Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
by Chungah
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An easy one pot dinner! Thai red curry noodles deliver on flavor and convenience. With tender chicken, rice noodles, cilantro, basil + lime!
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Why you’ll love this thai red curry noodle soup recipe
- Restaurant-quality. Now you can make your favorite takeout dish right at home for half the cost with better quality ingredients using your favorite protein.
- Packed with flavor. This noodle soup is simply downright fragrant, flavorful, cold weather comfort food, full of bold Thai flavors.
- One pot dinner. This no-fuss, one pot dinner means less dishes, less clean up, making it so effortless for busy weeknights but also fancy enough for weekend company.
- Clean-out-the-fridge meal. And of course this makes for the best clean-out-the-fridge dinner, adding in any lingering veggies that needs to be used up.
what is red curry paste and where can i find it?
Commonly used in Thai dishes, red curry paste is made from a blend of red chili pepper, garlic, lemongrass, Thai ginger and various spices.
Red curry paste is typically used for stir-fry, soups or mixed with coconut milk for curry. It is readily available in most grocery store chains, particularly the Thai Kitchen brand, and online, with some brands containing shellfish (shrimp paste).
How to make thai red curry noodle soup
- Sear the chicken. First, season the chicken with salt and pepper, searing until golden brown in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Cook the aromatics. Cook the garlic, bell pepper and onion until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the red curry paste. Stir in the red curry paste, adjusting the amount of curry paste to your (or your family’s) spice levels.
- Deglaze the pan. Add the chicken broth and coconut milk, deglazing by scraping the prized caramelized brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot (fond).
- Simmer. Simmer until slightly reduced and the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. The longer it simmers, the more it reduces.
- Cook the noodles. Stir in the rice noodles (or desired noodles), fish sauce and brown sugar. Rice noodles will cook quickly, about 5 minutes.
- Add the finishing touches. Add the green onions, cilantro, basil and lime juice, seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve. Serve warm, keeping the noodles and broth separately if preparing for leftovers.
what to serve with thai red curry noodle soup
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely! Shrimp or tofu are both great options.
I personally love Mae Ploy (contains shrimp paste). But Thai Kitchen is also great with mild heat and more readily available at most grocery stores.
Rice noodles are my go-to, coming in various sizes (wide, medium and thin). Rice vermicelli is used here, the thinnest rice noodles. But udon or soba noodles are also solid options.
Fish sauce has a strong, pungent “fishy” smell but when cooked, it brings in savory, salty, umami goodness.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days, separating the rice noodles from the broth.
Unfortunately freezing is not recommended as coconut milk tends to separate when frozen.
Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch chunks
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 1 onion, diced
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
- 4 ounces rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 3 green onions, thinly sliced
- ½ cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
- ¼ cup chopped fresh basil leaves
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper, to taste. Add chicken to the stockpot and cook until golden, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- Add garlic, bell pepper and onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in red curry paste and ginger until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken broth and coconut milk, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in chicken. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced, about 10 minutes.
- Stir in rice noodles, fish sauce and brown sugar until noodles are tender, about 5 minutes.
- Remove from heat; stir in green onions, cilantro, basil and lime juice; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Equipment
Notes
- Use your favorite protein. This recipe will work well with chicken thighs, chicken breasts, shrimp or tofu.
- Full fat coconut milk will be more rich. Although lite coconut milk can certainly be used, full fat coconut milk will yield a much more rich and creamy broth.
- Fish sauce is a hero. Fish sauce is a key ingredient here, balancing out the flavors, and adding saltiness and umami without overpowering it. A little bit goes a long way.
- Mix it up. Swap out the red curry paste for green, add in more veggies (cabbage, zucchini, mushrooms or bok choy) or use your favorite noodles (vermicelli, udon or soba noodles).
- Divide and conquer. When storing leftovers, separate the noodles and broth. This will help the noodles retain its texture.
Did you make this recipe?
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I have made this soup many times and love it, but I don’t know how one can of coconut milk works for sufficient creaminess, and to quell the spiciness of the Red curry pace. I always end up adding a second can of coconut milk and more brown sugar, yet it’s still not super sweet. I also usually add water chestnuts (great crunch!) and often some carrots. I skip the basil, but always add the cilantro. It’s delicious!
This is literally my favourite meal to make. When I roll it out for guests, everyone loves it. It is food for the soul, you won’t be disappointed.
Thank you, Kerry! It’s one of our favorites as well.
My favourite soup. Very very nice
Definitely one of my favorites as well! 🙂
this is the best recipe I have ever tried, so gooood! Tastes sooo goood I love it!
Could you use Mahi instead of chicken?
My husband’s favorite dish! I make it at least once a month
I also like to do a curry version, just add a cup of more concentrated chicken broth and cook the rice with it. It turns out just as delicious!
My son is allergic to coconut, is there a substitute for coconut milk?
Absolutely beautiful. It was more of a plant-based day for me so instead of chicken i added silk tofu at the end. I also added some carrots, celery, and potato chunks. Used coconut cream instead of milk and it still turned out so delicious. The fresh ginger was the mvp of the ingredients. So freaking good.
This is the BEST soup ever!! The first time I made it, I made it three times the first week and every week after that for months!
I don’t add cilantro because, ick! And I don’t always have basil available but it’s always good with or without it.
This was SO GOOD we couldn’t get enough of it. Perfectly balanced!
Love this soup! So good and flavorful! I doubled the noodled and added some spinach for some extra heartiness to make it more of a complete meal. Turns out so good every time!
This was excellent! At first I was thinking it was a lot of broth, but the broth is the best. I’m glad I doubled the recipe! Thank you so much for sharing this!
My go-to comfort meal, and it’s packed full of flavour!
do you usally make the meal for one? i want to make this recipe for 1 but don’t know how it would taste if i divide the recipe by 6 to make it for 1 person
it is super great I love it
This is one of our favorite soups. We make it with vegetable broth and tofu to make it vegan. It’s amazing!!
Used coconut cream to make it richer and less chicken broth to thicken up more. Added bamboo shoots. But is awesome. This is husbands absolute favorite at Thai restaurants and I have tweaked this recipe till I made just like where we eat at our fave restaurant. Basics are there. Thank you so much for the idea I can make it at home.
Since making this soup a couple years ago. It quickly be came one of our favourites. In fact, it’s my daughter’s most requested meal. So thank you very much for sharing this recipe!!
This soups is absolutely delicious. I shred up the chicken from Costco to make it quicker. Also add bamboo shoots and mushrooms (at the end). My husband wants me to make it at least twice a week — it is that good! Love it!
Made this last night with Yellow Curry Paste. Absolutely delicious. Will definitely make again.
Delicious!! Next time I’m doubling the recipe to freeze and have on hand.
I was thinking that too, but then I seen the comment at the end in the instructions:
“Is this freezer-friendly?
We do not recommend freezing this as coconut milk tends to separate when frozen.”
Fabulous! I make batches of this all the time & freeze (adding the noodles when it’s defrosted & reheating). It looks a little odd when first defrosted but will come together if heated slowly & stirred well. Enjoy!
Absolutely delicious and sooooo easy.