Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
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So much better than takeout! Packed with bites of tender chicken, rice noodles, cilantro, basil and lime juice!
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reasons to make thai red curry noodle soup
- Restaurant-quality made right at home for half the cost (and even tastier IMO)
- Fragrant, flavorful, cold weather comfort food, full of bold Thai flavors
- No-fuss one pot dinner which means less dishes, less clean up
- Great clean-out-the-fridge meal, adding in any lingering veggies that needs to be used up
- Quick and easy for busy weeknights but also fancy enough for company
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).
tips and tricks for success
- Use your favorite protein. This recipe will work well with chicken thighs, chicken breasts, shrimp or tofu.
- Use full fat coconut milk. 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 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.
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.
We personally love Mae Ploy (contains shrimp paste). Thai Kitchen is also great with mild heat, and more readily available at most grocery stores.
Fish sauce has a strong, pungent “fishy” smell but when cooked, it brings in savory, salty, umami goodness.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days, separating the rice noodles from the broth.
We do not recommend freezing this as coconut milk tends to separate when frozen.
Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
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
Equipment
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.
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Mm. So good. I added Sriracha for an extra kick of spice! Delicious!
Do I need to soak the noodles before adding? Also shud the be broken in half
This is delicious! I’ve made it a couple times, but this time I added a large sweet potato and some lemongrass paste! So so good, both as is, and with additions!
This soup is incredible! Hubby and I will be making this again! So quick and simple.
Best soup I’ve ever eaten hands down!!!!!
Another 5 star recipe!! Next time: double this.
Great flavor! I used shrimp for this dish instead of chicken. The only thing I’d change next time is using a wider rice noodle… Just a personal preference. Yummy!
it was DAMN delicious! …really! amazing !
Amazing!!!! Will make again
This is so delicious. It’s just like eating pho at restaurants.
I’ve made this twice in the last 3 days for two different dinner parties. It was a HUGE hit both times. I omitted all onions (hub doesn’t like) and used rotisserie chicken and linguini sized rice noodles. Last night my friend said it was like take out – that’s high praise.
I used Mae Ploy red curry and Red Boat fish sauce (from Amazon). These brands are far better than what my grocery store carries. One rotisserie chicken was perfect for two batches.
This soup sounds delicious!! Will try it soon!!
This was delicious! I do like spicy foods, so I added some roasted chili paste and dried chili this time, next time I’ll add some Thai chili’s to the broth while it’s cooking. I’ll probably do the noodles separately also, since it won’t get eaten in one sitting. Would be great with rotisserie chicken or shrimp also.
2nd time making it and was just as good as I remember !!!
I cheated this time and used a deboned rotisserie chicken from Sams. I also cooked noodle separate because last time when reheated didn’t turn out great.
Sooooo flavorful!!! Thanks for mixing up my week and tantalizing my taste buds!!!
This was incredible!!! It was so flavorful and I loved every bite. I made the recipe as directed but added in some mushrooms and I loved how it turned out. Will definitely be making this again!
PERFECTION. Used less coconut due to personal preference and this was one of the best meals I’ve ever made and tbh I make some great food. This will be on regular rotation FOR SURE.
Is the fish sauce completely necessary? Idk why but the idea of fish sauce always has grossed me out
I skipped it bc my husband doesn’t like it and it was great
Kat, In lieu of fish sauce, Worcestershire Sauce or Soy Sauce. Most of us have either one of those on hand. Bear in mind you will not taste the fish sauce if that’s the reason you want a substitute.
I suggest you think of fish sauce as “salt”. It really adds that umami flavor. My favorite brand is Red Boat – excellent quality. Chef’s sneak in fish sauce for that special something you can’t put your finger on. It’s kind of like putting a bit of anchovy paste into spaghetti sauce – you can’t taste the anchovy but it deepens the flavor of the sauce.
This is fantastic!
Very rich and flavorful! However to appease my inner tastebuds and palate, I made a few tweaks. Instead of chicken I used shrimp lightly seasoned with garlic powder and blackening season. After frying them in olive oil, I followed the recipe with a few additions: sliced mushrooms cooked with the onion, garlic, and red pepper, shaved carrots added to the broth and coconut milk mixture, and fresh spinach added to the soup while simmering. I also used 3/4 kosher salt for seasoning. I believe this is one of my favorites!
Been hooked on this recipe since the first time I made it. Added some red pepper flakes for a bit of heat but totally not necessary. Makes a large portion as well so there are lots of leftovers for those cold days where you need a bowl of comfort food.
This is now in our regular rotation! So so good! I sometimes add extra veg and or do it without meat depending on what I have available.