the Straight Up Food Cookbook here. Thank you!
This has become an everyday staple in our home. I love the way you describe the dish and provide various optional ingredients that can go into the soup. Thank you.
Thank you Sumit! Yes, this soup is so good with so many possibilities. 😉
This was so good and yummy! I didn’t have cabbage but it was still awesome! I could eat this everyday! I didn’t have the ginger like it called for so I put ginger powder, pickled ginger, and a bit of ginger juice in and it was the best soup ever! Thank you so much for sharing as I found it on a social media site😻
Yay! Thanks Patti. 🙂 Yes, I love this one. I kept making it even after many rounds of recipe testing. Tasty and easy.