15 Minute- Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup is FAST, FLAVORFUL & sooooo EASY! A rich fragrant broth w/ either shrimp, tofu or chicken! Vegan adaptable!
No Matter how hard the past, you can always begin again. ~Buddha
This 15 Minute Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup is called Khao Soi, and hails from the Northern part of Thailand where the weather stays a bit cooler. It’s a godsend when time is short, or you are feeling a bit lazy, yet you crave something warm and spicy.
The coconut broth is fragrant and rich, coating the noodles well. And once the flavorful base is made, what you put in the soup is very adaptable. Today I’ve added prawns – but it’s delicious with tofu or chicken too, or even just veggies.
Spring showers have been here, making everything exceptionally bright and green and lush. On rainy spring days like we’ve had these past few weeks, all I want to do is wrap myself up in a cozy blanket, curl up with a good book and slurp soup. Preferably with a little heat and some kind of noodle.
THAI COCONUT CURRY NOODLE SOUP (Khao Soi)
A flavorful and very addicting Northern Style Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup, called Khao Soi. Easy and fast, and so yummy.
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 10 mins
- Total Time: 15 mins
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: Main, soup, seafood
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Northern Thailand
Ingredients
- 4 ounces dry rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
- 1 large shallot finely diced
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, chopped or grated
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste (store bought), more for more spicy
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric – optional
- pinch cardamom- optional
- 1 14 ounce can coconut milk
- 1 cup chicken broth (or use water and one chicken bouillon cube)
- 1 thinly sliced red bell pepper (optional- sub other veggies)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce- or vegan fish sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce ( perhaps reduce if using vegan fish sauce, or use to taste)
- 2– 2 ½ tablespoons brown sugar, palm sugar or alternative substitute
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (Sambal Olek)
- 8 oz. raw, peeled and deveined prawns ( or pan-seared cubes of tofu, or very thinly sliced raw chicken- or leftover baked chicken or rotisserie chicken)
- 1 lime
- Garnish with fresh basil or cilantro, bean sprouts, scallions, or thinly sliced red onions.
Instructions
- Place noodles in a shallow baking dish and boil enough water to just cover them. While water is boiling, prep the shallots, ginger, garlic, red bell pepper, then get all other ingredients ready by the stove.
- In a medium pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallots and ginger. Saute until fragrant and golden, about 3 minutes. Add garlic and red curry paste. Fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the coconut milk and broth and bring to a simmer, stirring. Once gently simmering add the bell pepper, soy, fish sauce, sugar and chili garlic sauce.
- Add the prawns and gently simmer until cooked. Give a generous squeeze of lime. Taste, adding more lime / or salt if necessary.
- Drain the noodles. If serving the soup immediately, toss the noodles right into the pot and then serve.
- Alternatively, divide noodles into the bowls and ladel the flavorful soup over top.
- Garnish with fresh basil, bean sprouts, thinly sliced red onion and chopped scallions.
Notes
To bump up the flavorful coconut broth even more, add a 4 inch piece of lemongrass (smashed) a few slices of galangal and/ or a couple kefir lime leaves ( all optional but yummy!)
Feel free to make the soup broth the day before and keep in the fridge, keeping the noodles separate ( they will swell in the soup) and simply reheat.
To bump up the heat, add more red chili paste or or chili sauce, or a few thinly sliced fresh chilies ( as a garnish)
Keywords: curry noodles, thai noodle soup, thai curry noodles, THAI COCONUT CURRY NOODLE SOUP, Khao Soi, thai curry noodles
This recipe was awesome, even with the substitutions I had to make because I didn’t want to drive to the store. I used 1 tsp yellow curry powder instead of red curry paste, oyster sauce instead of fish sauce, 1/4 of a white onion in lieu of shallot, and sriracha in place of chili oil and it was still amazing.
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I’m so happy you liked it! Thanks for sharing your adaptations! Helpful!
Sylvia, your recipes are so well written that every one I tried so far came out perfect unlike most blogs! This is especially important to me when I’m cooking Mexican or Asian dishes since I’m not that familiar with spices and flavors.
This one is a keeper that I will stick into my Pinterest board as a fave! I have made it now three different times, once as vegan option and twice with chicken. I just put all the ingredients into my stove top Lagostina pressure cooker and 15 min later I have a perfect chicken soup! (I wouldn’t recommend cooking shrimp that long). Some of the veggies we’ve put into it are: turnips, bell peppers, shiitake mushrooms, sweet potatoes or carrots, regular potatoes (then I skip the noodles).
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Glad to hear and thanks so much, appreciate it!
Hi! I need help! I want to cook this for dinner for 4 pax tom night. Do I double or triple the portion? Is 4oz noodles equal to 115gm? Thanks
Yes, 115 grams = 4 ounces.Normally I would say double, but if they are big eaters, or you want leftovers perhaps I would triple? Good luck and let me know how it goes! 🙂
How do you crank up the heat but maintain a great tasting dish like in good thai restaurants? I like my food spicy-extra hot.
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Try adding more red chili paste!
Delicious, fragrant, spicy.
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Awesome recipe that can be changed a little! I’m a poor student but I was able to make this with the vegies and spices I had at home! Very yummy and will be used for luncn as well!
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I made this soup for dinner tonight, I added dried mushrooms, fresh mushrooms, and bok choy, my husband said “this is the best soup, you can make this one again.”
Thank you for this fantastic recipe! My hubby and I now live in Mexico, a tiny fishing village on the Sea of Cortez where Asian food isn’t available. We are in the midst of shrimp season so this was a perfect match☺️ I hope you’ll take a look at your soup on my Instagram page
Lilnippersfoodadventures
Hi Debra! thanks so much and I am glad you liked it!
This is definitely a keeper! Delicious and comes together so quickly. Highly recommend adding Thai basil at the end. I doubled the recipe so we can have lunch leftovers. I used both shrimp and tofu in our soup. I also had an extra jalapeno pepper and added that. As always, Sylvia created another tasty, quick recipe that the whole family enjoyed!
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Thanks so much Teresa, glad you liked it!
This was delicious and very popular in my house, I added all extra ingredients you suggested – think I’ll make my own thai red curry paste next time! thanks for such incredible recipes. It’s great to try new recipes and for the result to be so delicious every time !
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Amazing recipe !!! My whole family loved it specially my little 5 year old boy !!!
I added lime leaves , and lemon grass . I used only 1 tbsp of fish sauce .
I used fresh veggies on the side , so we can just add some baby corn , coriander , sugar snaps and bean sprouts . I didn’t use cardamon and turmeric ! My husband is adding it to his list of favorites ❤️
Hi Sylvia, I can not believe how tasty this soup is and that I made it at home. AMAZING! And I have been to Thailand and able to taste the food over there. I was lucky enough to find some Kafir lime leaves at the grocery store and they really added even more flavour. My shrimps could have been a bit less cooked but the entire meal was divine. You are a master! I am so glad that I have found your website. I look forward to trying all your other recipes. Thanks a lot! Caroline
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Thanks Caroline, I very much appreciate your comment and feedback! Very helpful. Yes the kefir lime is divine!
Super delicious, quick and easy! I used veggie broth, cut back on the red curry paste and Sambel Olek to appease those among us who can’t handle the heat and served it with baked tofu for some and leftover chicken for others. The whole family loved it!!!
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Made this for lunch, hubby and I both loved it!! Great recipe.
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Wow. Incredible. Thank you for sharing this. Simple, healthy, and fun.
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Glad you enjoyed it Nick!
Putting this recipe together now. Can I use soba noodles?
The taste thus far is amazing. Can’t wait to tuck into this and to make it again.
Yes, of course!
This is amazing. I live in Louisiana and had some leftover boiled shrimp, Cajun style. The seasoning in the shrimp added a spiced touch. Quick and easy,
Excellent. I made it with shrimp. Everybody loved it
Thank you Sylvia
Any nutrition / calorie information ?
Thanks
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Sylvia’s site is now becoming a fast favorite in our household with unique dishes that we adore. This one is the first one I made without any help from the chef in the house and found it so fast and easy to make. We didn’t have a couple of the ingredients on hand but had everything else and I encourage everyone and anyone who loves Thai recipes to try this one. We ate it up so quickly. I loved the spicy kick to it without it being overwhelming so. Sylvia your site is a welcome quick diversion in our home as to what we are cooking next.
Thank you for such amazing recipes! m.
Ooops, this is a 5 star recipe for sure!
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Awww, you are so sweet, Im so happy you are enjoying the recipes and website! This is a particularly easy and tasty one, glad you tried it out! Have a great weekend Monique!