Delicious and comforting macaroni in a savory tomato broth with hot dogs and mixed vegetables, potatoes and a fried egg. This easy 15-minute Hong Kong tomato macaroni soup is made with simple ingredients!
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What is Hong Kong Tomato Macaroni Soup?
Hong Kong Tomato Macaroni Soup is a delicious, comforting hot noodle soup featuring macaroni pasta, hot dogs, mixed vegetables, tender potatoes in a savory tomato chicken broth. It's a quick and easy meal to make with minimal ingredients!
You'll often find it served this main dish served at many Hong Kong style cafés, also known as, "cha-chang-teng" in Cantonese for brunch or lunch. The pasta is always overcooked, but this actually tastes better than al dente pasta.
These Hong Kong cafés are known to serve Asian-style western food since Hong Kong was once colonized by Britain.
Britain brought over many western dishes and the Hong Kong people added their own Chinese twist to these dishes, such as Hong Kong Style French Toast, Hong Kong Style Ham and Egg Sandwich and more!
HK-style cafés are one of my favorite places to dine at and my husband absolutely adores this dish for its delicious flavors! The tomato flavor really takes your classic HK-style macaroni soup to the next level!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Macaroni pasta: or aka elbow pasta or substitute with small sea shell pasta.
- Chicken broth: low-sodium chicken stock or substitute with vegetable stock.
- Tomato Purée: either the canned or jarred kind. You can also used crushed tomatoes if you can't find puréed tomatoes.
- Hot Dogs: or substitute with diced spam or ham.
- Frozen vegetable: such as corn niblets, green beans, carrots and/or peas.
- Potatoes: yukon gold or yellow russet potatoes
- Ketchup: to add a tangy flavor to the soup.
- Salt
- Fried Eggs
- Neutral oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil with a high smoke point. Avoid olive oil that has a low smoke point.
Expert Tips
- Overcook the pasta just a bit until it's slightly softened. In many Hong-Kong cafés that's how they cook it and it oddly tastes better this way than al-dente pasta.
- Don't rinse the cooked pasta with cold water. This rinses away the pasta flavor.
- Small dice the potatoes so they cook more quickly in the broth.
- Let the broth simmer so the hot dogs can release more savory flavor into the broth.
- Fried egg is recommended to help tie in all the flavors and I don't recommend skipping this!
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Hong Kong tomato macaroni soup:
- In a large pot of water, bring it to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil macaroni pasta until Al Dente according to package instructions (or in true Hong Kong style, overcook the pasta 1-2 minutes more than the instructed time). Once cooked, strain pasta. Do not rinse under cold water.
- In a large pot, add chicken broth, tomato purée, diced potatoes, ketchup, salt, sliced hot dogs, and frozen mixed vegetables. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a rolling simmer on medium heat. Cover with a lid. Cook for 7-10 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
- Mix in cooked macaroni. Divide the noodle soup between serving bowls.
- Lastly, heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Fry egg sunny side up or easy over until the whites are set but the yolk is still runny. Remove and transfer on top of noodle soup. Enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pot on medium heat. I recommend storing the cooked pasta separate from the broth and other ingredients so the noodles don't get soggy.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing this dish as the noodles and vegetables will become soggy.
Pairing Suggestions
HK tomato macaroni soup serves well with:
- cooked vegetables like bok choy, spicy garlic bok choy, choy sum, gai lan, garlic green beans or stir fried snow pea leaves.
- protein dishes like Soy Sauce Chicken, Oven-Roasted Char Siu or Air Fryer Char Siu, or Chinese Roasted Pork Belly.
FAQ
This can be made in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. I recommend storing the cooked pasta separately from the broth and other ingredients so it doesn't become soggy. To enjoy, reheat it in the microwave or in a pot on the stovetop on medium heat.
📖 Recipe
Easy 15-min. Hong Kong Tomato Macaroni Soup
Ingredients
- 17.6 oz macaroni pasta or small seashell pasta
- 4 ½ cups chicken broth or vegetable broth (low-sodium kind)
- 1 ½ cups tomato purée canned or jarred kind both work
- 6 hot dogs or spam, sliced into bite-sized pieces
- 2 cups frozen vegetable mix such as corn, carrots, peas, and/or green beans
- 1 cup yukon gold potato peeled and diced into 1-cm cubes
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 large eggs as a topping
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil or any neutral oil for frying eggs
Instructions
- In a large pot of water, bring it to a boil on medium-high heat. Boil macaroni pasta until Al Dente according to package instructions (or in true Hong Kong style, overcook the pasta 1-2 minutes more than the instructed time). Once cooked, strain pasta. Do not rinse under cold water.
- In a large pot, add chicken broth, tomato purée, diced potatoes, ketchup, salt, sliced hot dogs, and frozen mixed vegetables. Bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a rolling simmer on medium heat. Cover with a lid. Cook for 7-10 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.
- Mix in cooked macaroni. Divide the noodle soup between serving bowls.
- Lastly, heat vegetable oil in a large pan on medium heat. Fry egg sunny side up or easy over until the whites are set but the yolk is still runny. Remove and transfer on top of noodle soup. Enjoy!
Michelle | Sift & Simmer
I made this for my boys and they loved it! I had to omit the tomato since one of my sons doesn't like it, but this is going to be on repeat, especially when it's back to school. Thanks for the recipe!
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I love this, a homemade soup that takes less than 9 ingredients. Such a hearty and delicious dinner idea. Thank you for sharing such a wonderful recipe!
christieathome
Thanks so much Heidi! It's really delicious and easy since it requires only one pot 🙂 Have a great day!
Molly
This was super easy to make and so filling! I loved the taste of it too.