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!
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?
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Help! I just made a double batch of this and it’s SO BLAND! D-:
The only change I made was adding mushrooms and green beans.
Do I just need to keep pouring in salt? What do I do?
Anybody had this same outcome and successfully recover?
Everytime I make Thai food I double the seasonings. So yes add more of everything and it will be amazing
I added about 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil, 1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce for a big flavor boost, and zest of 1 lime and squeezed it’s juices in there, too 🙂
Since I can’t seem to leave recipes alone, I also added sliced carrots and mushrooms.
I think this a good base recipe and you can add lot’s of different veggies depending on what you have…broccoli, snow peas, etc.
I followed the recipe exactly (except I accidentally used the whole 8 oz package of rice noodles). I used Mae Ploy Red Curry Paste and Red Boat Fish Sauce and this turned out FANTASTIC. I got rave reviews – someone said it was exactly what they would expect to be served in a restaurant and that it was the best soup that he had ever had. Thanks for making me look great!
Good base recipe, definitely needs more red curry paste and more seasoning
Made this for my family tonight. Super flavorful and amazing. My 7 & 9 year olds asked for seconds. Thank you!
Even the kids loved it!
This looks Amazing!! What size rice noodle are we supposed to get? There’s different noodle sizes like Pad Thai noodles, etc.
It’s completely up to personal preference. 🙂
This is absolutely delicious. I also added more coconut milk only because I used more chicken. I love the Damn Delicious recipes. I have never had anything turn out wrong. I really trust these recipes to always be good.
Followed the comments and added a second can of coconut milk. I also cooked the noodles separately. It is delicious! I’m not a big soup fan but this will definitely become a staple, so flavorful and tasty. Thank you!
I made this for our supper tonight. After reading the reviews, I cooked the noodles separately, I also used lo mein, only because we don’t like the taste or texture of rice noodles. Oh my word!!!!! So good!!! My 12 year old had two servings! Thank you for posting such good recipes! I’ve followed you for several years, and I’ve never been disappointed!!!!!!!
I can’t wait to cook this recipe. It looks really delicious. I want to use mushrooms instead of chicken so do I cook the mushrooms the same way as the chicken and than pour in all the rest of the ingredients? Will the fish still be required if there is no meat in this recipe?
So good! If you skip adding the noodles, it freezes well and defrosts easily in portions. Then you can just cook some rice noodles and add! Also very good with rice if you don’t want to switch it up a little. I did add the second cup of coconut milk and I’m glad I did!
Made this to recipe and found it bland
I often try random recipes with great reviews. I never leave reviews myself. I looked this one back up to write about how damn delicious it is!! I made it 2 days ago. I’ve been eating it everyday. It’s a fantastic, flavorful recipe that stores and reheats well. Thanks so much for the recipe!!
How are the noodles on the second day? Are they overcooked and/or gummy or are they still good?
Nice flavour, but thought it needed a fair bit of spicing up. Sorry!
This soup was delicious! I wanted to add veggies, but didn’t have time so we ate it just as it was 🙂 Me and my fiance loved it – definitely helped bring us back to Thailand. I let the soup reduce too much, that was my only regret. We also topped with sriracha and a tiny bit of hoisin
This was my first Thai soup I ever made , it was right on, this one is a keeper.
This was spot on. The balance of flavors and textures is truly remarkable. I can’t say enough great things about it.
Made this for the 3rd time and with a few small tweaks, for me it’s the most delicious Thai curry I have ever tasted.
Deviation from recipie
2 cans of coconut milk.
3 cups of chicken stock. …makes it thicker
1 red chilli with seeds…no bell pepper
1 bashed lemongrass stalk.
Keeps in fridge for at least a week.
I agree with Phillip that this recipe was one can of coconut milk short. Other than that it was perfect! Totally delicious. I added extra veggies and a bit more red curry but that’s just because I like spicy.
Can’t wait to make this soup next week. Great reviews. I’m thinking of adding Bok Choi
YES!!! this soup is Ah Mazing!!
I am thinking of trying to make this in my instant pot; do you think that would be doable?
What a great idea! But unfortunately, without having tried this myself, I cannot answer with certainty. But if you get a chance to try it, please let me know how it turns out! 🙂
Thank you for your quick reply! I made it this evening in the instant pot and it turned out GREAT! The only change I made was adding the coconut milk in last because I’ve read (maybe here!) that putting coconut milk through an instant pot cook can make it separate. Thank you for this recipe, it was so delicious. I tried to take a picture but quickly realized food photography is not as easy as this blog makes it look!
How long did you cook this in the instant pot?
Sorry I am just now seeing this! I cooked in the instant pot for 10 minutes.
Did you saute the chicken before you did the pressure cooking? Or did you just put all the ingredients in raw (except the coconut milk and noodles I assume?) Was gonna try this tonight. Thanks!