Seafood Noodle Soup Recipe

Prepare and simmer broth

Heat a large soup pot over medium heat and add vegetable oil. Add smashed garlic, smashed ginger, and bruised lemongrass and sauté for 1–2 minutes until fragrant but not browned. Pour in the white wine and simmer 1 minute to reduce slightly.

Add the chicken or seafood stock, water, bay leaves, whole black peppercorns, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and salt. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes to let the flavors infuse. Taste and adjust seasoning with additional fish sauce or salt as needed. Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve into a clean pot, discarding solids, and keep the broth hot over low heat.

Cook noodles

While the broth simmers, cook the rice noodles according to package instructions (usually soaking in hot water or boiling 4–6 minutes) until al dente. Drain, rinse briefly under cold water to stop cooking, toss with 1 teaspoon sesame oil to prevent sticking, and set aside.

Prepare vegetables

Trim and halve baby bok choy, slice shiitake mushrooms, rinse bean sprouts, and slice green onions. Keep vegetables ready to add to the hot broth.

Poach seafood

Bring the strained broth back to a gentle simmer. Add the firm white fish pieces first and poach for 2 minutes. Add shrimp, scallops, and calamari rings and simmer 1–2 minutes more until shrimp are pink and opaque, scallops are just cooked, and calamari is tender. If using mussels or clams, add them at the same time and cook until shells open (discard any that remain closed). Do not overcook — total seafood cooking time should be 3–4 minutes depending on size.

Divide the cooked rice noodles among 4 bowls. Arrange halved bok choy, shiitake slices, and bean sprouts over the noodles.

Ladle the hot seafood broth and seafood evenly into the bowls, making sure each bowl gets an assortment of shrimp, fish, scallops, and calamari (and mussels/clams if used). The hot broth will gently finish cooking any vegetables in the bowls.

Top each bowl with sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, thinly sliced red chili and basil leaves if using. Serve immediately with lime wedges on the side for squeezing to taste.