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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Did you make this recipe?
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Soup tastes amazing!
Thank you for sharing it!
There are few things that’s to be adjust…
1) And MOST important – COOK NOODLES SEPARATELY! (If you will not eat this soup right away and don’t want it to become a jelly mess after reheating)
2) Add Coconut milk at the same time as fish sauce, this way it will not crumble up. (This is optional)
Oh my, this is amazing. Definitely restaurant quality. We don’t eat meat, so I subbed mushrooms and cauliflower for the chicken. I think it would also taste great with carrots, bok choi or broccoli. My 7 year old was eating it too so I only added 2 TBSP of red curry paste and it was still nicely flavoured but not too spicy. Definitely a keeper!
Outstanding flavor! I ended up using a full 10.5 oz package of rice noodles, which was way too much. I wasn’t sure if the recipe was calling for 8oz or 4oz. Next time, I’ll use closer to 4! I did use pre-cooked rotisserie chicken I had on hand and lite coconut milk, but I can’t imagine it took away from the flavor. I may try with shrimp as my protein next time, too. Thank you for a great recipe!
Oh, yeah! This soup is the best. It is delicious. I followed the recipe and made brown rice noodles separately. We love it!
I want to take a bath in this broth! Definitely added to the soup season rotation!
OMG How easy and delicious. The family loved it also. I am glad I have some leftover for lunch tomorrow. Thanks.
Delicious
Oh my this is good! I kept getting compliments from my family throughout the meal. Followed the recipe as presented except for the basil, and that’s only because I forgot to put it on my shopping list. Though some people noted the spiciness of the soup, the brand of curry paste I used (Thai Kitchen) gave the soup just a hint of warmth, but I would not call it spicy. I really enjoyed the slight tang of the lime juice in the broth. The only thing I will do differently next time is add more noodles. Thanks for a great recipe.
I added grated carrots and used whole box of rice noodles to thicken and it was delicious!
Use to make Red Curry Chicken all the time. Never tried making it with noodles before but after doing so I found a new favorite way of making it. We ate the entire pot, only thing I did to the recipe was I used Thai Basil from my garden since the recipe did not state what type of basil to use and I found regular sweet basil may not be the correct type. It was absolutely delicious and it will be added to my permanent recipe collection!
Made this tonight and it was delicious! The only thing I changed was that I added shredded chicken instead. Also added jalapeño slices to garnish.
Fantastic recipe!! Fans of Asian cuisine will adore this one! Tasty! Thank you for this recipe!! Made it twice in a week
Heaven❣️ The only thing I would change is to skip the lime juice at the end. And this time, since I had no chicken, I added cauliflower for a vegetarian meal.
This soup is great! I usually add mushrooms and will occasionally swap the chicken for shrimp and add it at the very end.
My husband said this was his favorite thing I’ve ever made him! Delicious 🙂
This has become a weekly staple. My husband who is a meat snd potatoes guy LOVES this soup. Although I do have to adjust the heat level to 2TB. My chicken comes out dry and suggestions? I’ve tried to cut into chunks and tried thin slices both ways comes out dry tough.
Hi Pam! Try using boneless, skinless THIGHS instead. Or you could just poach some chopped up tenderloins in the broth as it’s reducing instead of cooking ahead. Good luck!
made this tonight just delicious! another winner! i LOVE your recipes!
Very good, but very spicy! Way too much for kids.
This is just amazing! I have made it several times and it never ceases to impress! The complex flavor of the broth is the best I have ever tasted. You can adjust the red curry paste. Although I like it as the recipe states 3 tablespoons, I have made it with 2 for those who like it a bit less spicy. Every person I have made it for has loved it!
Yum, this is so good. My kids even eat it.
I only add 2tbsp of curry paste because we don’t like too spicy. Great recipe!! Thanks
Awesome recipe I tweaked it by increasing the recipe 4 cups of chicken broth and 4 cups of vegitable broth I used fresh jalapenos and pepercinis and culantro from the garden, in place of bell peppers.