Thai-Inspired Chicken & Rice Noodle Soup
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Cozy, comforting, and fragrant, this flavor-packed Thai chicken noodle soup will warm you right up.
This spicy, fragrant, slurpy noodle soup, inspired by some of my favorite Thai restaurant dishes, is like sunshine on a dreary day. What’s more, it’s made with rotisserie chicken and Thai pantry staples available in most supermarkets—such as green curry paste, fish sauce, coconut milk, and fresh ginger—so it’s almost instant gratification.
Whether I’m feeling worn down or just in need of a little comfort, there is nothing like a bowl of chicken noodle soup, and this is one of my favorite renditions. Be sure to keep the rice noodles separate from the soup until ready to serve. If you put them in the broth before serving, they will continue to cook and become too soft.
Table of Contents
“A wonderful melding of flavors, and it tastes truly authentic as Thai cuisine…My wife, a former restaurant reviewer, used words like ‘amazing’ and ‘delicious,’ so I knew I had a real winner.”
What You’ll Need To Make Chicken & Rice Noodle Soup
You’ll notice that the recipe calls for Thai green curry paste, an excellent substitute for hard-to-find Asian ingredients, like lemongrass and galangal. You can find it, along with the other Asian pantry staples, in the Asian section of most large supermarkets. Along with Thai red curry paste, green curry paste is a wonderfully versatile ingredient; I use it to make many Thai-style recipes, such as Thai shrimp curry and red chicken curry, butternut squash soup with coconut milk, and curry chicken skewers with coconut-peanut sauce.
Step-By-Step Instructions
Begin by heating the oil in a medium soup pot. Add the shallots and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Next, add the green curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more.
Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, and turmeric; bring to a gentle simmer. Continue simmering for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles by dropping them in boiling water.
Let sit for a few minutes to soften.
Then drain.
When ready to serve, divide the noodles and chicken into serving bowls.
Ladle the broth over top and sprinkle with cilantro and scallions. Serve with Sriracha sauce and lime wedges.
“Thank you for an excellent recipe. This is one of those great under 30 minute dinners when I’m in a pinch but want a satisfying restaurant-quality soup without going out.”
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Thai-Inspired Chicken & Rice Noodle Soup
Cozy, comforting, and fragrant, this flavor-packed Thai chicken noodle soup will warm you right up.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup thinly sliced shallots, from 1-2 large shallots
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger, from a 1-inch knob (see note)
- 2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
- 4 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 (13.5 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 4 packed teaspoons dark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, from 1 lime
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
For Serving
- 4 oz thin rice noodles
- 2 cups shredded cooked chicken, from a rotisserie chicken
- Handful chopped fresh cilantro
- 3 scallions, light and dark green parts, thinly sliced
- Sriracha sauce
- Lime wedges
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a medium soup pot over medium-low heat. Add the shallots and ginger and cook, stirring frequently, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, fish sauce, brown sugar, lime juice, and turmeric; bring to a gentle simmer. Continue simmering, uncovered, for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the rice noodles according to the package instructions.
- When ready to serve, taste the soup and adjust the seasoning, if necessary. Gently reheat the noodles in the microwave, if necessary. Divide the noodles and chicken into serving bowls. Ladle the broth over top and sprinkle with cilantro and scallions. Serve with Sriracha sauce and lime wedges.
- Note: Check out easy guidance on how to peel, grate, and chop fresh ginger here.
- Note: As the soup sits on the stove, some of the fat may rise to the surface; skim it, if necessary.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (4 servings)
- Calories: 530
- Fat: 31 g
- Saturated fat: 20 g
- Carbohydrates: 40 g
- Sugar: 7 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 28 g
- Sodium: 942 mg
- Cholesterol: 53 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Can you keep the rice noodles in the broth after making the recipe for leftovers, or do you have to keep noodles and broth separate?
Hi Jenifer, I’d store the soup and the noodles separately in the fridge so that the noodles don’t soak up too much broth.
Love this recipe! This is another of my top ten favorite recipes of yours. 🙂 I love it even without the chicken and noodles. I was wondering how well you think the broth would freeze? I’m thinking of double or tripling just the broth to freeze so I have it easily on hand this winter. Thanks!
Glad you like this! I think the broth would freeze nicely. 🙂
I would love to make this but it has a value of 20 points per serving on WW. What can I do to lighten it up but not sacrifice flavor?
Hi Jane, you could try substituting the regular coconut milk with a light version and use zucchini noodles in place of the rice noodles. (Please keep in mind that I haven’t tried either of these tweaks, so please let me know how the soup turns out if you try it this way!)
Spirit-warming soup that completely satisfies! I substitute coconut oil, coconut sugar, and chicken bone broth.
This soup is yet another HIT. It is surprisingly filling and absolutely delicious!!! My wife and I keep a list of recipes that we like and will make again and this one was most happily added…along-side the many others from this site.
With fish allergies, is the fish sauce what makes the dish? Also, what else can I use to make with green curry paste? Unless, I have multi use for that ingredient it will go to waste.
Hi Nancy, You can use soy sauce in place of the fish sauce — the dish will still be good, it will just lack that traditional Thai flavor. And to help you use it up, I have a few other recipes that call for green curry paste — the Thai Shrimp Curry and the Thai Red Curry Chicken (which calls for red curry paste but it’s fine to use green). Hope that helps!
Super tasty soup! I was so happy to find this recipe is so close to my favorite restaurant’s soup. I added a bit more fish sauce and decreased the brown sugar by half ( that’s just me, my family likes it the original way). When I have them, I also like to add some homegrown jalapeño and lemongrass. I love your site!
This is delicious, i thought my son was going to lick his bowl. Many flavor levels and ways to adjust the spice. Great go to recipe!
This recipe became an instant family favorite! It’s an easy one to customize for family members, too (leave the chicken out for the vegetarians, add extra cilantro or sriracha for some people), because each bowl is assembled separately instead of the whole pot being the same.
My family loves this meal! And so do I. It’s a welcome addition to our family meals. Even the kids’ friends love it. I made the recipe just as it’s published. Thanks Jenn!
On a chilly fall day, this is my go to dish. I always keep these ingredients stocked in my pantry. Great balance of flavor and easy to make. I substitute the rotisserie chicken with cooked chicken breasts cut diagonal in thin strips to mimic the look of soup in Thai restaurants. I also add a bit more fish sauce to enhance the flavors.