This Thai red curry soup is packed with so much flavor. I can’t take full credit for the idea though. A friend told me that she loves any soup with red chili paste, coconut milk and noodles. My mind immediately went to Thai red curry paste, and I was determined to make a soup with it. I wanted the broth to be light, but there to be some hearty ingredients. It incorporates the 5 main Thai flavors: salty, sweet, spicy, sour, and creamy. This isn’t a traditional Thai soup by any means but rather one inspired by flavors commonly found in Thai cuisine which I absolutely love.

Ingredients

This recipe uses a pre-made Thai red curry paste so you won’t have to worry about attempting to make that from scratch. I have been told that the Maesri or Mae Ploy brands will have the best flavor. However, using a different brand won’t make or break your broth. Thai red curry paste has become a staple in many local grocery stores’ international aisles so if that is all you have access to, use it.

• Red curry paste– saving time and keeping the ingredient list as simple as possible by using a pre-made store bought paste
• Chicken– thinly sliced chicken breast cut across the grain
• Noodles- thin rice vermicelli noodles which can often be found in your local grocery store
• Mushrooms- sliced baby bella or creminis
• Aromatics- fresh garlic, fresh ginger, fish sauce, brown sugar, sambal (garlic chili paste) are used to enhance the flavor and add sweetness and saltiness to the broth
• Broth- homemade or store bought chicken broth or stock
• Coconut milk- light coconut milk to reduce the amount of fat in the broth
• Garnishes- fresh bean sprouts (for texture), green onions, cilantro, Thai basil, and limes

Making the Soup

The thing I love about most soups is that all of your cooking can be done in one pot. Even if there are multiple cooking steps (like this one), one pot is all it takes. I suggest having all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go prior to cooking including the garnishes. The broth can be made in advance, but I don’t recommend adding the noodles until you are ready to serve.

Start by partially cooking the slices of chicken breast in olive oil heated in a large pot over medium heat. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. After 3 minutes remove the chicken, and add mushrooms to the pot. Cook for 2-3 minutes and then remove. Add additional oil to the pot, if needed, and diced sauté onions and red bell peppers for about 5 minutes or until just softened. Add minced garlic and grated ginger to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes more. Stir in the red curry paste.

Pour the chicken broth and light coconut milk into the pot, and stir to combine the ingredients. At this point the chicken and mushrooms can be returned to the pot. Bring the soup to a boil, place the lid on the pot, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the chicken is cooked through (approximately 10 minutes). We want to be careful not to overcook the chicken otherwise it will be tough. Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, and sambal. Lastly, add noodles to the broth. There is no need to break them up. Because they are so thin they will quickly soften in the hot broth and can be stirred in. Return the lid to the pot and cook for about 5 minutes or until the noodles are tender.

Garnishing

Divide noodles into bowls and top them with the soup broth. Garnish each bowl before serving. The garnishes are for more than just presentation. They add to the texture and overall flavor. Top each bowl with fresh bean sprouts, sliced green onions, chopped cilantro, chopped Thai basil, and lime wedges. Squeeze the lime into the soup before eating to add a hint of acidity. I like to dig in with chopsticks and a soup spoon.

If you make this recipe, leave a comment below and post on Instagram. Make sure to tag @blasianbonvivant and use hashtag #BBVRecipe.

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Thai Red Curry Chicken & Noodle Soup

Thin strips of chicken breasts and rice vermicelli noodles in a light and fragrant Thai red curry & coconut milk broth

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time45 minutes mins

Course: Main Course, Soup

Cuisine: Fusion, Thai

Keywords: noodles, soup

Servings: 6

Ingredients

Soup

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1.5 lbs chicken breast cut against the grain into strips
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste to taste
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 12 creminis sliced
• 5 garlic cloves minced
• 1 medium yellow onion diced
• 1 red bell pepper diced
• 3 tbsp Thai red curry paste
• 1 tbsp ginger grated
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 13.5 oz light coconut milk
• 8 oz rice noodles
• 1.5 tbsp fish sauce
• 2 tsp light brown sugar
• 2 tsp sambal (chili garlic paste)

Garnish

• fresh bean sprouts
• green onions sliced
• cilantro chopped
• Thai Basil chopped
• limes cut into wedges

Instructions

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.
• Add chicken to the pot and season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Cook for approximately 3 minutes. Remove from pan into a bowl.
• Add mushrooms to the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the pan into a bowl.
• Add onions and red bell pepper to the pot. Cook until just softened (approximately 5 minutes). Add garlic and ginger to pot and cook for 1-2 minutes more.
• Stir Thai red curry paste into the pot.
• Pour chicken broth into the pot followed by light coconut milk. Stir to combine ingredients.
• Add chicken and mushrooms back to the pot. Bring to a boil, place lid on the pot, and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until chicken is cooked through (approximately 10 minutes).
• Stir in fish sauce, brown sugar, and sambal.
• Add noodles to the pot and stir into broth. Cook for approximately 5 minutes or until noodles are tender.
• Remove from heat and divide noodles into bowls followed by the soup broth.
• Garnish with bean sprouts, green onions, cilantro, Thai basil, and lime wedges.
• Serve warm and squeeze lime juice into soup before eating.

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