This Asian meatball soup has the most delicious sesame ginger pork meatballs, combined with a delicious broth and lots of bok choy goodness.
This Asian meatball soup is not only quick and easy, but it’s just plain delicious. I credit the pork meatballs. They are full of flavour with sesame and ginger and perfectly filling, so there’s definitely a good bit of heartiness in this meatball soup.
If you’re cook once/enjoy twice inclined, you might want to consider making a double batch of these pork meatballs. Use one batch for this soup and freeze the other batch for future meals. You can use them to make a rice bowl, with a great Asian sauce and lots of veggies. Or pick up some steamed bao buns and make a Korean meatball sandwich with them, with a Korean-style sauce and pickled vegetables. Once you try these meatballs, you’ll want to use them everywhere!
Ingredients and Substitutions
Ground Pork – ground pork is lovely in this soup, but ground beef, ground turkey or ground chicken would also work here.
Panko – Asian panko is recommended in these meatballs, but in a pinch, plain breadcrumbs would work.
Asian Chili Garlic Sauce – adjust the amount of chili garlic sauce to taste. Sambal Oelek could be substituted, but use less, as it is spicier. Sriracha would also work.
Bok Choy – baby bok choy tends to work best here, as it is more tender than the larger bok choy.
Recipe Tips
Ginger. I love it in cookies. Or my Fall lattes. But that’s most likely powdered ginger. When it comes to savoury dishes though, it’s real ginger and that stuff can pack a punch. Too much and I just find it overpowers all the other flavours in a dish. So I’m always careful when I add it, rarely using as much as a recipe recommends. I proceed gingerly (pun intended :)
So as you add ginger here, keep in mind that a little goes a long way and adjust the amount you add to your own personal preference where ginger is concerned.
I love the ginger paste in the tubes (available in the produce section of most grocery stores). It’s milder, handy and much less likely to overpower a dish. If you have a similar cautiousness where ginger is concerned, you might find the paste easier to work with, as well.
Did you know you can freeze fresh ginger? Simply place a fresh ginger root in a freezer bag and pop it in the freezer. To use, simply grate from frozen. No need to thaw. Ginger will keep in the freezer for about 6 months.
Top Tip
When preparing the bok choy for this soup, trim the stem ends off, then layer the leaves together. Make 2 or 3 vertical slices, the slice thinly horizontally. That way you’ll end up with lovely sized pieces of bok choy in your soup, instead of long stringy ones that are difficult to eat.
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Get the Recipe: Sesame Ginger Pork Meatball Soup With Bok Choy
Ingredients
Meatballs:
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, can use regular breadcrumbs
- 1 clove fresh garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced or ginger paste
- 1 Tablespoon soy sauce, low sodium recommended
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 3/4-1 lb ground pork, *see Note 1 below for other options
Soup broth:
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil, or other neutral-tasting cooking oil
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 4 small carrots, diced
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium recommended
- 1-2 teaspoons Asian Chili Garlic Sauce, to taste
To finish soup:
- 2 Tablespoon rice vinegar
- 2 cups bok choy leaves, thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, thinly sliced, DIVIDED
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F (regular bake setting/not fan assisted). Line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or greased foil. Set aside.
- Prepare meatballs: Beat egg in a large bowl. Stir in panko, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and sesame oil. Add ground pork and stir to incorporate seasonings into pork. Shape meatballs using a rounded 1 tsp measuring spoon. Place on prepared baking sheet.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until juices run clear and the meatballs are browned in spots. Remove from oven and set aside. *You can make ahead and refrigerate for up to 1 day or freeze for longer.
- Meanwhile, heat vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add sesame oil and carrots and saute for 5-7 minutes, or until carrots are softened. Add ginger and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add broth, water, soy sauce and chili garlic sauce. Bring to a boil over high heat, them reduce heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
- Add meatballs, rice vinegar and 1/2 of the green onions to the soup and allow to cook until meatballs are heated through. Turn off heat under soup. Stir in bok choy until just wilted. Serve garnished with remaining green onion.
Notes
More Asian Soup Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
Very nice! It’s near zero degrees outside and I had some minced pork. I was short on bok choy, so I used some chopped kale. I also added mushroom, rice, and fish sauce. It’s a very good recipe, especially when you have to improvise!
I’m so glad it hit the spot, Christina. It sounds great :) Thanks so much!
This sounds so good but Please tell me what I can substitute for pork? Thank you!
Hi Roslyn, you can use ground chicken or ground turkey as a good substitute.
This was flavorful, easy, and fast. I added more garlic and ginger plus some rehydrated maitake mushrooms and soaking water. The meatballs were delicious and I highly recommend the tip of making a double batch. Thanks for the recipe!
Sounds lovely Katherine. So glad you enjoyed it! Thanks so much :)
Absolutely delicious! I have made it 3 or 4 times now. The only thing I is add some mushrooms. Thank you!!!
Glad to hear, April :)
Very good recipe. My family really liked it. I would add a touch of fish sauce next time. One addition I made was to cook a small amount of soba noodles, and we added to the soup at the end.
So glad you enjoyed it, Kathy! And you can never go wrong with noodles :)
This looks delicious! Can the whole soup be portioned and frozen?
Hi Heidi, It should do just fine frozen.
Long-time reader, first-time commenter here. Thanks so much for this post!
So much good information. You’re a star.
Thanks so much :)
Excellent Soup! I made minor changes: used Vegetable Broth instead of Chicken Broth, and increased the amount by 2 cups (I like a lot of broth), omitted the water, added more ginger (because I love it), and used all parts of the Bok Choy, not just the leaves. The flavor combinations work extremely well together and the vinegar seals the deal.
So glad you enjoyed it, Vera! Thanks :)