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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What a wonderful soup! I loved that it was so simple and quick to make yet had great flavor. I know I will be making this often. I rinsed the noodles as in the photos, but didn’t see it mentioned in the recipe. Guessing it probably doesn’t have a huge impact either way. Thank you for another delicious recipe!
Made this the other night and it was just fantastic. As a California transplant to the South I miss great Thai food. This gave us a fix.
DELICIOUS!!! I should have doubled the recipe. My son and his girlfriend gobbled it up (should I say “slurped it down”?), and my husband and I only had one bowl apiece before it was gone. No more left for anyone else. The cilantro and scallions on top are perfect! Thank you for another delicious, easy recipe, Jenn.
Love, love love this soup! Simple and yummy. Using rotisserie chicken really tastes so good, amazing. I was thinking about adding some bok choy and also lemon grass. Could you help me with the best way to incorporate that in the recipe?
Hi Marcia, glad you liked it! If you’d like to add bok choy and lemongrass, I’d put them in when you add the broth and simmer. (Lemongrass is pretty woody, so make sure to remove it before serving the soup.) Also, go lightly on the lemongrass as the curry paste already has some of that flavor in it.
Thanks Jenn, I will try that!
This soup was so easy to make and so delicious. I didn’t add fish sauce because I didn’t have it and it was tasty anyway. I added sauteed shitake mushrooms. Will make it again for company now that I know how good it is. .
My family hates fish sauce. What can I substitute? Thanks.
Hi K, Unfortunately, there’s a perfect substitute for fish sauce, but you can use soy sauce instead. It will still be good- it just won’t have that distinct Thai flavor.
Wow this soup was amazing. So easy and delicious! Nice to have some exotic soup in the dead of winter. ?
This was amazing! I tried this out this past weekend and everyone loved it. I was told this tasted better than the local Thai spot!
One thing I found out the hard way is that rice noodles absorb a lot of moisture so don’t be lazy like me and try to dump all of the noodles into the broth in the end when you’re getting ready to store the soup. You’ll come back to a container full of noodles!
Is this soup supposed to be thick?
Hi Nicolasa, The broth itself is not thick. It has the chicken and noodles in it to add a lot of texture, but the liquid is not very thick.
Another awesome recipe ! My family loved it. I used some leftover rotisserie chicken, but didn’t feel it was enough, so I added some cubed tofu. It went wonderfully with the broth.