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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This is so gooooooood.. I could drink liters of this soup on it’s own. I try to adjust the amount of fish sauce, sugar and lime to my preference and it cuts through the oiliness of the curry paste perfectly. It’s not too spicy, not too creamy, just.. mmmmmm..
For an extra veggie crunch, I add bean sprouts at the end with the cilantro and spring oninon. And I do think the chicken get’s a little dry after both pan frying and boiling, but I’ll take it! I love this recipe!
Oh my GOSH! This was so delicious and super easy to prepare! I will definitely be making this again. I made two small changes. I cooked rice on the side and reduced the stock by 1/2. I knew we’d have leftovers and I didn’t want mushy rice the next day. Also, I used 1/4 tsp ginger spice instead of fresh ginger because that is what I had on hand.
Yummy! Everyone loved it! Used tofu instead of chicken and only half a can of green coconut milk (green coconut had less saturated fat) and 1 sliced yam, to help thicken it up, since I only used a half can of coconut milk. I agree with the comment to add in only the amount of noodles you plan to eat to prevent the broth from being soaked up and the noodles from getting soft.
Absolutely delectable! I had access to Lotus Foods millet & brown rice ramen noodles that are more satisfying to me than dollar/big box store top ramen with the seasoning packets that you toss into the trash just to get the noodles. Thinking I’ll try shrimp next time.
Thanks Chungah. Super ecstatic that I have a thai food recipe in my rotation. I was overwhelmed with all the ingredients at first, but after making this recipe once, I realize that it was not too hard. I also felt super satisfied & nourished after eating it. It’s recipes like this that save me from eating junk food. I made one change that worked out awesome. I used 50% of the chicken & replaced it with sliced cremini mushrooms which I added at the same time I put in the noodles.
I have been wanting to make this soup for a long time. Several years ago there was a restaurant in the city called Big City Soup this soup was one of their specialties. I would crave this and didn’t know how to duplicate. I finally made it tonight.
It was pretty simple and quick! It was everything I thought it would be and so delicious too! Don’t know why I waited so long. I have a feeling I’ll be making it a lot more.
Thank you for sharing your love of food and cooking
I don’t usually leave reviews but felt its time I did! I have been making this soup for about a year now. And this is one of the best recipes I make. Our family loves it! I have to use a whole jar of Thai Kitchen curry paste though. I also cut the chicken broth to 4 cups. But everything else is to the letter and SO good! This will be cooked in my home for years to come. We are a family that loves Thai food. Thank you for this recipe!
I don’t normally write reviews, however this recipe is a winner. For once my whole family could eat the same meal at the table. It was absolutely FANTASTIC! Here are my minor modifications:
1. I only used 4 cups of chicken broth per other reviews
2. I didn’t have fish sauce so I didn’t use any.
3. Didn’t have basil leaves, so used 1/2 tsp of dried basil instead of fresh leaves.
4. I added an extra 1/2 tablespoon of red curry paste.
It was absolutely delicious! We are making this recipe again for sure. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Yes, I made the almost identical mods…..tasty recipe.
Very easy-to-follow recipe and yummy! We will be making it again and personalizing it more next time. I like that you can add and remove ingredients easily in this recipe.
I really enjoyed this. It was super easy to make and very delicious. I think you could substitute other proteins or curry flavors (I’m going to try Masamun since I love it) very easily. Other veg that hold up well in soup would be nice too, cauliflower bok choy or maybe green beans.
My recommendation would be that if you know you’re going to have leftovers, just put in as many noodles as you’re going to eat right now. Otherwise the rice noodles suck up all the broth.
A little on the bland side for us – we prefer some of your other red curry recipes that are made with stock rather than broth – I think that’s the difference here. Still, tasty for those in my extended family that can’t take ethnic flavors so much!
Good recipe.. I’m a vegetarian so substituted Chicken with Tofu. Also added some cubed potatoes to the vegetable stock. Did not have peppers so an jalapeño.. skipped the fish sauce. Had some red curry paste that came in handy.. no Thai basil. But ginger cilantro And the palm sugar didn’t come thru. wifey and kids enjoyed the result.. Thank you! next time will try with more accurate ingredients and proportions..
This truly is an amazing recipe. The flavors so elegantly combining together to create such a tasteful soup with the right amount of heat.
Delicious, even though I forgot the herbs. It took a bit longer to boil down. I put in 2 bell peppers and it could still handle more veges. I put in 1/3rd less lime juice for personal preference.
Absolutely delicious! Going to be a staple winter meal now.
Made this last night on a cool Fall night and it was amazing! It was a big hit with my family, my boys all had second helpings. One of them said it looks like something you get at a restaurant. I made it per recipe exactly but instead of 6 cups of chicken broth I used 4 cups and added 2 cups of water – figured the full fat coconut milk I was adding would make it rich enough. Certainly was. I used all the garnishes per recipe and don’t forget the limes it really adds a hit of flavor!! So delicious!! Thank you for the recipe :))
This was an easy recipe that is full of flavor!! We are definitely adding this to our winter dinner rotation! We added mushrooms, and could easily pack this full of more veggies if you want!
This soup is absolutely delicious. I only changed the amount of chicken stock using 4 instead of 6 cups as my husband prefers a thicker soup. Top marks!
Did anyone get little white spots on top? How did you fix it?
Solid base recipe for curry. I added a couple thai chilies, kefir lime leaves, and lemongrass paste, and it really added a ton of flavor dimension. Next time, I think I’ll add some bok choy or sugar snap peas. I didn’t have a pan big enough for the amount of liquid, so I only used 4 cups of broth instead of 6, but I like my curries on the thicker side anyway. If I used the full amount of liquid, I don’t think the amount of paste would have been enough, but I guess that depends on your brand of curry paste. Bf said it was my best curry yet!
I made this last night and it was super tasty, lots of flavor. Also really easy to put together on a week night, which is key for this house. Very excited for my leftovers today!
This was a GREAT recipe and easy to prepare! I’m making it again – 2nd batch in 2 weeks… I will be using more ginger and garlic (I love those flavors) Definitely use Thai Basil. Double the recipe because you will probably regret it if you don’t. That good!!!!