For many people who are conscious of healthy eating, noodle soup is a popular choice when eating out. They believe that dishes prepared in soup are in general lower in fat. In addition, as noodle soup comes with many choices of ingredients, it is believed to be a source of balanced nutrition. However, in reality, noodle soup may contain diet traps. In this article, registered dietitian Leung Hei-wan, Chloris analysed the different components of noodle soup to help us make healthy choices.

Ingredients and Soup Bases are Equally Important

Chloris pointed out that whether a bowl of noodle soup is healthy or not depends on the type of noodles, the ingredients selected and the soup base used. She said, “Regarding the types of noodles, rice noodles and egg noodles have not been deep-fried and therefore contain lower calories than instant noodles. When it comes to ingredients, we should choose fresh ingredients with lower fat contents, such as fresh meat slices, fresh fish slices and shredded chicken. We should avoid choosing high-fat and high-sodium ingredients such as pork belly and fish balls.”

The soup base has always been regarded as the essence of noodle soup. Chloris believed that we should pay extra attention in selecting the soup base. “Although soup bases made from ingredients such as large amounts of pork bones, peanut butter, coconut milk and soy sauce are flavourful, they are high in fat and sodium. Consuming only one bowl of noodles served with these soup bases may make you intake more sodium than the maximum recommended daily intake, as well as increase your fat intake.” To prepare healthy and tasty soup bases, Chloris suggested that restaurants use fresh ingredients, and natural spices such as black pepper, ginger, spring onion and garlic instead of ready-made sauces for seasoning.

Flexible Portion Sizes are Preferred

With more and more people becoming conscious of healthy eating, Chloris believed that noodle soup restaurants can seize the opportunity by allowing customers to choose the portions of noodles and vegetables according to their needs. This will not only provide customers with more healthy options, but also allow restaurants to attract more health-conscious customers, thus achieving a win-win situation.