Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
by Chungah
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An easy one pot dinner! Thai red curry noodles deliver on flavor and convenience. With tender chicken, rice noodles, cilantro, basil + lime!
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Why you’ll love this thai red curry noodle soup recipe
- Restaurant-quality. Now you can make your favorite takeout dish right at home for half the cost with better quality ingredients using your favorite protein.
- Packed with flavor. This noodle soup is simply downright fragrant, flavorful, cold weather comfort food, full of bold Thai flavors.
- One pot dinner. This no-fuss, one pot dinner means less dishes, less clean up, making it so effortless for busy weeknights, but also fancy enough for weekend company.
- Clean-out-the-fridge meal. And of course this makes for the best clean-out-the-fridge dinner, adding in any lingering veggies that need to be used up.
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).
How to make thai red curry noodle soup
- Sear the chicken. First, season the chicken with salt and pepper, searing until golden brown in a Dutch oven over medium heat.
- Cook the aromatics. Cook the garlic, bell pepper, and onion until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Add the red curry paste. Stir in the red curry paste, adjusting the amount of curry paste to your (or your family’s) spice levels.
- Deglaze the pan. Add the chicken broth and coconut milk, deglazing by scraping the prized caramelized brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot (fond).
- Simmer. Simmer until slightly reduced and the flavors have blended, about 10 minutes. The longer it simmers, the more it reduces.
- Cook the noodles. Stir in the rice noodles (or desired noodles), fish sauce, and brown sugar. Rice noodles will cook quickly, about 5 minutes.
- Add the finishing touches. Add the green onions, cilantro, basil and lime juice, seasoning with salt and pepper, if needed.
- Serve. Serve warm, keeping the noodles and broth separately if preparing for leftovers.
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.
I personally love Mae Ploy (contains shrimp paste). But Thai Kitchen is also great with mild heat and more readily available at most grocery stores.
Rice noodles are my go-to, coming in various sizes (wide, medium and thin). Rice vermicelli is used here, the thinnest rice noodles. But udon or soba noodles are also solid options.
Fish sauce has a strong, pungent “fishy” smell but when cooked, it brings in savory, salty, umami goodness.
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days, separating the rice noodles from the broth.
Unfortunately freezing is not recommended as coconut milk tends to separate when frozen.
Thai Red Curry Noodle Soup
Video
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
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.
Equipment
Notes
- Use your favorite protein. This recipe will work well with chicken thighs, chicken breasts, shrimp or tofu.
- Full fat coconut milk will be more rich. 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 out 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.
Did you make this recipe?
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Question? Is that half of an 8 0z. package or does it mean half of a 16oz package?
Love this soup! I never leave reviews, but for this I had to. Credit due.
Amazing! I added mushrooms, used coconut oil instead to start, extra fish sauce, and I cooked rice noodles separately and added them to serve! Excellent recipe. I love Thai food and this is very easy to make! Thank you very much for the recipe!
I felt like it was a good started recipe. I will be playing more with it. I added another tbsp of red curry later and that helped a bit. It just felt lacking in flavor. I did add a carrot, mushrooms and as I realized it had no heat to it, I added a jalapeno pepper.
I will make again, but I will use the suggestion of another poster and reduce to 4 cups of broth and use a full jar of the red curry paste, and I may use two jalapeno peppers. I will again include a carrot and mushrooms if I have them on hand or plan for it. Oh and when reducing the broth, then will cut down on the noodles of course.
It probably depends on what curry paste you use, as well as personal taste. I know the paste I normally use, Mae Ploy, is plenty spicy.
Wish I could add a pic! Love this recipe and the base allows for such versatility. Second time making this (first posted on pinterest). This time I reduced the broth by half, added sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and bok choy, and cooked the noodles separately. Won’t use fish sauce because it’s so high in sodium: substituted with sodium reduced soy sauce.
Amazing! Even my husband ate a whole bowl and said he would have for dinner tomorrow night too! Made with tofu and no cilantro. Thank you
Amazing! Better or Just like the Thai curry at the restaurant!
Didn’t add brown sugar, chicken or noodles.
Red Boat fish sauce and ginger make this exquisite!
‘Your attitude right now is one of your superpowers. A positive attitude is a habit that is infectious and spreads good around the world.’ Mel Robbins
Very, very good . I did not add brown sugar or fish sauce…everything else and it was delicious!
Wish I could add a pic! Love this recipe and the base allows for such versatility. Second time making this (first posted on pinterest). This time I reduced the broth by half, added sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes, and bok choy, and cooked the noodles separately. Won’t use fish sauce because it’s so high in sodium: substituted with sodium reduced soy sauce.
Perfect, wonderful tastes! I will be making this again.
Love this recipe. I’ve made this twice, the first time as directed. The second time, I reduced the chicken stock to 4 cups, used boneless chicken thighs, and a whole can of red curry. I loved both, but prefer the second recipe with less broth and more curry. It’s spicy, which I like!
I added shrimp and mushrooms to mine and it was so good! Thanks for the recipe!
Deliciously hot, perfect for a cold day!
Delicious. We made it without chicken for a vegetarian take and it was awesome. Thanks for the recipe!
This is one of my favorite soups! The only thing I did different was that I added mushrooms and frozen spinach. It added a little extra to it and made it extra spicy. I’ve sent this recipe to all my friends. It’s truly delicious!
This was amazing! One of the top meals I’ve made and I cook often. We used tofu instead of chicken and it’s a make again and again dish for sure. Thank you!
This is absolutely amazing. Spicy and rich! Heavenly!
I really want to make this today, but my family and I do not like coconut so does this coconut milk taste like coconut and if it does, what can you substitute for the coconut milk can you use have cream instead?
YUMMY!!!
I made this and it was delicious/อร่อย. I’m making this in a moment for the Superbowl party today. Thanks for the recipe!
This is a great soup, one you could play with a lot. I used thigh meat which has a lot more flavor and is more forgiving when cooked longer. After tasting I also added a little extra curry paste.
Will definitely make again