There are times when we are feeling sick and not in the mood to eat, especially breakfast. It takes so much effort to force ourselves to eat. Everything tastes plain and even bitter. Luckily, Asian cuisines offer a rich flavor that can boost our appetite. Even, many of them are good for the gut and also comforting.
Why Should You Eat Soup To Start Your Day?
For some of you, eating soup might sound unusual, but it is a common thing from an Eastern point of view like Asian people. Breakfast should be something digestible, and warming while still providing you enough calories to start the day.
Many studies show that eating a healthy breakfast regularly can lower the risk of obesity and also cardiovascular disease. Besides, it improves your concentration and memory.
Asian Breakfast Soups You Can Make When You Are Sick
You can ask your loved ones to cook the following Asian soup when sick. Some of them just take around 15 minutes to make.
Asian Breakfast Soup (with Rice Noodles and Vegetables)
If you are suffering from diarrhea, you will lose a lot of fluid. Eating soup can help you replenish the missing electrolytes such as calcium, sodium, potassium, magnesium, chloride, and phosphorus.
If you are suffering from severe diarrhea, remove chili and replace pak choi and cabbage with peas. Spicy food is not good when you have diarrhea which can irritate the stomach. While pak choi and cabbage are in one family that can cause flatulence.
Ingredients:
- Asian rice noodles
- 400 ml vegetable stock
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- Ginger
- Chili (remove it if you have severe diarrhea)
- Garlic (1 clove)
- 50 g mushrooms
- 1 small carrot
- 100 g tofu
- 1/2 pak choi (remove it if you have severe diarrhea)
- 2 tablespoon lemon juice
- Sesame seeds
- Mint and coriander
Instruction:
- Cook the rice noodles and drain them, then mix them with soy sauce
- Chop finely garlic and ginger along with tofu, carrot, mushroom, and pak choi.
- Prepare the stock in the pot and then add chopped ingredients. Add chili, then simmer it for around 10 minutes.
- Once it is cooked, remove the heat and then serve it with rice noodles. Mix it with lemon juice and place coriander, sesame seeds, and mint as garnish.
Chinese Breakfast Rice Soup (Jook)
Jook is a rice porridge that you can eat for breakfast or a snack. It is a comfort food that is very easy to make. You just need a few ingredients to make a jook.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice (you can use Calrose rice or premium Japanese rice like Nishiki)
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 10 cups turkey broth
- 10 cups chicken broth
- 2 tbsp salt
- 1 tbsp minced cilantro
- 1 cup plain soymilk
Instruction:
- Wash the rice until it is clean, then soak it in the water for around 30 minutes.
- After soaking the rice, rinse it once again and then drain it.
- With a slow cooker, heat the oil.
- Cook the rice in the hot oil. Keep stirring until the rice is coated with oil and smells toasty.
- Pour the stock. Then add salt and cilantro.
- Stir the mixture and then cover the slow cooker. Set the temperature to low and then cook it for 8-9 hours.
- Stir the jook to make the water and the rice mix.
- If you like a thicker jook, you can set the cooker on HIGH. Then cover it and cook it for around 1 1/2 hours. You also need to stir it occasionally.
- As the rice turn into soup thick, you can add soy milk.
- Serve it with chopped cilantro, and minced green onion. If you like, you can enjoy it with soy sauce, oyster sauce, or hot sauce.
Breakfast Miso Soup
Miso soup is perfect for breakfast because it is light and nutritious. Studies show that miso soup can help you lower your blood pressure. So, starting from now on, you need to have one package of miso in your refrigerator because you can also use it for salad dressing and even popcorn.
Ingredients
- 2 scallions (chopped)
- 10 ounces water
- Shredded carrot from 1/4 of a medium carrot
- 1 tbsp white miso paste
- 1/2 cup tofu
- 1 tsp sesame seeds (toasted)
Instruction:
- Bring the water to a boil and then add scallions and carrots. Simmer it.
- Whisk the miso paste into a bowl with 1/4 or 1/2 half of warm water. You can stir it with a fork until there is no clump.
- Pour the miso into the pot.
- Next, add tofu and sesame seeds.
- Serve it hot.
Chinese Ginger Garlic Soup
Ginger garlic soup is one of the best for breakfast. This is a Chinese soup for the immune system that you can eat to combat colds. In many Chinese restaurants, you can find it easily. If you want to make it at home, the soup is very simple. Even you can adjust it to a vegan style if you like.
The components of the soup boost your immune system. Thanks to the super powerful ingredients such as onions, ginger, chicken, mushroom, and bok choy. Here is the recipe!
Ingredients:
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 2 cups green onions (chop them finely and divide the greens and the whites)
- 1 Spanish onion
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 6 cups chicken stock
- 3 tablespoon ginger, minced
- 2 teaspoon Chinese five spice
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 6 oz shiitake mushrooms
- 2 cups bok choy (chopped)
- 6 oz Chinese egg noodles
- 1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds
- 1/4 cup cilantro (finely chopped)
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Instructions
- Heat the sesame oil on a medium heat. Then add onions and stir them until it is soft.
- Add the white scallions, ginger, and garlic. Keep the green scallions for soup garnish.
- Keep stirring the garlic and ginger until you smell nice and fragrant.
- Next, pour the chicken broth and bring it to a simmer. Add hoisin sauce, fish sauce, soy sauce, and Chinese five spices. Cover and simmer it on a low heat.
- After 10 minutes, add sliced mushrooms, bok choy, and egg noodles. Simmer it once more until the bok choy and noodles are tender.
- Serve the soup in the bowls. Add sesame seeds, cilantro, green onions, and red pepper flakes as garnish.
15-Minute Noodle Soup To Combat Cold
This soup consists of cilantro, ginger, and garlic which are very good for your sinuses. It is a comfort food you can enjoy in the morning before starting your day. Check the recipe!
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp butter
- 4-5 garlic cloves (chopped)
- 2/3 cup yellow onion (chopped)
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 1/8 tsp white pepper
- 2 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 ounces fettuccine
- 1 cup peas
- 1/2 cup chopped cilantro
- Scallions and sesame seeds (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- On medium-high heat, melt the butter. Then add onions and cook it for around 2 minutes. Next, add garlic and ginger, then cook it for around 2 minutes.
- Pour the vegetable stock. Add white pepper and soy sauce. Bring it to a boil.
- Add the fettuccine and cook it until al dente. Add the peas, and last 2 minutes before removing the heat. Cook it until the peas are soft.
- Serve the soup with cilantro, sesame seeds, and scallions.
Vegan Asian Noodle Soup
During cold days, most of us catch a cold. The best thing to fight the cold is by eating soup. If you are a vegetarian, don’t worry. There is a delicious soup recipe you can try. It improves your sinuses and is very comforting to eat in the morning.
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon chopped ginger
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1/2 jalapeno, remove the seeds and slice thinly
- 6 cups vegetable broth
- 3 green onions, sliced
- 3 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- 3 baby bok choy (chopped)
- 1 red pepper, sliced
- 1 carrot, sliced thinly
- 8 oz tofu
- 5 oz soba noodles
- cilantro, chopped
- Sriracha (optional, for serving)
Instructions:
- With medium-high heat, heat sesame oil. Then, add ginger and garlic. Saute until you smell the fragrance.
- Add jalapeno, and green onions then pour the vegetable broth. Cover the pot and then simmer for around 10 minutes.
- In a separate place, cook the soba noodles. Drain it and set aside.
- Strain the broth (it is optional to remove the solids). And then, pour back the broth into the pot. Add rice vinegar, soy sauce, tofu, and vegetables. Simmer it for around 2 minutes. Then, add soba noodles and heat them until the broth are hot.
- Remove the heat and then serve the soup with cilantro, green onions, and sriracha as garnish.
- Eat the soup while it is hot.
FAQ
What Are The Most Popular Asian Breakfast Soup?
Talking about Asian breakfast soup, it is very difficult to decide which one is the most popular. Each region has different characteristics and uniqueness. Asian cuisines have rich flavors from savory, salty, sour, and sweet. But most importantly, much Asian breakfast soup comes with a lot of vegetables which is very healthy for your digestion. So, when it comes to popularity, it is a matter of preference.
Are Soups Good for Breakfast?
Many people don’t feel hungry in the morning and they think they don’t need a heavier protein-based breakfast. This is why they often skip breakfast.
If you often get nauseous in the morning, soup is the best choice. It is easily digestible. Soup typically doesn’t make you bloated. It is nourishing and will not make you hungry for a few hours, until lunch time.
That is all our Asian breakfast soup recipes that you can try. Check also our complete recipe about how to make hot pot broth here.