Chicken Khao Soi (Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup)
Made with such tender shredded chicken in an amazingly fragrant coconut-curry broth that is to die for!
So this is completely inspired by my Thailand trip from last year. It only took me a year to perfect!
Now if you haven’t tried khao soi just yet, it’s the most amazing Thai noodle soup dish made with a coconut-milk-curry-based broth. It’s heavenly, and it’s something I had my entire trip in 90 degree weather in Thailand.
But now, you can skip that trip to Thailand and head straight to making this curry noodle soup right at home.
The ingredient list may seem a bit long but don’t worry – most of the ingredients should already be in your pantry. And if you can’t find chow mein stir-fry noodles, you can easily substitute refrigerated Yaki-Soba noodles. And if all else fails, spaghetti noodles will also work just fine.
So rain or shine, 30 degree Chiberia or 80 degree LA weather, this khao soi can be made in any weather. And if you really like that heat, you can add additional red curry paste, to taste.
For best results, please serve with an ice cold Singha beer.
Chicken Khao Soi (Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 6-ounce package chow mein stir-fry noodles
- 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk
- ¾ cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained
- 1 ½ tablespoons canola oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 shallots, diced
- 3 tablespoons red curry paste
- 1 ½ tablespoons freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons chili powder
- 3 cups chicken stock
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon reduced sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
For the toppings
- ½ small red onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup bean sprouts
- ½ cup cilantro leaves
- 1 lime, cut in wedges
Instructions
- Cook noodles according to package instructions; set aside.
- Combine coconut milk and red bell peppers in blender until smooth; set aside.
- Heat canola oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic and shallot, and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in red curry paste, ginger and chili powder until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Stir in chicken stock and coconut milk mixture, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
- Stir in chicken, fish sauce, soy sauce and brown sugar. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced and chicken is tender, about 15-20 minutes.
- Remove chicken and shred, using two forks, before returning to the pot; stir in lime juice.
- Serve immediately with noodles, garnished with red onion, bean sprouts, cilantro and lime, if desired.
Did you make this recipe?
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Absolutely fantastic recipe. I make this every few months… My notes would be DO NOT use that much chilli powder, maybe chilli powder in America is much weaker than NZ? But that much will absolutely blow your socks off!! And I just roast a fresh capsicum in the oven myself instead of using Jarred.
So much better than restaurant and so easy. Thank you!!!
This was sooooo good!! It was a huge hit with my family! Will definitely be making it again!
Absolutely delish! Can you suggest the best subitutes so can I make a Gluten free version for my Aunt? Thank you!
Just made this. I doubled the recipe, but backed down on the red curry paste (4 v 6 tbsp) because I have two 9-year olds. Wish I wouldn’t have been scared!  The coconut milk and amount of chicken broth mellowed the paste without compromising flavor. Could have used just a little more kick. I will trust Damn Delicious 100% next time and use the measurements called for!
My VERY picky daughter said best soup ever (I make soup frequently in fall and winter, so that’s saying a lot). She’s an aspiring vegetarian and lover of carbs. I feared she’s just pick the noodles out. Nope!  She shoveled alternate spoonful/forkful after spoonful/forkful of everything into her mouth until her bowl was empty!Â
This looks delicious, Is the chili powder the kind that I use for regular chili or red chili powder used in Indian dishes or neither?!? Hoping to get a response soon so that I can prepare this in the evening 🙂
This is not a review of the recipe. With 2lbs of boneless chicken, shredding with 2 forks can be tedious — actually, that’s true for any amount of meat you need to shred. A much easier way to shred is to put the meat into a mixing bowl and use your hand mixer! Put the beaters right on top of a warm thigh, turn on the mixer to the lowest setting and a little gentle pressure is all you need. The chicken will shred quickly and the longer you “mix”, the more fine the meat. For the 2lbs in this recipe, it will take 2-3 minutes start to finish. Listen, I, too, didn’t believe it until I did it, but it really works! The hand mixer trick will shred any type of cooked boneless meat, and for me, it’s actually fun to do — maybe, b/c I found the 2 fork method so tedious.
In love with this damn delicious dish. The broth is AMAZING. Easy enough to do on a week night. Also very easy to make gluten free. I like to add some turmeric to the broth and top with crispy noodles.Â
First of all, I’ve made your cornbread at least 100 times. Thank you for that recipe.
This recipe is now going in my rotation. SO delicious. Thank you! I didn’t know exactly how much 3/4 of a jar of roasted red pepper was (and didn’t have a jar at home anyways!) so I roasted a red pepper and used the whole thing. Thank you for taking the time to perfect this dish and sharing it with us.
3/4 C of jarred roasted red pepper! I must have read it wrong. It was delicious, making it for the 2nd time!
Easy to make and so good!  My kids even liked it. I was worried the chicken would be dry and tough, but simmering it in the broth made it perfectly flavorful and tender! I used ramen since I couldn’t find the Chow Mein stir fry noodles. It worked, but next time I’ll make a trip to the Asian market. Thanks for this excellent recipe!!Â
So rich and wonderful, I substituted egg noodles instead of stir-fry and it gave it a whole other dimension of stick-to-your-bones depth. This recipe is even better the next day when the chicken has a little more time to soak up all of the flavors from the broth.
Mine turned out a little more saucy than broth, so I may add a little extra chicken stock next time. Other than that small factor, everything else was perfect. I’ll be making this again very soon now that the weather is getting a little colder.
Thank you!!
Fell in love with this Khao Soi last year while in Chiang Mai. Does the cook time change if I use bone-in thighs?
High praise indeed for this soup! I used 1 lb boneless beef shank which i boiled before adding to the soup and also prawns. I left the roasted peppers out (personal preference). I almost tripled the stock as i was tight for time and just used instant noodles and i didn’t want it ending up like a stew. I also doubled the lemon juice, curry paste and sugar. I thought this would be a completely new dish to my husband, but he said this is the dish my brother in law loves and orders when we have Thai! I didn’t realise! He said to keep some for him as he will be very impressed! My husband loved it and told me to keep the recipe!
This is so easy! I will definitely make it again! Thank you!
First time trying to make Khao Soi– this was a very easy recipe! I have a two tips from my experience making this:
(1) don’t boil the broth + chicken at too high of a temperature. I had mine rolling for several minutes and it turned the broth into a sauce; might also consider using 4 cups of chicken broth next time just because i like it more soupy. (2) Less fish sauce! I used anchovy fish sauce so maybe that’s more pungent, but it really takes over the dish if you’re not careful.
I live in SF, our favorite Thai restaurant is closed. I was searching for this very recipe. It is SO tasty and easy to make!
Thank you for creating a delicious and easy recipe that doesn’t take all day to make! Kindest regards..
I love this dish. My boyfriend ate khao soi everyday when we were in Thailand and this recipe is perfect! I roast my own red peppers because I never have the jarred kind on hand and it’s delicious! Also, I love spicy food but the red curry I bought must be extra extra spicy, so I had to reduce the amount. What’s great about this dish is that you can adjust the spice level to your taste. If it’s too spicy, just add more coconut milk and/or chicken broth. I also served it with Thai fried onions that I found in my Vietnamese grocery store. So good!
I forgot to rate it! It’s a 5 star+++ for sure!
Can’t wait to try! Can I use yellow curry paste instead of red?Â
Superb dish I didn’t have enough chicken so I added shrimp to make up for the rest of the chicken and it was amazing. I added thai red curry paste I made myself the night before.
This was so delicious, I can’t believe I made it! Thanks for a great recipe! I used the frozen cubes of garlic and ginger (3 each) and added a healthy squirt of the lemongrass you can get in a tube (~2 tblsp)…Also subbed regular onion and spring onions for shallot and chicken breast for chicken thigh…It was so good next time I want to make a double batch!! Do you think the broth and chicken would freeze well before adding the noodles?
My boyfriend and I prepared this dish tonight and it was simply amazing! We used stirr fry rice noodles by Thai Kitchen. The perfect amount of heat. Next time I may try adding oyster mushrooms and lemongrass paste. Thank you for the amazing recipe. Damn
This was soooooo good, the whole family loved it.Â
Love this recipe but have one suggestion: add some chopped peanuts with your garnish at the end. The peanuts are a perfect addition.
At our Farmers’ Market, I have lingered at the stalls where sellers are enjoying fragrant broths with noodles and veggies for breakfast. I’m thrilled to recreate this amazing broth at home. Out of necessity, I subbed the peppers for a cup of chopped canned tomatoes and the red curry paste for Korean Red Pepper Paste and tripled that last ingredient. It’s a very delicious dish, thank you.Â
May I know what kind of or brand of Thai curry paste you use? I’m a vegetarian (no seafood or meat) and do not use fish sauce either. I cannot seem to find a brand of curry paste that’s all vegetarian. By the way, I love your blog. I’ve done some of the vegetarian dishes and loved it. Thank you for your help.Â
Thai Kitchen red curry paste is vegetarian 🙂
This was so good!!! I didn’t have the red peppers so I threw in some green ones and used shrimp instead of chicken. SO quick to make and delicious. Can’t wait to try it again with the red peppers next time!
This was a delicious soup. the aroma of the broth was amazing. I think there was way too much chicken. I would either half the amount or leave it out completely.
I just finished making this and it was way too spicy.. Maybe I used the wrong curry paste. No one in my family could eat it.. So sad. Do you think adding more broth and something else could calm it down? More coconut milk?
Yes, that should help with the spiciness!
Yummy yummy yummy.  Despite numerous substitutions which I won’t bore you with (I simply didn’t have all the ingredients)…as a base this makes a fabulous, flavourful soup. I will say that I had some of your leftover cilantro lime chicken which went perfectly with this soup and made for an incredibly easy weeknight supper. Will definitely make again. Thanks!Â
I love that you paired the two recipes together. SO GOOD!!!
This was so good. I just wanted to inhale the entire pot full. The broth with the coconut milk plus roasted red peppers was amazing. Definitely a keeper!
Thank you for sharing with us, Callifax! We’re happy you liked it so much!
So flavorful, easy, filling and family approved!
My hubby said it was like eating out at a fraction of the price.
So glad you loved it, Krystal!
Really easy delicious soup that eats like a meal
YUM this was great!!! We did it over brown rice noodles.
That sounds very good! 🙂
We were in Thailand for Christmas and this is just as good if not better than some of the meals we ate! My kids said it was so good, it was Instagram worthy! Served over rice.
Amazing!
Delicious! I substituted rice noodle for the chow mein noodle to make it a bit ‘lighter’. Will be putting this recipe in regular rotation for dinners!Â
Thanks for sharing, Annie!
This was sooooo good! I used dry soba noodles since that’s what we had at home. Such yummy flavors and an easy recipe to boot, just takes a bit of time is all. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers for lunch tomorrow! I’ll be throwing some baked chick peas on top for a little crunch 🙂 thanks for another great recipe! Damn Delicious never disappoints!
It’s so worth making! The flavor makes up for the extra time for sure. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Can i use chicken breasts?
Yes, absolutely.
This sounds delicious! Do you know what aspects I should change to make in a crock pot?
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! 🙂
3/4 cup jarred roasted red peppers, drained? Â I’ve only used fresh bell peppers — what’s the advantage of using jarred?Â
You can roast fresh bell peppers – it would just be more work for you, that’s all. 🙂
What do you mean by “chili powder”? Â American Southwestern chili powder?
Yes! 🙂
This is my favorite Thai dish! When I lived in Thailand, I took a cooking class where they taught us to make this. I’ve been wanting to perfect it though, because my notes aren’t the best, and my homemade curry paste isn’t quite right. I’m excited to try this recipe!