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If you're looking for a tasty and healthy twist on traditional Chinese chicken noodle soup, then this high-protein dinner recipe is for you. Seasoned with fragrant aromatics, this low-carb and low-calorie soup is perfect for chilly days or when you're feeling under the weather.
Instead of regular noodles, we'll be using shirataki noodles, which are made from konjac root and are low in carbs and low in calories. However, if shirataki noodles aren't available, you can always substitute them with zucchini noodles or kelp noodles, both of which are also low in carbs and have a similar texture to shirataki noodles.
Combined with a homemade chicken stock, fresh veggies like Bok Choy, scallion, chillies, carrot, zucchini, and cabbage, and flavorful aromatics like garlic, ginger, Chinese cooking wine, and sesame oil, this soup is sure to satisfy your taste buds and leave you feeling full for longer.
This recipe makes four regular (main course) lunch or dinner servings, or up to 8 servings if eaten as a starter.
So let's get started and learn how to make this delicious low-carb and low-calorie Chinese chicken noodle soup with shirataki noodles!
Recipe Tips
We are using boneless, skinless chicken breasts although you can use chicken thighs with or without skin and bones. As a bonus, the bones and skins will add even more flavour! Finally, you can use chicken carcasses like I did here.
As mentioned above, instead of shirataki noodles (aka zero noodles), you can use zucchini noodles or kelp noodles.
If you need to avoid gluten, you will likely need to use a different cooking wine than Shaoxing. Most of the brands I found contain gluten although the one I used was gluten-free and sugar-free. Here are some of the alternatives:
- dry sherry
- dry white wine
- sake or cooking sake
More Low-Carb Soups
Hungry for more? Try any of these delicious low-carb soups!
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Hands-on Overall
Serving size 2 cups/ 480 ml
Nutritional values (per serving, 2 cups/ 480 ml)
Net carbs7.7 grams
Protein31.5 grams
Fat5 grams
Calories221 kcal
Calories from carbs 15%, protein 62%, fat 23%
Total carbs11.1 gramsFiber3.3 gramsSugars4.6 gramsSaturated fat0.9 gramsSodium985 mg(43% RDA)Magnesium71 mg(18% RDA)Potassium849 mg(42% EMR)
Ingredients (makes 4 servings)
- 2 large chicken breasts (500 g/ 1.1 lb)
- 5 cups water or chicken stock (1.2 L)
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- 2-inch (5 cm) piece ginger, sliced
- 1 small brown onion, peeled and quartered
- 1 star anise
Soup:
- 1 pack shirataki noodles (200 g/ 7.1 oz)
- 1 medium zucchini, diced (200 g/ 7.1 oz)
- 1 medium carrot, peeled and sliced (85 g/ 3 oz)
- 200 g baby bok choy or regular bok choy (7.1 oz)
- 2 cups sliced Chinese Napa cabbage (85 g/ 3 oz)
- 2 tbsp tamari sauce or coconut aminos (30 ml)
- 2 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (30 ml)
- sea salt, to taste
- 1 tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 medium green onions, sliced (30 g/ 1.1 oz)
- Optional: fresh chillies, to serve
Instructions
- Start by making the stock. Fill a large saucepan with water (or chicken stock for more flavor). Add the chicken breasts, one cloves of sliced garlic, one peeled and quartered onion, one 2-inch (5 cm) piece of sliced ginger and one star anise.
- Bring to a boil and cover with a lid. Simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, and then take off the heat.
- While the stock is cooking, prepare the vegetables. Drain and rinse the shirataki noodles and follow the instructions here if you want to remove any residual odour (not required as it won't make a huge difference in this recipe).
- Dice the zucchini and peel and slice the carrot. Slice the Chinese Napa cabbage (or use savoy cabbage) and halve the baby bok choy (or you can use regular bok choy cut into thick slices).
- When the stock is ready, remove the chicken breast from the saucepan and set aside to cool down. Strain the stock and discard all of the aromatics. Once the chicken is cool enough to touch, shred into pieces.
- Place the stock back on the cooker and heat up. Once simmering, add the carrots, cover with a lid and cook for about 5 minutes. Then add all of the remaining vegetables, shirataki noodles, Chinese cooking wine, coconut aminos (or tamari sauce) and cook for another 5 minutes or until the vegetables are crisp-tender.
- Take off the heat and add back the shredded chicken and stir in the sesame oil. Season with salt to taste.
- To serve, garnish with freshly sliced green onions and optionally chillies. To store, let it cool down and refrigerate for up to 4 days.
Ingredient nutritional breakdown (per serving, 2 cups/ 480 ml)
| Net carbs | Protein | Fat | Calories |
|---|
| Chicken, breast (without skin, raw) |
| 0 g | 28.1 g | 3.3 g | 150 kcal |
| Water, still |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Garlic, fresh |
| 0.5 g | 0.1 g | 0 g | 2 kcal |
| Ginger root, fresh |
| 0.8 g | 0.1 g | 0 g | 4 kcal |
| Onion, brown (yellow), raw |
| 1.1 g | 0.2 g | 0 g | 6 kcal |
| Star anise, spices |
| 0.2 g | 0.1 g | 0.1 g | 2 kcal |
| Shirataki noodles, konjac noodles |
| 0.8 g | 0 g | 0.1 g | 2 kcal |
| Zucchini (summer squash, courgette) |
| 1 g | 0.6 g | 0.2 g | 8 kcal |
| Carrot, fresh |
| 1.4 g | 0.2 g | 0.1 g | 9 kcal |
| Bok choy (pak-choi) cabbage, fresh |
| 0.6 g | 0.8 g | 0.1 g | 7 kcal |
| Chinese cabbage, napa cabbage, raw |
| 0.6 g | 0.3 g | 0 g | 6 kcal |
| Tamari sauce (gluten-free soy sauce) |
| 0.4 g | 0.9 g | 0 g | 5 kcal |
| Shaoxing cooking wine |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 8 kcal |
| Salt, sea salt |
| 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 kcal |
| Sesame oil, toasted |
| 0 g | 0 g | 1.1 g | 10 kcal |
| Spring onion, scallion, green onion, fresh |
| 0.4 g | 0.1 g | 0 g | 2 kcal |
| Total per serving, 2 cups/ 480 ml |
| 7.7 g | 31.5 g | 5 g | 221 kcal |
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