![Clear Bok Choy Soup Recipe [One-Pan]](https://www.masalaherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Bok-Choy-Soup-gog-1-150x150.jpg)
One-Pan Bok Choy Soup with aromatic spices and Asian flavors in a clear broth.
This cleansing light winter soup is flavorful, easy to make and ready within 20 minutes!
![Clear Bok Choy Soup Recipe [One-Pan]](https://www.masalaherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Bok-Choy-Soup-4.jpg)
Global Food Recipes
with Spices and Herbs
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What is Bok Choy?
Bok Choy is one of the few Chinese cabbage varieties, which is also known as Pok Choy or Pak Choy. The vegetable is a green leave variety popularized in China.
It has been gathering traction across the western world for its unique flavors, texture and nutritional values.
The lower white part looks like a Bulb and grows into green crunchy leave stalks. It kind of looks like a cross between a regular cabbage and celery.
![Clear Bok Choy Soup Recipe [One-Pan]](https://www.masalaherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Bok-Choy-Soup-2.jpg)
Soup Ingredients
I like to keep this soup simple. The Bok Choy should be the main star in this soup. Other ingredients simply compliment the bok choy.
The soup flavors are balanced aromatic and contain light Asian flavors to pep it up.
Garlic and ginger go hand in hand and enhance the subtle bok choy flavors. Lime juice adds a certain welcoming freshness to the clear soup.
The young green onions are delicate, but a must, especially the green stalks which add the aesthetic to the dish.
The broth is important because it adds flavor to the soup. You can use chicken or vegetarian broth. Homemade broth or stock also helps you to overcome a cold.
The soy sauce will add the salty, deep flavorful touch that I so long for in my Asian soups. Rice vinegar is my secret ingredient.
Star anise, cinnamon and bay leaf remind me of Vietnamese pho and will turn your soup all the more interesting guaranteed!
The soup is garnished with sesame seeds (white or black) and chili flakes. It looks and tastes great. You eat with your eyes, after all.
![Clear Bok Choy Soup Recipe [One-Pan]](https://www.masalaherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Bok-Choy-Soup-1.jpg)
Preparation Overview
Step 1
Rinse bok choy and cut small.
Step 2
Sauté green onion bulbs, ginger garlic and bok choy.
Add star anise, bay leaf, stock, vinegar + soy sauce.
Step 3
Cook the soup until bok choy is soft, and the soup is fragrant.
Season with lemon juice, take out whole spices, and sprinkle cut green onion stalks to serve.
📖 Recipe
![Clear Bok Choy Soup Recipe [One-Pan]](https://www.masalaherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Bok-Choy-Soup-gog-1-300x300.jpg)
Clear Bok Choy Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 5 Bok Choy Leaves
- 2 Green Onions aka Spring Onion Bulbs and stalks separate
- 1 Tablespoon Oil
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger + Garlic combined, *see Notes
- 1 Star Anise
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 Cinnamon Stick
- 5 cups Broth or Stock
- 1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
- 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar *see Notes
- Juice of one Lime
To Garnish
- Sesame Seeds or Sesame Oil optional
- Red Chili Pepper Flakes optional
Instructions
- Separate the bok choy leaves and wash them well. Mud tends to get stuck between the stem.5 Bok Choy Leaves
- Slice your bok choy leaves and keep aside.
- Slice your green onions as well. Keep the white bulb slices and green stalk separate. We will use the green stalk slices as a garnish.2 Green Onions
- Heat up a pan with the oil and fry your green onion bulbs soft.1 Tablespoon Oil
- Take from the heat and add the ginger garlic. Careful, if you use the paste, it can splatter.1 Tablespoon Ginger + Garlic
- Take it back to the heat and add the bok choy to the pan, stir cook for a minute.
- Then throw in the star anise, bay leaf, and cinnamon stick.1 Star Anise, 1 Bay Leaf, 1 Cinnamon Stick
- Pour the broth or stock into the pan over the spices and bok choy.5 cups Broth
- Season with soy sauce and vinegar.1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce, 1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
- Mix everything, bring to a boil and let the soup cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Take form the heat and pour the lime juice into the soup. Mix it all well.Juice of one Lime
- Pick out your whole spices, the cinnamon, bay leaf and star anise. Discard the spices.
- Serve the soup hot garnished with the green onion stalks, red pepper flakes and/or sesame seeds/oil.Sesame Seeds or Sesame Oil, Red Chili Pepper Flakes
Notes
- Use Ginger Garlic Paste as it blends into the soup or as an alternative, chopped fine fresh ginger and garlic with a ratio of 1:2.
- Stock can be liquid or in cubes. Just mix it with the water. I tend to use vegetable broth, but you can pick chicken or beef broth if you prefer. Use homemade stock for the best flavor experience, or just the commercially available version.
- Use Rice Vinegar or other mild vinegar variations, such as a mild regular white vinegar.
Nutrition
A Few Tips
- Prepare and cut the fresh ingredients first.
- Keep all other ingredients near you before you heat your pan. Your cooking routine will be much more efficient.
- Use Ginger and Garlic Paste for the soup. That way, the ingredient flavors will be able to enrich the soup from the core.
- Use whole spices so that you can just take them out when you finished cooking the soup. Powdered spices tend to deposit at the bottom of the pan, and whole spices are more intense in flavor.
Serving Inspiration
I love this soup with bread or garlic bread. It's low calories and perfect for days when I want to reduce my food portion intake.
You can use it as an appetizer to a full Asian main course meal too. In that case, serve it with a fried rice, orange chicken or other meats and an Asian side salad.
Storing your Soup
Keep leftovers in an airtight container in your fridge for up to 7 days. The soup keeps well.
You can freeze the soup in batches, too. Thaw it overnight in your fridge or gradually reheat in a pan over the stove top or in your microwave oven.
Where to get Bok Choy
Bok Choy is usually commonly found in Asian grocery stores all year round.
Regular grocery stores and supermarkets sell bok choy as well but mainly during winter.
Keep in mind that most stores sell baby bok choy, but they might carry other sizes. The green leaves look different at each growth stage. The one in my pictures and video are baby bok choy.
More Asian clear soups
- Japanese Onion Soup with Mushrooms
- Yat Gaw Mein — Chinese Cajun Noodle Soup
- Chinese Chicken Noodle Soup
- Chicken Ramen Soup
![Clear Bok Choy Soup Recipe [One-Pan]](https://www.masalaherb.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Bok-Choy-Soup-pin-1.jpg)
This was tasty and easy to make!
Thanks for sharing Sophie, glad to hear that.
This looks so good. Has anyone tried this with beef?
I haven't tried it with beef because I'm always worried that the meat will be chewy. You could try using bone-in meat cuts, which in turn would add a lot more flavors to your bok choy soup and the meat is less-likely to turn out chewy. Another idea is to keep your beef cuts to marinate 20–30 minutes first with green papaya paste, that way your beef cuts will be tender for sure. Keep us updated!
I love the smell and taste of this soup. I thought it would be an easy way to throw in a couple wonton or some noodles and call it Pho
Absolutely amazing, and really easy to make. It was was flavourful and tasty.
Thanks for your feedback Caitlin! 🙂
Really flavorful and just perfect for a cold evening and leftovers for breakfast. I was able to freeze some leftovers successfully as well. Yum!
Thanks for sharing your experience with us! 🙂
Amazing simple healthy recipe. Best part is my 6 year old picky boy loved it which is a bonus.
That's great Sara! Kids are the most honest recipe testers and food connoisseurs. 🙂
I was quite impressed how good this soup was! I may simmer the star anise, cinnamon and bay leaf in the broth separately for a while longer because I found I loved the flavor SO much! I did add some ramen noodles (without seasoning packet) which was very good. The lime gave it a refreshing brightness. Thank you for a great recipe!
You are welcome Joyce.
This is delicious and so easy! I used diluted kombu dashi as the broth and it works great.
Thanks for sharing! 🙂
So. Yummy!
I also chopped some turmeric and added some umami powder and nutritional yeast.
Delicious!
Great idea, I will try that next! 🙂
It was delicious! I also added in Cremini Mushrooms. This is a great low calorie lunch!
Great idea! thanks for sharing!
Just made this and it's amazing!
The hubs and I just started Keto for the new year, and this will for sure be a regular recipe.
Awesome, thanks for sharing your experience Ashley. 🙂
A new favorite! Only thing I did differently was not use oil and just used a dash of cinnamon because I didn’t have sticks. Goes perfectly with vegan egg rolls😋
Nice! thanks for sharing. I'm going to try it with egg rolls next time. 🙂
This very good didn’t have anise so made without
Thanks for the feedback Carol, glad that you loved it!
Nice blend of flavors. Goes well with my Keto diet. I was in a hurry so I didn’t sauté anything just put it all in the pot of chicken broth.
Thanks for your feedback Donna! 🙂
This was a beautiful broth flavourful and filling.
Amazing! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Delicious! Tweaked it a bit and it tastes a lot like pho. Added shiitake mushrooms, bean sprouts, and beef
Great idea to add shiitake, bean sprouts and beef! I kind of based it on pho when I came up with the recipe.
Tastes great! Love the flavour! I threw in some mushroom balls to make it a main meal.
Kaylene, thanks for sharing 🙂
Love love love it! I made it tonight and it is a hit!
Thank you for your feedback 🙏
Also is 1 lime juice a tablespoon? There is no measurement.
It's the juice of one lime. I made it more clear in the recipe, thanks for pointing it out.
Hello,
Is it one tablespoon each of the garlic and ginger? Or one tablespoon combined?
Thanks
Hi Annie, The measurement for the ginger and garlic is one tablespoon of both combined. The ratio is 1:2 ginger and garlic. If you can get or make ginger garlic paste, that mixes in better into the soup or else use fresh ginger and garlic chopped.
Thank you! I ended up doing 1@ because I wasn’t sure but it was just extra deliciousness
awesome, glad you enjoyed it! 🙂
Super easy & delicious 😋
Very nice chef
I was interested in making this recipe until I saw the sodium content. Are you sure that one serving of this soup contains more than a days worth of sodium? I’m hoping it’s a mistake 🙂
Hi Ava, It looks like it was a program calculation mistake. I updated it to reflect the correct quantity. thanks for letting me know!
By the way, the nutrition info is just an estimate. Ingredients such as canned broth and soy sauce are high in sodium but if you pick low sodium soy sauce or broth, you can cut the sodium intake in half.
Very easy and very healthy- my husband isn’t a fan of clear soups but he loved this and so did I
Will definitely be making again and again
thank you for your feedback Andrea. Glad to read that you guys loved it. 🙂
This was delish!!! Forgot to take pics before my children devoured it.
thanks for your feedback! So glad to hear that your kids loved it. 🙂
I just made this. It came out great! So delicious! I added carrots, celery and mushrooms, mmmmmmmm
Fantastic broth!! Added Trader Joe's Umami seasoning with the garlic, ginger, and a bit of crushed red pepper. Also white beans & a bit of rice to make it lunch. Yummy!