Chewy udon noodles in a warm chicken broth with bouncy fish balls, baby bok choy, bean sprouts, seafood mushrooms and green onions. This quick and easy fish ball noodle soup is ready in 15 minutes with simple ingredients. A comforting meal.
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This fish ball udon soup is comforting, easy to make in little time with minimal ingredients. Making it a great busy weeknight meal for yourself or for the family!
You'll find a variation of this dish served at Chinese, Japanese or Korean restaurants using different noodles, vegetables or other types of broth. Fish balls or fish cakes are often used in Asian cuisine as a tasty source of protein.
What are fish balls? Fish balls (aka fish cake) are spongy balls made of minced seafood (like squid, fish, shrimp, and/or lobster) with starch and seasonings. They can be fried or not and are sold in vacuum-sealed packages at the Asian market.
This dish brings me back to my childhood when my mom made us noodle soup. She knew my body always felt cold in my hands and feet, so she would always feed me this to warm me up.
The best part was her broth, it was always so flavourful because it was made from scratch. However, we're going to simplify this and use store-bought broth.
This is the perfect bowl of noodles to cozy up to when the colder weather hits. I love this warming recipe because it's so quick, simple and filling!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Frozen Udon Noodles: or substitute with fresh udon noodles. Avoid shelf-stable vacuum sealed udon as they break apart easily and aren't chewy. Or substitute with ramen, Asian wheat flour noodles, wonton noodles or rice noodles (if you're gluten-free) like vermicelli or wide rice noodles prepared to packaged directions.
- Fish Balls: these are circular or rectangular shaped and made of minced seafood like fish, shrimp, crab, lobster, or squid combined with starch and seasoning. Asian markets sell them in the refrigerated or freezer section. Pick a flavor that you would enjoy! Or substitute with fish cake sheets.
- Green Onion
- Baby Bok Choy: or substitute with chopped regular bok choy, yu choy sum, or napa cabbage.
- Seafood Mushrooms: or substitute with enoki mushrooms or oyster mushrooms. Sliced shiitake mushrooms will work too.
- Soy Bean Sprouts: or substitute with mung bean sprouts. These are optional so feel free to omit if you don't like bean sprouts.
Soup Base
- Chicken Broth: low-sodium. Or substitute with mushroom stock or vegetable stock. Beef stock may taste too heavy so I'd avoid using this.
- Water: room temperature or cold.
- Regular soy sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- Oyster sauce: this is a thick brown sauce made of oysters that adds a lot of umami flavor. Or substitute with vegetarian stir-fry sauce. If you're gluten-free: substitute with a gluten-free version.
- Mirin: a popular sweet rice cooking wine sold at most Asian or Japanese grocers. For a non-alcoholic version: substitute with two drops of rice vinegar and ⅛ teaspoon sugar.
- Sesame Oil: or substitute with a sprinkle of sesame seeds. If you're allergic to sesame, omit this ingredient.
- Garlic
- Green Onion
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry most of the Asian specific ingredients or check online stores, like Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Wash the bok choy well to remove any dirt or inserts hidden between the leaves.
- If you're using beansprouts, rinse them a few times with cold running water to remove any natural earthy odors.
- Don't over blanch the frozen udon noodles or they will become soggy in the soup. Just blanch until they're loosened and strain immediately.
- Make sure to thoroughly cook the fish balls. Cooked fish balls should float to the top or have an internal temperature of 145 F with a digital instant read thermometer.
- Don't over blanch the vegetables. Just blanch until they're softened or they too can become soggy and worse the bean sprouts can add a earthy taste to the broth.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make fish ball udon soup:
- In a medium-sized pot filled with enough water, bring to a boil on high heat. Blanch frozen udon noodles in hot boiling water for 30 seconds or just until loosened and strain the noodles in a colander. Divide the noodles between two large serving bowls. (If you're using fresh udon or other noodles, cook according to package directions).
- In the same empty pot, add soup base ingredients as listed above and stir to mix. Cover and bring to a boil on high heat.
- Uncover the lid, add fish balls, cover and boil for 6-7 minutes until they float. Remove the fish balls with a slotted spoon and divide between the serving bowls.
- Then blanch bok choy, seafood mushroom and bean sprouts in the hot broth until softened (2 minutes for bok choy/mushrooms and 30 seconds for bean sprouts). Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and divide between two large serving bowls.
- Pour equal amounts of the hot broth over the noodles. Garnish the noodle soup with green onions. Feel free to add more oyster sauce to taste if needed. Enjoy hot!
Storage
- Leftovers can be stored for up to 4 days into airtight containers in the fridge. I recommend storing the soup separate from the noodles, fish balls and vegetables. To reheat leftovers, re-boil everything in a medium pot on medium-high heat until hot throughout.
- Freezer-friendly? I don't recommend freezing fish ball noodle soup because the udon noodles and vegetables will change in texture.
Pairing Suggestions
Fish ball noodle soup serves well with:
- starters like miso soup, or salad with Japanese ginger salad dressing or korokke.
- fried rice
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- seafood dishes like shrimp tempura, panko shrimp or ebi mayo.
- protein dishes like chicken katsu, tonkatsu, soy sauce chicken, oven-roasted char siu or air fryer char siu, or Chinese roasted pork belly.
FAQ
Fish ball noodle soup can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored into airtight containers in the fridge. I recommend storing the soup separate from the noodles, fish balls and vegetables.
To reheat leftovers, re-boil everything in a medium pot on medium-high heat until hot throughout.
Raw fish balls last 5 days after the package has been opened but you can freeze the uncooked fish balls in a freezer-friendly bag for up to 3-6 months or until you see freezer-burn.
Udon noodles are not gluten-free because they're made of wheat flour, which contains gluten. However, some brands sell gluten-free udon noodles if you search online.
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📖 Recipe
Easy 15-min. Fish Ball Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1.10 lb udon noodles frozen or fresh kind (feel free to double the amount if you want more noodles)
- 12 fish balls store-bought (choose any flavor!)
- 1 green onion finely chopped for garnishing
- 8 baby bok choy halved, rinsed & strained
- ½ cup bean sprouts rinsed a few times & strained
- 5.29 oz seafood mushrooms or enoki mushrooms/oyster mushrooms with ends trimmed, rinsed & strained
Soup Base
- 2 cups chicken broth or mushroom stock, low-sodium
- 2 cups water room temperature or cold
- ½ tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian stir-fry sauce
- 1 teaspoon mirin or 2 drop rice vinegar + ⅛ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 garlic clove minced
- 1 green onion finely chopped
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pot filled with enough water, bring to a boil on high heat. Blanch frozen udon noodles in hot boiling water for 30 seconds or just until loosened and strain the noodles in a colander. Divide the noodles between two large serving bowls. (If you're using fresh udon or other noodles, cook according to package directions).
- In the same empty pot, add soup base ingredients as listed above and stir to mix. Cover and bring to a boil on high heat.
- Uncover the lid, add fish balls, cover and boil for 6-7 minutes until they float. Remove the fish balls with a slotted spoon and divide between the serving bowls.
- Then blanch bok choy, seafood mushroom and bean sprouts in the hot broth until softened (2 minutes for bok choy/mushrooms and 30 seconds for bean sprouts). Remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon and divide between two large serving bowls.
- Pour equal amounts of the hot broth over the noodles. Garnish the noodle soup with green onions. Feel free to add more oyster sauce to taste if needed. Enjoy hot!
Steven Low
Nice comfort food
Christie Lai
Absolutely! Thanks so much for making it!
Rosemary
As soon as I read thick and chewy udon noodles I was sold! I am a big fan of the thick noodles in Asian food !
Katherine | Love In My Oven
It is SO cold here!! What a warm and comforting dish. This would certainly warm me up!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
Your suggestions for changing up the flavors were so helpful! I really like the versatility of this recipe.