Spring Roll Soup Recipe (Easy Udon Noodle Soup)

Why This Soup Works So Well With Leftovers

Spring roll night is a chopping night. Cabbage, peppers, carrots, radish, bok choy, green onion . . . you always end up with more sliced vegetables than anyone can actually wrap.

Those vegetables have already done the hard part for you. They are washed, they are cut thin, and thin cuts soften in a hot broth in about five minutes.

So the soup is really just a good broth and a noodle looking for a home. Everything else is already sitting in the fridge.

It also means no two batches are ever quite the same, and that is part of the fun.

What Goes Into the Broth

The spring roll flavor lives in the broth, and five simple things do all of the work.

Chicken or bone broth. This is the base. We keep homemade bone broth in the freezer, so that is usually what I reach for, but any good chicken broth works. A richer broth gives the soup more body.

Soy sauce. This brings the salt and the savory depth. Start with a quarter cup and add more at the end if you want it stronger. Tamari or coconut aminos work if you are avoiding wheat.

Sesame oil. A teaspoon is plenty. Treat it as a finishing oil and stir it in near the end so the flavor stays bright.

Minced garlic. One teaspoon, also at the end, so it stays fresh and sharp instead of cooking away.

A little sugar. Two teaspoons of coconut sugar rounds off the salt. You will not taste it as sweet. You will just notice the broth tastes finished.

Sesame seeds. Black or white. Mostly texture and a little nuttiness on top.

Choosing Your Vegetables

Anything you would put inside a spring roll belongs in this soup. We used green cabbage, purple cabbage, peppers, green onions, bok choy, carrots, and radish.

The only thing that really matters is timing. Sturdier vegetables like cabbage, carrots, and bok choy stems go in when the noodles are about halfway cooked. Softer things like green onion, bean sprouts, and bok choy leaves can wait until the last minute.

Slice everything thin and roughly the same size so it all cooks evenly.

If you want fresh herbs, cilantro, Thai basil, and mint are all classic spring roll flavors. Stir those in off the heat.

Noodles and Simple Swaps

Udon gives you that thick, chewy noodle that makes this feel like a real dinner. Two to three bundles is right for a medium pot.

Rice noodles are the closest thing to the rice paper you used the night before, and they cook even faster. Soba, ramen, and thin rice vermicelli all work too.

Cook the noodles right in the broth. It saves you a pan, and the starch that comes off them thickens the soup just slightly.

One note. If you are counting on leftovers, cook the noodles separately and add them to each bowl. Noodles that sit in broth overnight get soft.