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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Made this for my first soup of 2020. I fancied a little change from my usual hot and sour soup, which I love, and this soup hit the spot beautifully, I added some extra fresh red chilli as I love the heat and flavour, but otherwise made it as shown. Love it and I will absolutely be making this again.
Loved this! I added chilies and lemongrass. I don’t know if I added too many noodles (I did weigh them) or boil the soup too high/too long, but next time I will add less noodles as I prefer more broth.
Really good! Added baby corn. Will definitely make again–I think I’ll try a little chili oil next time too, and maybe shrimp to switch it up a little.
Incredible. I eyeballed some things and made some subs (dried onion, basil, and ginger) but still delicious. Thank you!
Super delicious! Made it with prams.
This was a tasty, flavorful dish. This is my first attempt at Ramen and Thai. My son, who had never had Thai food loved it. I was a little uncertain how many noodles should be added, so I added 4 oz. I will add more next time. I will be making this again.
Made with shrimp instead of chicken. Delicious! No need to tweak.
How did you cook the shrimp?
Can you make this in a slow cooker? Has anyone done that?
Probably the base ! I would cook noodles separately when u get home from work etc. because they tend to absorb too much broth…otherwise I’d say the crockpot is a yes!
Can the noodles sit in the soup mixture on a low setting to keep warm for a couple of hours?
Do I buy canned coconut milk sweetened or unsweetened for this recipe? Thanks!
Delicious!!! I have made it with Evaporated Milk Coconut flavoured as well and it’s lovely. I make bulk and freeze for work lunches.
This was AMAZING! Thank you 🙂
Have you tried making this with shredded chicken? I prefer my chicken shredded to cubes, and was curious if it would work. Thank you! Excited to try this tonight!
I see it says serve immediately. Does it not reheat well? How is it the next day?
Sure does! It’s a little thicker due to the noodles, but the taste is still wonderful
This was so good!! I was worried about it being bland because of some comments but we did not find it so. I will be making this again and again.
I made this and it is delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
This recipe was fabulous! I made it for my family and they all loved it. It has perfectly balanced flavors and is delicious. I followed the recipe perfectly except I doubled the noodles and it turned out great! Thank you for the great recipe
Awesome! I doubled the coconut milk, curry, and spices. I didn’t want chicken so I added a pound of mushrooms instead. The only thing I would add next time is a jalapeno. I bought some and forgot to add it. I think I would like the extra spice it would add.
Made this for my dad’s birthday and we both love!!
Fabulous! I added shredded carrot, extra coconut milk, and a little chili oil for some heat. I made the noodles separately so I could keep the leftovers as well. I’ll definitely make this again!
Tastes great,
easy to make,
easy to acquire ingredients,
terrific recipe
I’m always a fan of Damn Delicious soup recipes and this one did not disappoint! I added some thinly sliced carrots along with the onion, pepper and garlic, as well as some turmeric and curry powder with the spices. So good!
Which brand of curry paste do you recommend? I love your recipes so much so that I trust your opinion on brand!
I love Thai Kitchen but if you can get to an Asian market, Mae Ploy is also really great.