This Chinese Rice Soup is a really quick and easy soup recipe that’s filling and nourishing. The Asian infused soup broth adapted from my Chinese Noodle Soup has a depth of flavour that belies the few ingredients called for.
In the spirit of simplicity and speed, I’ve just used fish and choy sum. But it’s excellent with shrimp/prawns, chicken, pork or even leftover cooked meats!
Quick and Easy Chinese Rice Soup
This rice soup is a really good, quick low effort meal that’s extremely versatile. Based around a simple Chinese soup broth used in several recipes I’ve previously shared, including this Chinese Noodle Soup, I think the feedback from a reader is all you need to know about this broth:
“The depth of flavour is incredible for such a simple, quick, easy soup.”
– Jay, 2 September 2020 on Chinese Noodle Soup
Succinct, and to the point!
What goes in the Chinese soup broth
In this recipe, I’m using the Chinese soup broth to make a rice soup. Here’s what you need for the broth:
Notes on the ingredients:
Rice – virtually any standard white rice will work just fine in this rice soup. Long grain, medium grain, short grain, jasmine, basmati. I’ve also popped directions for recipe adjustments required to make this with brown rice – most varieties take longer to cook so you’ll need more liquid;
Chicken stock/broth – low sodium is best, so it’s not too salty once you add the soy sauce and Chinese cooking wine (both of which add salt and flavour). Vegetable stock also works;
Chinese cooking wine – the key ingredient in all Chinese cooking that adds depth of flavour to anything it’s used in, from fried rice to stir fries, to noodles and marinades such as sticky Chinese Wings, Ribs and even crispy Pork Belly. It’s got a small amount of alcohol in it (wine level), but we only need 1 tablespoon so the alcohol mostly cooks out during the simmer stage;
Soy sauce – we’re using light soy sauce here so as not to discolour the rice soup broth. Read more about different soy sauces here;
Sesame oil – toasted sesame oil is added at the end for a lovely perfume of sesame flavour. Untoasted sesame oil is yellow and the flavour is not as strong, so don’t use that. Here in Australia, toasted sesame oil (which is brown) is the standard – it’s harder to find untoasted;
Fresh garlic & ginger – simmered in the broth to infuse with flavour; and
White pepper – white rather than black pepper is the standard in Chinese cooking so you don’t get black specks. But black pepper works just fine too.
Chinese Rice Soup Add-ins
This is the part that’s entirely customisable. I’ve just used choy sum and fish, both of which are low effort to prep plus super-quick to chop. Plus green onion to add a touch of freshness at the end.
See below for an extensive list of alternatives. Basically, anything that’s blanch-able!
Rice Soup Add-Ins
These are the add-ins I used, but see below for a rather extensive list of alternatives. I did say this was a flexible recipe!!
Fish – I like using fish because it drops juice that adds extra flavour into the broth, plus it’s super quick to cook and requires no seasoning prior to use. You can use virtually any fish here – white fish fillets, salmon, trout. For white fish, firm-fleshed fish are ideal, such as:
tilapia
cod (all types)
mahi-mahi
halibut
basa
snapper
barramundi
ling (this is what I used)
Fish best avoided include:
Fish that easily goes dry if cooked too long – tuna, bonito, swordfish, marlin, kingfish
Very oily fish – sardines, mullet, herring, mackerel (too strongly flavoured for this soup)
Delicate-textured white fish – flathead, gemfish/hake, sole (not ideal as they can break up easily, but are still OK if you’re careful)
(Tip: These fish selection guidelines are good for any recipes where fish are braised or poached like this, such as Moqueca (Brazilian Fish Stew) and Goan Fish Curry.)
Choy sum – this is a Chinese vegetable which is widely available here in Australia. The stem has a juicy bite to it like soft celery and the leaf is similar to spinach but it’s not as fine. Quick to chop and cook. Any other Chinese vegetable will be an ideal substitute – or other vegetables that can be simmered; and
Green onion – for a sprinkle of freshness at the end.
Alternative Add-ins
Here are some other add-ins that will work really well with this recipe:
Prawns/shrimp – very quick to cook, just plonk the raw prawns straight into the broth. No need to season beforehand. Large prawns will take 3 minutes to cook, medium 2 minutes, small 1 minute;
Chicken – slice it thinly, then tenderise it using this simple Chinese velveting method to ensure it stays soft and tender even after simmering. After tenderising, toss with a pinch of salt and pepper prior to cooking. Use breast or boneless thigh, simmer for 2 minutes;
Pork – as above with chicken (including tenderising). Use tenderloin, scotch fillet or chops, thinly sliced into strips. Simmer for 2 minutes;
Firm Tofu – cut into small batons, like in Hot & Sour Soup;
Cooked chicken – make poached chicken (use this Foolproof Method for the juiciest poached chicken of your life!), then slice it and place on top of soup once served in bowls. Or use any cooked chicken, shredded or diced;
Other cooked proteins – any other cooked protein that’s relatively plain or has Asian flavours. A bit of leftover Char Siu (Chinese BBQ Pork or Chicken), or perhaps if you have some leftover Asian flavoured mince (ground meat) such as from these quick Asian Beef Bowls, Vietnamese Caramelised Pork Bowls, or even the stuffing for San Choy Bau (Chinese Lettuce Wraps) or Thai Lettuce Wraps. Any of these would be terrific!
Other vegetables – any vegetable that cooks well in liquid will work well here. Think: sliced carrots, zucchini/courgettes, broccoli/broccolini, cauliflower, asparagus, beans.
How to make Chinese Rice Soup
This recipe has a nice flow to it, which is partly what makes it so low effort:
Pour chicken stock into pot and as it comes to the simmer, slice the ginger, peel the garlic, measure out the soy sauce and Chinese cooking wine and plonk it in;
As the broth simmers for 5 minutes to infuse with flavour, prepare the rice, fish and choy sum; then
As the rice and fish are cooking, get the bowls out and your choice of toppings out for serving.
Toppings
As for toppings – a little pinch of store bought crispy fried shallots and crunchy noodles really elevates this soup to another level. Don’t get me wrong – this rice soup is delicious as is and I’ve eaten it naked plenty of times, but crunchy toppings are the cherry on top!
Using both is the ultimate combo, but even using one of these is terrific / highly recommended.
1. Crispy Fried Shallots
One of my favourite Asian garnishes to add a pop of crispiness and salty goodness into Asian soups and salads. They are literally shallots fried until crunchy, then sprinkled with salt.
Sold in the Asian section of grocery stores, but much cheaper at Asian stores!
2. Crunchy fried noodles
The big sister of the thin crunchy noodles used in things like Chinese Chicken Salad, these are like the strips of fried wontons that come with Congee, the traditional slow cooked, porridge-like Chinese rice soup. Excellent crunch factor!
Sold in the Asian food section of mainstream grocery stores, here’s what it looks like:
What to serve with Chinese Rice Soup
This soup as written is a bit light on the vegetables so by all means, feel free to increase the vegetable quota by adding more greens.
Alternatively, serve it with a side salad or steamed greens tossed in a simple Asian Sesame Dressing, or a big Asian Slaw.
Storing leftovers
Rice left in soup will continue to absorb the liquid and become unappealingly bloated, so if you’ve got leftovers, it’s essential to separate them. Either scoop the rice out with a slotted spoon, or drain using a colander, then store the rice in a separate container to the broth.
Resist the temptation to cook the rice separately and place in bowls before ladling broth over because we want the rice to absorb the tasty flavours of the broth as it cooks! – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Chinese Rice Soup
Ingredients
Broth
- 1 litre / 32 oz chicken stock/broth, low sodium (Note 1)
- 1 cup water
- 2 garlic cloves , smashed (Note 2)
- 1.5 cm / 1/2" ginger piece, cut into 3 slices
- 1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce , or normal all purpose soy sauce (Note 3)
- 1 1/2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine , key ingredient (Note 4 subs)
- 1/4 – 1/2 tsp sesame oil , toasted (optional) (Note 5)
- 1/4 tsp white pepper (sub black, can omit)
Add Ins
- 3/4 cup uncooked white rice – long grain, medium grain, short grain, jasmine (Note 6)
- 3 stems choy sum , cut into 2cm / 1" lengths, stems separated from leaves (Note 8)
- 250g / 8 oz white fish fillets , cut into 2.5cm / 1" cubes (Note 8)
- 1 green onion , finely sliced
Toppings (1 minimum, all best!)
- Crispy fried shallots (Note 9)
- Crunchy fried noodles , pictured in post (Note 9)
- Chilli oil or paste
Instructions
- Combine broth ingredients: Place chicken stock, soy sauce, Chinesse cooking wine, garlic and ginger in a small pot over high heat.
- Simmer to infuse: Place lid on, bring to simmer then reduce to medium and simmer for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to infuse.
- Add rice: Add rice and cook uncovered for 10 minutes – broth surface should be bubbling very gently.
- Add fish & stems: Add fish and stems of choy sum, cook for 2 minutes.
- Pick garlic and ginger out of soup.
- Stir through choy sum leaves (they will wilt almost instantly), sesame oil and pepper. Serve immediately.
Recipe Notes:
- Reduce soy sauce to 2 tsp
- Add 1 tbsp Oyster Sauce (this has umami and will add complexity into the broth flavour to compensate for leaving out cooking wine).
- long, medium or short grain white rice
- jasmine
- basmati
- Brown basmati – follow recipe as written
- Medium and long grain brown rice – add 1 cup water, simmer rice for 30 minutes with lid open a crack
- Any Chinese veggies – bok choy/buk choi/pak choi, gai lan/Chinese broccoli, choy sum. Cut Bok Choy into half or quarters lengthwise (pictured / video). For other veg, cut per recipe
- Carrots and zucchini sliced, green beans, asparagus, broccoli/broccolini, cauliflower, beansprouts
- Put vegetables in the order of time it takes for them to cook. Delicate veg like beansprouts at the end, veg that take longer like carrots halfway through rice cooking time.
- Prawns/shrimp – plonk the raw prawns straight into the broth. No need to season beforehand. Large prawns will take 3 minutes to cook, medium 2 minutes, small 1 minute;
- Chicken – slice thinly, tenderise using this Chinese velveting method to ensure it stays soft and tender. After tenderising, toss with a pinch of salt and pepper prior to cooking. Use breast or boneless thigh, simmer for 2 minutes;
- Pork – as above with chicken (including tenderising). Tenderloin, scotch fillet, chops, thinly sliced into strips. Simmer for 2 minutes;
- Firm Tofu – cut into small batons, like in Hot & Sour Soup;
- Cooked chicken – make poached chicken (use this Foolproof Method) or use any other cooked chicken. Dice or finely slice, place on soup after serving;
- Other cooked proteins – any other cooked protein that’s relatively plain or has Asian flavours. See in post for ideas – halfway down the page.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
A lot of golden retrievers are coordinated enough to do this on dry land. Dozer needs the full assistance of water buoyancy to get up on this hind legs without slamming his paws onto someone for support (usually me).
(PS This is his “pretty please, play with me?!” pose)
Hi Nagi, You weekend at Chapman Valley sounded wonderful, we’ll have to check it out for ourselves one day since we love getting away (N.S.W. only at the moment of course).
I do intend making your “Rice Soup” in the near future as well as it sounds wonderful, I have never made an Asian soup before.
It’s such a great place to visit Josephine!!! I hope you try the soup – you’ll be converted to making more I promise! N x
A yummy recipe. Love the photo’s. By the way the holiday was only in NSW – no public holiday in Victoria!
Thanks so much Debbie 🙂 N x
Aw again Nagi, lots of pics so thank you. Dozer aw.Nagi I made your beef ribs the other night for visitors and were they yum!!!! I served them with a shrimp salad and some corn bread pudding made with brioche it was delicious
Sounds fabulous Carolyn, I bet it was a hit!! N x
What a great weekend you had, I can smell the bacon from here! A query please, hubby is not keen on rice but eats pasta and noodles. Could I substitute, and if so how much? Thank you Nagi.
Hi Esther, you could use risoni/orzo or rice noodles in its place if you like. Or head over to this recipe if you want to make it using noodles – https://discountspot.info/chinese-noodle-soup/%3C/a%3E N x
Just wondering is cauliflower rice would change the taste too much?
Use orzo for the rice, also known as risoni.You can also use stellini pasta if you can find it.
Nagi – was absolutely thrilled to see you and Dozer getting away with friends in such a relaxed way – having worked to the timetable you have you needed this ! And thanks for sharing . . . I hope that as spring progresses you will be able to make another getaway or two ! You have given us almost unlimited variations for a great soup . . . that will happily make a main meal for me. For any Australian with some good rich chicken stock in the freezer this could almost be a fridge-cleaning exercise 🙂 ! Yum and clapping !!!
Yes it was much needed Eha! This recipe is perfect for a fridge forage!! I hope you give it a try, I’d love to know what you think! N x
Enjoyed your camping photos, and photos of Dozer…of course. Thanks for sharing. Glad you all had a great camping adventure.
Thanks so much Gloria!! N x
Thank you for the snapshots of your camping adventure. I particularly loved those bacon strips draped over the camp fire. I felt like I was there, instead of home in Palm Springs, CA. We have lizards, too….though not that big!!!
Nice and tasty soup
But I am looking for more In Flavour like in combination wonton soup bought at my local dee why Hong fa/top bbq Chinese restaurantS or top
Just can’t get the soup broth to taste the same
Any ideas
Hi Greg, try my wonton soup recipe here: https://discountspot.info/wonton-soup/%3C/a%3E 🙂 N x
I am so glad you had a few days off AND sent us a postcard! I loved the pictures, and as always, Dozer.
Thanks so much Meredith!!! N x
The soup looks good and with fall starting here in the United States it should be very well received. As for your camping trip, it brought back wonderful memories of getting up on the cold mornings and getting excited about drinking coffee while huddled around a fireplace type campfire. I still insist on mugs with room for my fingers inside the loop so they can rest on the warm side of the mug. So glad that you and Dozer got to enjoy a much deserved getaway. Love you both.
I hope you get a chance to try it Lisa, you’ll love it!! I’m so happy I could help you enjoy some memories – nothing beats a camping trip and being out in the elements Lisa 🙂 N x
Lovely soup. I will be making this soon. I love the postcards from the Bush. At first, I thought the bacon was socks. Great way to cook it. Dozer sounds like a wonderful companion. You are blessed. Thank you for all the recipes. Stay safe.
You might be onto something here Mary – sock washing, bush style 😂 N x
Can the veveting method be used on pork and beef also? love it on chicken.
Sure can Mary, take a look here: https://discountspot.info/how-to-tenderise-beef-velveting-beef/N%3C/a%3E x
Thanks so much for this great recipe. I’ll add star anise to the broth (remove before adding rice, along with ginger and garlic). No choy sum at my store, but yes to bok choy (yum yum yum). Pork and/or tofu (I’m guessing firm, since you didn’t say). And maybe a pinch of MSG. To top, I’ll use Seongyoung Longest’s Fried Garlic and Chili Garlic Oil in addition to the green onions.
Sounds great Hollis – you could do so many variations here!! N x
Hi I’m glad you and Dozer had a relaxing weekend camping ⛺️ apart from the goanna I would of ended up in my car too.Camping is not for me I hate all the creepy crawlies that come out at night .Thanks for the recipe .😂😂😂🦎🐍🐜🦟🦗🕷
I hear you Carol!! Lucky I have Dozer to scare them away 😂 N x
LOVED your “Postcards from the Bush”. I’m not much for primitive camping (do love a toilet and shower), but your food looked amazing and the Piper-Heidsieck – icing on the cake 🥂! Wishing you and Dozer the best!
Can’t go camping without it Susan! 😉 N x
Hi Nagi
Welcome back, I missed your recipes.
Just wondering if you could check why I’m not getting your regular emails. I did to start with now I haven’t had anything for a few months. I tried subscribing again but still nothing.
Hi Lyndall, sorry you’re having issues – check your junk/spam folder. If they aren’t in there, send me an email and I can look into it for you. N x
Have you checked your spam folder? A lot of my regular subscriptions end up there. My guess is that they are making sure that I really signed up for that many.
Could you use beef instead of chicken broth?
Hi Bina, I prefer chicken for this recipe, beef is a little too strong. N x
Nagi camp fire is picture perfect and bacon Fince something Ive Not seen before Such good vibe. Love Dozers PHOTO in water. YUMI soup will trythis one.Thank YOU Kindly. Stay Well both Of YOU.
Everything is great when you have bacon Vera!!! 😂 N x
Awhhhh…where am I able to see the camping pics? I can’t seem to find them and would love to see.
Hi Macy, they were in my newsletter that I send out with each recipe. N x
Hi Nagi, welcome back. Is your newsletter something we need to sign up to receive? Or can we view your newsletters on your blog? I’d love to read them.
Camping trip looks like fun. Australia – snakes? You don’t have to worry about them?
😂 There’s only 12 types of snakes around here that would be venomous to kill you… 3 of the most top venomous in the world… nothing to worry about at all 😬 N x
I’M willing tp give it ago, sounds FULL of flavour, sure my wife will love it. Great pics on your Bush trip, always inspires you to cook in different ways over the coals eh.
I hope you get a chance to try it Tony, I’d love to know what you think!! N x