Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
So much better than takeout! Packed with bites of tender chicken, rice noodles, cilantro, basil and lime juice!
Featured Comment
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.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
This was a hit in my house! I doubled the amount of coconut milk, substituted tofu for the chicken, and added turmeric, curry powder, onion powder, garlic powder, and garam masala to taste. Sadly, I had to omit the green onion and basil because the store didn’t have them in stock.
Mine was not very liquidy, most of the broth was soaked up by the noodles. It had good flavor though! I did add a little chili paste to give it a kick. Next time I will add more chicken broth.
My family really enjoyed this recipe. We added 12 Oz of edamame for more protein and fiber. Delicious!
This was a very good flavorful soup! Next time I will add some more veggies like mushrooms or sprouts.
Delicious! Comes together quickly for a fast dinner. Since I don’t eat chicken, I left it out and added some sliced shiitake mushrooms and diced carrots. This is a soup that you can really customize to your liking. Definitely will make again, maybe with tofu next time.
Can the soup itself be frozen? Without the noodles obviously
It actually freezes super well! I was shocked when I heated it back up, I kept the rice noodles in it and the noodles did not get mushy or fall apart at all. I make this all the time and always freeze the left overs with no problems!
Same question as above… has anyone tried freezing this soup?
Delicious! Made this tonight and it did not disappoint!
I loved this! Making it for the first time was interesting lol but it came out so delicious. I didn’t add cilantro because I’m not a fan and I didn’t have fish sauce (only oyster) but it still was a hit! I also added bok choy.
I also used plant based cellophane noodles.
This was delicious. I added mushrooms and bean sprouts. Next time will add thin slices of jalapeno
Awesome recipe, top restaurant quality prepared exactly as presented in recipe. Full of favor and easy to make. Be sure to use Thai sweet Basil for authentic Thai favor. And only 1/2 of the 8oz package of noodles. Thanks!
This was so easy and so so so yummy. In fact, it was *damn delicous*!!
I make this soup all the time. I absolutely love it! I even make it without the red curry paste when I run out (just add thinly sliced jalapeño for added spice). I also like it extra tart so in addition to extra line juice, I also use lime zest.
To.Die.For!
Absolutely perfect recipe. Added some peanuts to make it more khou-suey like. Too too good.
Excellent
Delish! Thank you!
So easy and yummy! (:
Thank you, this is super simple and delicious.
I’ve made this 10 times already and LOVE it. Over time, I’ve made some changes to experiment – always add mushrooms now; sometimes use shrimp rather than chicken and trying tofu tonight. Such an incredible soup as-is with room to be creative too. And, it’s so easy! Couldn’t recommend more!
Very good. I misunderstood the 1/2 (8oz) package of noodles and put 8oz of noodles in. Still good, made it more of a noodle bowl rather than a soup.
The whole family liked it and I will make it again. Properly next time. Lol
Thank you
Lol, I did the same exact thing- had to eat it with a fork, but still delicious!
I am still baffled.. my pack of noodles is 16oz.. so are we only using 4oz???
I made the red curry soup last night. It was the tastiest soup I have ever made. It smelled heavenly, looked absolutely beautiful and delicious as well! I am going to make it tonight as well because it is addictive and it’s raining in Southern California anyway.
I’ve never wrote a review for a recipe before but I was so amazed that I could make such a delicious soup that I decided to write about it.
Delicious! Made a few changes. I used shrimp instead of chicken, brown rice and millet ramen noodles and yellow curry paste instead of red curry paste since I can’t eat spicy food. Everyone loved it. I’ll definitely be making this on a regular basis.