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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I just wolfed down a full bowl of this soup. All I can say is thank you so much for sharing this recipe. God bless you. It’s delicious. 10 out of 10. Only subs I made was I used 2 frozen chicken breasts. I cut super thin pieces and fan fried it till it’s no longer pink (ie not over cooked). Shrimp would also be another good choice. I loved it.
This was amazing!! I added mushrooms and bok choy. All 3 of my boys loved it, including my picky 6 year old, who rated it 10.9 out of 10 🤩
Hi Jen,
I can’t eat fish sauce (or oyster sauce) due to allergies. Are there suitable substitutes so that I can make this recipe and some of your others? Dying to try it!
Hi Wendy, you can use soy sauce in place fish sauce. It won’t have that authentic Thai taste, but it will still be good. Hope you enjoy!
Excellent! My husband wouldn’t stop telling me how great this recipe was.
The soup is fabulous! One of the best recipes on this website. I used 1tb less brown sugar and it was a perfect balance of tart from the lime and sweet for our taste, I also loved the green chili paste. I’ve used Thai red chili paste before but the green was a revelation. I’ll make this again and again.
The night I made it I would have given it a 3 HOWEVER day 2 a 5! Allowing the flavors to meld for a night changed the flavor completely. It was a bit bland the first night but second so flavorful. I did add a handful of snow peas at the very end (2 minutes) and only enough for a serving so they would be crunchy. When heating up I did the same. Cilantro, scallions and a squirt of schiracha definitely are a huge component of flavor to this dish. Your recipes have never disappointed me and I search your site first when looking for new ideas. Thank you for such great food!
Jen, you have so many great recipes, but this one is truly superb! A wonderful melding of flavors, and it tastes truly authentic as Thai cuisine. I skipped the supermarket rotisserie chicken, and instead cut up a few boneless chicken tenders into small pieces and simmered them for the five minutes that the stock was simmering, which worked really well. My wife, a former restaurant reviewer, used words like “amazing” and “delicious,” so I knew I had a real winner.
One question: My adult daughter is vegan. Do you think this would work using vegetable stock and substituting tofu for the chicken? If so, what type of tofu would be best?
So glad this was a hit and that your very discerning wife gave it a thumbs up! I’ve never cooked with tofu, so I don’t have a lot of wisdom to share, but another vegetarian reader commented that she replaced the chicken with seitan/tofu/edamame and enjoyed it. This would also be nice with mushrooms, sliced bell peppers, and/or carrots. Hope that helps!
I especially like Asian food with tofu, so I used tofu in this recipe, and it’s delicious!!! (And I’m not a vegetarian!)
Can’t believe I have never commented on this delicious soup! I have made it several times, once for lunch with company, and it is always a hit. Quick and easy to make which is a big plus for me. I have used our supermarket’s shredded chicken and my own poached chicken; have used ordinary chicken broth and chicken bone broth; have used oyster sauce and soy sauce (depends what I have on hand); yellow onions and shallots – it is always good. As written the recipe is enough for 2 meals for my husband and I so I get a day off cooking when I make it (bonus!). Thank you, Jenn
Absolutely exquisite. We all loved the melding of flavors and the comforting nature of the broth. I did add carrots and would do that or spinach next time. A definite keeper!
I’m confused about the amount of noodles. 4oz seemed way too little for 4 servings. When I cook pasta or other noodles, I generally measure around 3-4oz per person. For 4 servings I would use at least 12oz of noodles. Maybe I’m missing something. We used rice vermicelli noodles. Anyway, the flavors and everything else about the recipe were great!