Shrimp Balls Soup

A spoon holding matzo ball above a bowl of matzo ball soup, garnished with fresh cilantro. Background shows a small bowl with more cilantro.

This Shrimp Balls Soup is Asian-inspired. It's comforting, healthy, and such a delicious meal for a cold winters day.

Course Soup

Cuisine Asian-Inspired

Keyword shrimp

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Total Time 40

Servings -4

Calories 243kcal

Author Maria Koutsogiannis

Ingredients

For the shrimp balls

450 g defrosted uncooked frozen shrimp
3 garlic cloves
1 ½ tsp kosher salt
½ tsp ground pepper
1 egg
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp all purpose flour

For the soup

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ cup diced yellow onion
3 sprigs green onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups roughly chopped Napa cabbage
¼ cup white wine
2 tbsp chicken stock paste
8 cups water

Garnishes

lime wedges
3 sprigs green onion, cut on the bias
dash fish sauce
handful fresh cilantro
dash sesame oil
dash soy sauce or tamari

Instructions

Make the shrimp ball mixture: To a food processor add the garlic cloves and pulse to chop into small pieces. Add the defrosted shrimp, salt, pepper, egg, cornstarch and flour. Pulse to chop / combine everything into very small pieces, it will almost be a paste like mixture.
Pour the shrimp mixture into a bowl and put it in the fridge while you prepare the soup.
In a soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
Once warm, add diced onion, diced green onion and minced garlic. Saute for 6-8 minutes until the yellow onion is softened and the mixture is fragrant, stirring often.
Add the chopped napa cabbage and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Pour in ¼ cup white wine and cook until the wine is almost all evaporated.
Stir in the chicken stock paste until combined and then stir in 8 cups of water.
Bring the stock to a boil over high heat and then keep at a simmer on medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
Then, add the shrimp balls - use two spoons, one to scoop out the shrimp mixture and one to push it off the spoon in a sort of meatball form into the broth - repeat until all of the shrimp mixture is in the broth.
If the soup isn’t simmering anymore, bring the heat up to medium-high until simmering again. Then keep at a simmer for 6-10 minutes, covered, on medium-low, until the shrimp balls are pink and cooked through.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if desired.
Serve in bowls topped with a squeeze of lime juice, diced green onions, dash of fish sauce and sesame oil and soy sauce (if desired).

Video

[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id="IXLbzIgh" upload-date="2025-03-06T00:00:00.000Z" name="Shrimp Balls Soup" description="This Shrimp Balls Soup is Asian-inspired. It's comforting, healthy, and such a delicious meal for a cold winters day."]

Notes

If you don't have chicken stock paste, use chicken broth instead of water and adjust seasoning with more salt and pepper.
If you like this recipe, try our Greek Meatball Soup

Nutrition