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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Terrific soup. It matches the profile of one of our favorite Thai restaurants. I had a tube of ginger in the fridge and used that–otherwise, I followed the recipe exactly. With the Sriracha added on top, I could dial up the heat for family members that liked spice or take it down for those who don’t. Can’t wait to make it during cooler days!
This is the best soup, hands down, I have ever made. The flavor of the broth is amazing! Thank you for this recipe! My family absolutely loves it!
Oh my goodness so good! This soup is outstanding and as with your other recipes so easy to make! Wondering if I can freeze some? I kept the chicken separate from the broth. Made a double batch. Thanks again for another delicious recipe!
Hi Yolanda, so glad you enjoyed this! I don’t think the soup as a whole would freeze very well but you can definitely freeze the broth. Hope that helps!
Thank you for this simple yet flavorful and delicious recipe. I followed the recipe exactly and my family raved about it…said it was better than anything at our favorite Thai restaurant.
Had it for dinner tonight and it was excellent. Nice amount of heat.
This was fabulous! Didn’t change a thing and my three kids loved it too! I’d say shrimp would be an amazing addition to this though. Next time!
I have a piece of lemon grass I’m interested in using. Would you recommend briefly steeping it in the broth?
Sure, P, that should work. Enjoy!
Wow wow wow!! Talk about amazing! I would like to make it again next week but I don’t have any shallots. Is there a good substitute? I have yellow and red onion 😊
Hi P, Glad you liked this! You can get away with using yellow onion here.
Oh my goodness so good! This soup is outstanding and as with your other recipes so easy to make! Wondering if I can freeze some? I kept the chicken separate from the broth. Made a double batch. Thanks again for another delicious recipe!
So glad you liked it! I don’t think the soup as a whole would freeze well, but that the broth would freeze nicely. 🙂
I made this soup for lunch today. It was the most simple and fantastic thing I have ever made. I ate a big bowl and then about an hour later, I had to have another! I’m telling you what, this recipe is spot on. Don’t change a thing and it is the best flavor ever.
I made this last night – fantastic! I had a jar of yellow curry paste so I used that. This tasted really good. Thank you for continuing to be a cooking inspiration for home-cooked meals.
Tripled the recipe thinking my family of 5 would get 2 meals out if it. No such luck, everyone wanted seconds.
Will definitely be added to the meal rotation. I did add 6 cloves of crushed garlic and also simmered the broth with a couple of stalks of lemongrass.
We have made this soup twice in the last 3 weeks. It is delicious and super easy. We keep the extra broth and serve it over rice. The flavor gets even better the next day. So glad to have found this. I have been making it in the Instant Pot and throwing chicken in as well instead of using the rotisserie option. I would be proud to serve this to guests.