Hong Kong macaroni soup
Hong Kong macaroni soup has a comforting, savory taste with a delightful mix of tender pasta, flavorful broth, and a variety of textures from added meats and vegetables. In Hong Kong this soup is for breakfast but boy I promise you it is suitable for anytime of the day.
Hong Kong macaroni soup is a traditional Hong Kong breakfast but it can also be eaten during lunch or even dinner if you are me (hahaha). Bowl of soup with its heavenly savory flavors is an ideal choice of comforting food and you will get exactly that from this Hong kong style macaroni soup. I decided to tweak the traditional recipe by adding chicken bites instead. Hong Kong macaroni noodle soup is widely available in cafes and cha chaan tengs (Hong Kong-style cafeterias) and is cherished for its comforting simplicity. If you like this Asian macaroni soup then I highly recommend that you try the Vietnamese macaroni soup recipe as well.
Ingredients
Detailed quantities are on the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Macaroni: Use dry, elbow-shaped macaroni noodles.
- Luncheon Meat: You could use ham or spam for this recipe. Prefer pre-cooked, ready-to-eat types for ease.
- Boneless chicken: I used thighs because I prefer them over chicken breast, the choice is yours. You can either use both chicken and luncheon meat or just use one.
- Chicken Broth: Opt for ready-made or homemade, clear chicken broth. Chicken stock/chicken bouillon is your best alternative.
- Mixed Vegetables: Frozen or fresh; typically includes peas, carrots, and corn.
- Eggs: Fresh, for frying sunny side up.
- Green Onions: Fresh, for garnishing; finely chopped.
- Soy Sauce: Standard soy sauce for seasoning.
- Vegetable Oil: Any neutral oil for frying.
- Black Pepper: Ground, for seasoning to taste.
How to make Macaroni chicken Soup Hong Kong style
- Boil macaroni pasta according to package instructions and set aside.
- Boil the chicken broth for 5 minutes then add chicken cubes and a teaspoon of soy sauce and cook for 10 minutes then strain the broth.
- Season the chicken cubes and sauté them in the pot with about 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil or sesame oil for 3 to 5 minutes then set them aside.
- In the same pot sauté the mixed veggies for 5 minutes and set them aside.
- In a frying pan make your sunny-side-up eggs and set them aside. In the same pan, you can fry your cold meats and set it aside too. If it is pre-cooked like ham you can skip this part. See picture below of all your ready to be plated components.
- Assemble the Hong Kong macaroni soup in a serving bowl. This recipe serves up to 4 people, scoop macaroni, veggies, and chicken bites into a bowl then scoop a generous amount of chicken broth then top with a fried egg and luncheon meat. Garnish with finely chopped green onion.
Tips and common mistakes to avoid when making this as a beginner.
- Don’t overcook your pasta.
- Whenever you are using store-bought broth always do a taste test before you add salt to your dishes, some have high content of sodium.
- You can add a little bit of coconut milk to make the broth creamy.
How to store leftover Hong Kong macaroni soup?
Well once you’ve assembled the soup, I would advise that you do what your mama taught you, and that’s to finish your food, but this is not always easy with young children. I’ve only kept the assembled macaroni soup in the fridge for about 24 hours. If you wish to store this for more than that then I suggest you store all components of the soup separately in airtight containers in the fridge.
To reheat you will need to reheat the components one by one, pasta, veggies, chicken, and broth. You can do this on a top stove on low to medium heat or in the microwave.
How can I make this recipe ahead?
Prepare all components of the soup and store them separately in the fridge in airtight containers for up to 3 days then assemble on the day you need to serve. You will need to just warm the components before you assemble them. For my kids I just boil the broth on high heat and add it to the bowl, it automatically warms everything while the broth cools down enough not to burn their little mouth.
More soup recipes to add to your rotation.
Hong Kong macaroni soup
Ingredients
- 9 oz Macaroni 250g
- Luncheon meat /cooked ham
- Boneless chicken things You can used either both ham and chicken or just one
- 2 cups Chicken broth
- 9 oz Mixed Vegetables
- 4 Eggs (Sunny side up)
- Green onions
- 1 tbsp Soy Sauce
- 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
Instructions
- Cook the macaroni according to package instructions and set aside.
- Boil the chicken broth for 5 minutes then add chicken cubes and cook for 10 minutes then strain the broth.
- Season the chicken cubes and sauté them in the pot for 3 to 5 minutes then set them aside.
- In the same pot sauté the mixed veggies for 5 minutes and set them aside.
- In a frying pan make your sunny side up eggs and set them aside. In the same pan, you can fry your cold meats and set it aside too. If it is pre-cooked like ham you can skip this part.
- Assemble the Hong Kong macaroni soup in a serving bowl. This recipe serves up to 4 people, scoop macaroni, veggies, and chicken bite into a bowl then scoop a generous amount of chicken broth then top with a sunny side-up egg and fried luncheon meat.
Notes
- Don’t overcook your pasta.
- Whenever you are using store-bought broth always do a taste test before you add salt to your dishes, some have high content of sodium.
- You can add a little bit of coconut milk to make the broth creamy.
