Duck noodle soup is a simple, yet extremely flavorful dish you can make with very little time. It’s also a great way to use up leftover Cantonese roast duck.
For a quick meal, keep leftover roast duck in your freezer, so you can whip up this soup whenever you need it!
A Go-To Woks Family Recipe
My mom has been making this duck noodle soup for decades. It’s a great way to use up leftover Cantonese roast duck from your local restaurant, roast meat shop, or Chinese grocery. Often, we’ll buy an extra half a roast duck to keep in the freezer, just to make this noodle soup as a quick and easy meal.
To give you an idea of just how simple and easy this recipe is, when my parents are RV-ing across the country, my mom can’t leave NJ without a roast duck in the freezer for quick meals on the road.
Imagine my parents parked in a campground somewhere in Wyoming, sitting in their camp chairs with steaming bowls of duck noodle soup, and you get an idea of what a Leung family road trip looks like!
The most shocking aspect of this recipe is just how much flavor you can extract from roast duck, to make a delicious soup stock in just 20 minutes—with WATER. It doesn’t sound like it should be possible, but all the fat and roasted flavor in the duck seeps out into the boiling broth to make a soup that tastes like it took hours, not minutes, to make.
We pair it with sweet, tender napa cabbagewhich has always been a match made in heaven with duck soup.
Recipe Variations
If you’d rather skip the noodles, you can also make this as a duck soup with just duck and napa cabbage. Or you can add mung bean vermicelli (粉丝 – fun see in Cantonese or fěnsī in Mandarin).
Either way, you get a nice and simple Chinese duck soup to serve on the side of any meal.
I’m roasting some of the duck pieces to keep them succulent and juicy, but you can also just add all the duck to the soup, which is what my mom usually does. This makes the soup stock more flavorful.
Chicken bouillon paste or soy sauce are optional, but more necessary if you set aside some of the duck for topping, as there is less duck flavoring the soup. The more duck you put in the soup itself, the more flavorful it will be in less time!
If your duck is frozen or older, you might want to add all of it to the soup. The meat may not be as juicy as it used to be, so it’s better served flavoring the broth.
Okay, let’s make it!
Duck Noodle Soup Recipe Instructions
Set aside about 4-6 of your meatiest pieces of roast duck for topping the soup, and add the remaining duck to a medium pot along with the water and chicken bouillon paste (or soy sauce), if using.
Alternatively, add all of the duck to the soup, and forgo the bouillon paste/soy sauce. This is the best course of action if your duck is frozen.
Bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the napa cabbage. Trim the ends off the leaves, cut them in half lengthwise, and then cut them cross-wise into 3/4-inch thick strips. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the noodles.
If you set aside meaty pieces of duck, put them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Reheat in the oven at 325°F for 8-10 minutes, and then keep warm in the oven.
Once the soup has simmered for 20 minutes, add the napa cabbage, salt, sesame oil, and white pepper.
Increase the heat to bring the soup to a simmer again, and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes, until the napa is tender.
Boil the noodles according to package instructions.
Divide the noodles between 2 bowls.
Add the soup with the boiled duck pieces and the napa to each bowl (top with the meaty roast duck pieces on top if you reheated them in the oven). Garnish with cilantro (if using). Serve your duck noodle soup, and enjoy!
Duck Noodle Soup
Duck noodle soup is a simple, yet extremely flavorful dish you can make with very little time. It’s also a great way to use up leftover roast duck!
serves: 2
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 25 minutes
Total: 30 minutes
Instructions
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Set aside about 4-6 of your meatiest pieces of roast duck for topping the soup, and add the remaining duck to a medium pot along with the water and chicken bouillon paste. (Alternatively, add all of the duck to the soup, and forgo the bouillon paste. This is the best course of action if your duck is frozen). Bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.
-
Meanwhile, prepare the napa cabbage. Trim the ends off the leaves, cut them in half lengthwise, and then cut them cross-wise into 3/4-inch thick strips. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the noodles.
-
If you set aside meaty pieces of duck, put them on a foil-lined baking sheet. Reheat in the oven at 325°F for 8-10 minutes, and then keep warm in the oven.
-
Once the soup has simmered for 20 minutes, add the napa cabbage, salt, sesame oil, and white pepper. Increase the heat to bring the soup to a simmer again, and then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes, until the napa is tender. Boil the noodles according to package instructions.
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Divide the noodles between 2 bowls. Add the soup with the boiled duck pieces and the napa to each bowl (top with the meaty roast duck pieces on top if you reheated them in the oven). Garnish with cilantro (if using), and serve!
nutrition facts
Calories: 677kcal (34%) Carbohydrates: 42g (14%) Protein: 23g (46%) Fat: 47g (72%) Saturated Fat: 15g (75%) Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g Monounsaturated Fat: 21g Cholesterol: 86mg (29%) Sodium: 947mg (39%) Potassium: 509mg (15%) Fiber: 5g (20%) Sugar: 7g (8%) Vitamin A: 578IU (12%) Vitamin C: 34mg (41%) Calcium: 115mg (12%) Iron: 3mg (17%)
