Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken

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Warm, fragrant, and completely irresistible – that’s a bowl Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken. It’s all wrapped up in a dinner package that takes less than 30 minutes.

Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken in a white and blue bowl

If you’re thinking that Thai food has to be complicated, allow me to present Exhibit A. This bowl of weeknight-friendly curry noodle soup contains all the Thai food rockstars:

Creamy coconut milk
Fragrant curry paste
Tender chicken
Soft and slightly chewy noodles (slurp-able noodles to be exact)
A bit of spice (just a bit, but feel free to add more if you like heat!)

This curry noodle soup is really just an outline. Just like so many Thai recipes, including many curries (see this Thai red curry chicken recipe for a great example), this is a foundation for a Thai meal that you can customize any way you like. Change up the protein – use tofu if you’d like it vegetarian. Toss in some veggies you need to use up – just about any will do! Change up the noodles to try something new.

I’m always curious to try new noodles from the Asian grocery store. These were in the refrigerated section and had this great springy texture – perfect for the soup.

Banh Pho Tuoi Noodles
Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken in a white bowl

How to Make Thai Curry Noodle Soup

There are basically just three simple steps to making curry noodle soup.

  1. Cook noodles
  2. Make the soup base (packed with flavorful aromatics from curry paste, fresh ginger, and spices)
  3. Add stock and coconut milk and chicken to soup base

Then get your spoon and chopsticks ready! Thai food is rarely served with chopsticks, but noodle soups are a major exception. Chopsticks are perfect here. Pile some noodles on a spoon, dip it into the soup. Enjoy the perfect bite!

Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken in a bowl with a spoon and chopsticks

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Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken in a white bowl
5 from 2 votes

Thai Curry Noodle Soup with Chicken

Warm, fragrant, and totally slurp-able. If slurp-able is a thing, then this bowl of curry noodle soup is it. And all wrapped up in a dinner package that takes less than 30 minutes.
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 15 minutes
Total: 25 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

Equipment

  • Wok or Large Skillet

Ingredients 

  • 6 oz Rice Stick Noodles (Vietnamese noodles or labeled "Pad Thai" rice noodles)
  • 1 Tbsp Red Curry Paste (see note)
  • 1 clove Garlic, chopped
  • 1 tsp Fresh Ginger, grated
  • 1 tsp Ground Coriander
  • 1/2 tsp Ground Turmeric (optional)
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 Tbsp Oil (see note)
  • 1 cup Coconut Milk (light or regular)
  • 1 1/2 cup Chicken Stock
  • 1 lb Chicken breast, boneless and skinless, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp Fish Sauce (sub soy sauce or Tamari for a gluten-free option)
  • 2 tsp Lime juice
  • Sliced chili peppers, green onions, or cilantro, for serving (optional)

Instructions 

  • Cook noodles according to package directions. (Note: Many rice noodles just need to be soaked in boiling water. The length of time will vary depending on how thick they are.)
  • Make soup base: Combine curry paste, garlic, ginger, ground coriander, ground turmeric, and salt.
  • Heat a wok over medium-high heat.
  • Add oil and then soup base. Cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
  • Add coconut milk and bring to a simmer. Stir in stock and chicken and reduce heat to low-medium so the soup is barely simmering. Simmer until chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
  • Remove soup from heat and stir in fish sauce and lime juice. Taste and season with a pinch of salt, if needed. (The amount of salt you need will vary, but you may need some extra to bring out all of the flavors in the soup. Some curry pastes already include salt in their ingredients, so those may already be sufficiently salty.)
  • Divide cooked noodles between serving bowls. Ladle soup and chicken over noodles.
  • Serve with chilis, sliced green onions, or cilantro on top if you’d like.

Notes

Red Curry Paste – Look for red curry paste in the international aisle at most grocery stores or at Asian markets. Brands made in the U.S. tend to be less spicy than those imported from Thailand, so be sure to adjust the amount you use accordingly. You can also sub green or yellow curry paste in this soup.
Oil – Any type of cooking oil (vegetable, peanut, canola, or sunflower for example) will work. However, coconut oil gives this dish even more authentic flavor. If you are using regular coconut milk, open the can carefully and you may notice that it has separated into a thick layer of coconut cream / oil on top and a thinner layer of coconut milk on the bottom. In this case, use a tablespoon of that thick layer on top as the “oil” to start your curry. You’ll be rewarded with even more rich coconut flavor!

Nutrition

Calories: 465kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 30g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 75mg | Sodium: 991mg | Potassium: 698mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 625IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 34mg | Iron: 2mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Author: Jess Smith via Inquiring Chef
Cost: $8.50
Calories: 465
Keyword: 30-minute meal, easy dinner, easy noodle recipe, easy soup
Like this? Leave a comment below!Jump to Comments

In honor of #thaifoodmonth, we took ourselves out last (FREEEZING) Saturday and had a big family lunch at a local Thai restaurant. I ate my weight in Thai food. Molly and Clara ate their weight in sticky rice.

Molly and Clara eating sticky rice
Molly and Clara eating sticky rice

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About Jess Smith

Jess is the recipe creator and photographer at InquiringChef.com. She spent nearly a decade as the Chief Recipe Developer for the award-winning meal planning app Cook Smarts. Her colorful, healthyish recipes have been featured in popular online publications including Parade, Hallmark, and HuffPost.

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5 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Yum! Going to make this for dinner tomorrow night. Finally a use for the leaves off my little kaffir lime trees. They barely made it through the winter and I have a lot of leaves that are looking a bit worse for wear.

    Thanks Jess! Just found your website and you’ve given me the cooking bug again. 🙂

    1. You have kaffir lime trees, Martha? I’m quite jealous. 😉 LOVE that flavor! I’m so glad I could contribute to an increase in the cooking bug, especially when you’ve got so much potential with those lime leaves!

  2. This is my favorite and I would have to agree that this is definitely slurpable which I really, really love. Thank you for sharing this. Would love to make this Thai Curry Noodle Soup tonight.