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. This is typically used for stir-fry, soups or mixed with coconut milk for curry. Red curry paste 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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This was so good! Added Fresno peppers with the curry for a little spice. Also added some lime zest.
This is delicious, will definitely make again. Thankyou .
so much flavor, so easy to make. It was a hit. Will definitely make again.
Delicious and easy to make. I will make again.
I can’t find the nutritional info? Also – do you use full fat coconut milk or would light work okay? Thanks!
Can you make and freeze
I make this all the time and freeze it. Freezes and that’s out well.
We love going to the local Asian market and buying a small tub of panang curry paste- to obviously make panang curry. We have loved making this soup and substitute 1/3 of the red curry for panang curry. Definitely gives it a little more kick. Highly recommend! The recipe is great as is though!
This is a great recipe I’ve made it several times with raw and leftover chicken and I think shrimp as well and it turns out wonderful every time. I don’t have any red curry paste right now but I have green. Has anybody tried it with green curry paste?
Delicious love the texture and family was all happy with it
I’ve made this a few times, it’s always a winner!! Everyone in the family loves it!!
This was so good!!! Made with ground chicken instead. Yum yum. Thanks for the recipe!!!
This is one of my favorite meals. It’s also my girlfriend’s favorite. we make it regularly. At her suggestion we added about half a carton of presliced mushrooms… which I don’t really enjoy…I tried it throughout the cooking process and at first it tasted overwhelming. When I got to adding the fish sauce and brown sugar, the mushroom taste had diminished and started to play off the umami from the fish sauce and turned out really nice.
I recommend giving it a try.
Also shared this with my mom who loves shrimp. She highly recommends using shrimp instead of chicken.
This was amazing. Only thing was its a bit too spicy for my family. My toddler could not eat it.
Can you freeze this?
Personally I have frozen this soup and it was OK when reheated. Thaw in refrigerator before low to medium heat. I don’t recommend the microwave for reheated this soup.
A great recipe for comfort food
Love this disb. Quickly became one on the weekly rotation. Everyone I have made it for wants the recipe. I do make minor tweaks, like omit sugar and fish sauce. Add some jalapeño or other hot pepper, and mushrooms.
Have made this dish twice now and it is a perfect match to any I’ve had in fine dining
Zingy, spicy, coconut creamy. As nice as any I’ve had from a Thai restaurant.
Super delicious! I’ve been burned in the past by Asian-inspired dishes, so I wasn’t expecting this one to taste that good, but I’m so glad I was wrong. My husband also loved it and enjoyed helping me make it. 10/10 will be making again!!
can the stock be frozen ?
i know it dosent take to long to cook but can i make a big pot of stock and freeze it ?