Chicken

Thai Red Curry Chicken Soup

January 31, 2013
5
1 Ratings
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

After the hurricane when we came down with colds, I had an impulse to make chicken soup. But being congested, I really wanted something I could taste. I always love Asian soups, and a little spice sounded like a great idea. And it was. But next time, I won’t wait to be sick to make this soup. —Meatballs&Milkshakes

Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
  • 5 cups chicken stock, homemade or purchased
  • 1 package, rice noodles, preferably medium thickness
  • 2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 1/2 can, coconut milk
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 2 limes, zested and juiced
  • 3 tablespoons Cilantro, minced
  • 2 tablespoons mint, minced
  • 1-2 cups shredded rotisserie chicken or roasted chicken
  • 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Directions
  1. Saute the curry paste in the oil for a few seconds to infuse the oil. Add the stock, fish sauce, coconut milk, sugar, lime zest and half the juice, and let it come to a boil.
  2. Add the rice noodles and cook for a few minutes until softened. Add the chicken and allow to warm through.
  3. Off the heat, add the herbs and the remaining lime juice and serve.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

I'm an ex-finance, nonprofit fundraiser by day and a (mostly) Italian cook and blogger by night. I love having friends over for dinner and my favorite evenings are when we spend them at home together cooking dinner and chatting. I'm an avid cooking show fan, and my favorite eating cities are New York, San Francisco, Paris, and Rome.

23 Reviews

nancy E. December 30, 2021
Fantastic recipe that brings your mouth to life with exquisite flavours.
Anusha R. May 4, 2019
What size can for the coconut milk?
Rebecca B. March 9, 2018
This has quickly become one of my favorite soups to make. For some reason it turns out a bit differently each time (more or less soupy, more or less spicy), but it's wonderful every time. Shrimp also worked in this (in place of chicken), and thinly sliced mushrooms and scallions are a nice addition if available. It has a lot of room for flexibility and experimentation.
Denise J. November 17, 2016
I can't buy rice noodles in my little Mississippi town, but this soup is delicious with rice.
Leslie S. December 6, 2015
Could I use rice instead of noodles? I had a version of thai chicken curry and rice soup yesterday that was amazing!
Katie M. July 7, 2015
Just made this and impressed the boyfriend x100! We both loved it. I think I might have cooked my noodles too long though, they sort of broke apart. Beginner anyways. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe!
Clementine L. September 9, 2014
Just made it. And certain of making it again ! I have added a little bit of fresh ginger.
Thank you M &M for this great and super simple recipe !
Hope October 3, 2013
Is it ok to substitute coconut cream (half amount) for coconut milk?
Meatballs&Milkshakes October 4, 2013
I've never used coconut cream, but I expect it would work well. You might want to start with less than half and see how much it wants.
Vivi B. March 19, 2013
Made this tonight and it is note perfect! The only changes I made were to add some lime leaves (because I love them so!) and I had somen, not rice, noodles, so I used them. thanks for this delicious and efficient bowl!
Meatballs&Milkshakes March 19, 2013
Glad you liked it!!
Ratih March 18, 2013
I only have thai green curry paste in my kitchen. Do you think it will work as well? Thanks!
Meatballs&Milkshakes March 18, 2013
Definitely!
culture_connoisseur February 23, 2013
Looking forward to making these tonight. I found red rice noodles instead of the white, and am hoping it still tastes as good as the recipe looks!
culture_connoisseur February 23, 2013
This soup is fabulous! I took Regine's advice and cooked the noodles separately. I substituted tofu for chicken, and will use shrimp next time. It is so easy to make, and will be a quick meal in my home many days to come.
Regine February 16, 2013
I have made this twice already (using 8 oz noodles). I love love it, and it is so easy to make. The only thing though is that I like to rinse the noodles prior to cooking and fix them separately like some other Asian noodle soups. This adds less
starch to soup and makes it easier to serve by placing some noodles in bowl and then the soup.
Regine February 8, 2013
Thanks so much Meatballs&Milkshakes. I will make it again this weekend but this time with 8oz not 16 oz package of noodles. It is so delicous. I would recommend you specify the amount in your recipe, particularly if it gets tested in the Food52 kitchen.
Regine February 2, 2013

I made soup and it is so delicious but mine was more noodles than soup. When you say 1 package, what quantity is it? The only package i found was 1 lb (16 oz) Asuan Best Rice Stick Medium. Maybe you used 1/2 or 1/4 that size. Could you Please specify? I had to add 2 more cups broth but i can tell that if i had put only 1/4 lb or 1/2 lb (?), it would have been like yours. For the curry paste, i used Patak Concentrated Curry Paste Mild. If you could identify the exact one you used, that would be great. As i am typing this, both my husband and son are enjoying the dish, and my son is now licking his bowl.
Meatballs&Milkshakes February 8, 2013
I used an 8 ounce package, but you can adjust it to the amount of noodles you want in your soup. Sometimes I like more, sometimes I want it more brothy. Right now I have Roland curry paste, but you can use any brand Thai curry paste. Roland is a little more bland than the more authentic kind I usually get, but my grocery store was out of my usual.
hardlikearmour February 1, 2013
Red is my favorite Thai curry, well, either that or panang. Love the simplicity of your soup and think the spiciness is great. This recipe reminds me of a spicier, less coconutty version of Tom Kha Gai.
Meatballs&Milkshakes February 1, 2013
those are my favorites too....the quality of the chicken stock is a defining part of this too. I make my own, and it helps a lot.
Regine January 31, 2013
This looks so easy to make, yet delicious. Going to buy ingredients tomorrow to make saturday.
Meatballs&Milkshakes January 31, 2013
thanks, hope you like it!