American Chinese Recipe

Chinese Restaurant Vegetable Soup

Soup · Serves 3–4 · 25 minutes

Vegetable soup is a simple Chinese restaurant broth soup with greens, mushrooms, carrots, napa cabbage, tofu, or other vegetables.

Recipe at a glance

PurposeHigh-frequency Chinese restaurant menu dish
Cuisine or formatAmerican Chinese
Menu variation ruleProtein may be adjusted without creating a separate recipe family.

Ingredients

  • 6 cups vegetable, chicken, or mushroom broth
  • 2 cups napa cabbage or bok choy
  • 1 cup mushrooms
  • 1 carrot, sliced
  • 1/2 cup tofu, optional
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • White pepper
  • Scallions

Method

  1. Simmer broth with ginger.
  2. Add firm vegetables first.
  3. Add leafy greens and tofu near the end.
  4. Season with soy sauce and white pepper.
  5. Finish with scallions.
  6. Serve hot.

Menu-literacy notes

  • Vegetable soup may still use chicken broth in restaurants.
  • Ask about broth if vegetarian, vegan, halal, or kosher compliance matters.
  • The soup should be clear and light, not heavy.

Variations and substitutions

  • For chicken, beef, shrimp, pork, tofu, or mixed seafood variants, keep the same sauce logic and adjust the cooking time for the protein.
  • For allergies or religious dietary needs, check sauces, broth, wrappers, cooking wine, and shared wok or fryer use.
  • For takeout-style dishes, sauce texture matters: the sauce should coat the food rather than become a thin soup.

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