This 15-minute Korean noodle soup recipe is sponsored by Pacific Foods. All opinions expressed are my own. Thank you for supporting the companies that keep this blog going.
This 15-minute Korean noodle soup is a perfect one-pot dinner for your busy weekdays. You only need a few ingredients and some leftovers in your pantry to make this hearty dish that is bursting with flavor and loaded with nutrients. Different topping options are provided so you can DIY a custom version with whatever ingredients you have on hand!
It has been a mild winter in New York, but we’ve been enjoying lots of soup nonetheless. No matter if it’s a quick egg drop soup, an earthy hot and sour soup, or a creamy Kabocha squash soup, we put soup on the dinner table almost every single day.
Today I want to show you one of my favorite ways to fix a quick lunch – 15-minute Korean noodle soup! It’s inspired by the Korean guksu but without the trouble of making the stock from scratch, and the result is super delicious.
Ingredients you need
- Somen noodles (or Instant Noodles without the seasoning packs)
- Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- Kimchi, Gochujang, maple syrup, soy sauce, and garlic to make the sauce mixture
- Baby bok choy (or any other greens you prefer)
Regular chicken broth is my go-to choice when I develop recipes, but lately I’m using more low-sodium broth in my cooking for a healthier diet.
I love using Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth because it’s made from organic free-range chicken, has a low sodium percentage, and is very flavorful. If you compare it to some common brands, you’ll find that 1 cup of regular chicken broth usually contains a shocking 800+mg sodium, which is more than half the daily recommended sodium intake. On the other hand, the Pacific Foods low-sodium broth only contains 10mg of sodium.
Cooking process
The cooking is so easy that you literally only need 5 minutes.
- Mix the sauce ingredient to make a paste
- Boil the noodles and veggies in the chicken broth
- Stir the sauce mixture into the broth until it dissolves
Stirring in the seasonings at the end, instead of cooking them, will yield a fruity and refreshing taste. It will also keep the probiotics of the kimchi alive, which provides further health benefits.
Topping options
I’ve listed eggs, baby bok choy, and rotisserie chicken as topping options in my Korean noodle soup recipe. In reality, many other ingredients work as well.
For example:
- Protein: any deli meat, leftover stew or braised meat, pan-fried shrimp and fish, fried tofu etc.
- Veggies: various mushrooms, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, spinach, napa cabbage etc.
NOTE: Different veggies require various cooking times. For example, sliced white mushrooms and napa cabbage take about 5 minutes to cook through. Bean sprouts and spinach take 1 to 2 minutes.
If you do not have leftover chicken but still want to add shredded chicken, here is a quick method.
Set up a steamer. Add a small piece of raw chicken breast onto a plate and sprinkle it with a pinch of salt. Steam the chicken until it’s cooked through, 15 minutes or so. Now you have shredded chicken for your noodle soup.
More delicious one-pot meals
- Creamy Chicken Sweet Potato Stew
- 15-Minute Curry Ramen with Leftover Ham
- 5-Ingredient Savory Oatmeal (Chinese-Style)
- Korean Fire Chicken (Cheese Buldak)
- Japchae (Korean Sweet Potato Noodles)
If you give this recipe a try, let us know! Leave a comment, rate it (once you’ve tried it), and take a picture and tag it @omnivorescookbook on Instagram! I’d love to see what you come up with.
15-Minute Korean Noodle Soup
Ingredients
Sauce
Soup
- 4 cups Pacific Foods Organic Low Sodium Chicken Broth
- 6 oz (180 g) somen noodles (2 bundles) , or 2 packs instant noodles (without the seasoning packs)
Topping options (see the blog post above for more options)
- 4 heads baby bok choy , trimmed & halved
- 2 eggs (Optional)
- Rotisserie chicken (or other leftover meat), shredded (Optional)
Instructions
- Combine all the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Bring the broth to a boil and add the noodles and bok choy. Cook for 2 minutes.
- (Optional) You can add the egg to the broth along with the bok choy to make runny poached eggs. Alternatively, you can top the noodles with raw egg yolks. Or you can fry the eggs in a separate pan.
- Once the broth is done cooking, add the sauce mixture and stir to incorporate.
- Serve immediately as a main dish.
I’m korean and I’ve never seen this kind of noodle soup.
This is not Korean in any which shape or form, lady…. you can’t just add kimchi to a recipe and call it Korean -a Korean person
Hi Kelsey, I apologize if you feel the content is offensive. We borrowed the method from Korean Guksu to create the paste using Gochujang, kimchi and a few other things. We don’t have this cooking method in China and I think it’s such a great and easy way to add favor to a broth. I ended up naming it Korean noodle soup because the recipe is not really a Guksu dish. Would love to hear any suggestions if you have a better name for the dish! – Maggie
Hi, I’m also Korean, and while I wasn’t offended necessarily, this definitely isn’t a Korean dish haha. It might misguide people who aren’t familiar with Korean food to believe that this is a traditional dish. A better name for this might be ‘Korean-inspired Chinese noodles’ or something.
Kelsey, while I agree that this isn’t a Korean dish, I would like to add that Koreans also cook many Chinese-inspired dishes that aren’t traditional Chinese dishes at all or the flavor is totally different.
Maggie, I am already subscribed to your site and look forward to your recipes. I just made the 15 Minute Korean Noodle Soup and it was excellent! I will be making this soup often. I don’t care what it is called. I am curious whether your critics made this recipe before lashing out…….
I guess you can say this is Korean Inspired noodle.
Not Korean. Definitely the ingredient including maple syrup is for western people. I wonder how it tastes like with maple syrup and kimchi… as someone who is flavor expert says it should work.
– a person born and raised up in South Korea.
Amazingly simple recipe! I substituted mushroom dashi in leu of chicken broth for my vegetarian family.
This was so easy to make and absolutely delicious 🤤 I lived in Tokyo and this dish reminded me of the type of Korean style dishes I’d eaten there! I added some sesame oil and scallions at the end and will maybe add some shrimp next time 🙂 thanks 🙏
Soup was good. Don’t listen to these asswipes and keep doing you. “OMG, it’s not Korean” shut the fuck up!
I agree
I’m Korean and I honestly don’t care whether this is ‘authentic’ or not– it’s delicious! The rest of you need to calm down. It’s just food.
Hi! I was wondering can you make this recipe without kinship since you can’t get that here and gochujang? Thanks !
Sorry my spelling mistake *kimshi
We can’t get any kimshi here since it’s too far to go to an Asian store so I was unsure if I could make it without kimshi ? Could we use rice vinager as a substitute?
Thanks, your recipes are very nice and my family enjoy trying it!
It’s tricky because kimchi and gochujang are the main ingredients to season the broth. The broth is quite light, and without these two it barely has any other seasonings.
Maybe you could try out another easy noodle soup dish such as these ones?
https://omnivorescookbook.com/chinese-chicken-noodle-soup/
https://omnivorescookbook.com/curry-noodle-soup-popcorn-chicken/
http://omnivorescookbook.com/soy-sauce-noodles
Hello!
Thank you Miss Zhu! (Sorry if I should have called you Maggie)
Thanks for telling me! I understand the seasoning means alot to a recipe and makes it tasty ofcourse!! Thank you for the help, next time I go to the Asian store I’ll definitely go looking for kimshi and gochujang aswell! Thanks for sharing the other recipes 😊 I’ll try making chinese noodles instead!
Thanks so much again 😁