This easy Khao Soi recipe is rich, fragrant, and delicious! It’s a Coconut Curry Noodle Soup that hails from Northern Thailand and can be made with chicken, shrimp, tofu, or our crispy tofu. Vegan-adaptable, GF. Watch the Video!
No matter how hard the past, you can always begin again. ~Buddha
This Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup recipe (called Khao Soi) hails from Northern Thailand (Chiang Mai) 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, rich, and spicy.
The coconut broth is fragrant and rich, coating the noodles well. And once the flavorful coconut soup base is made, you can add whatever you like. I really recommend doubling the broth!
Why this recipe works!
- It is fast and easy! This simple recipe comes together in under 30 minutes!
- Adaptable. Use chicken, shrimp, or tofu, or a combo. Vegan adaptable!
- Cozy and warming! A rich soup, perfect for chilly nights.
Ingredients in Khao Soi
This simple version of Khao Soi is made even easier with store-bought red curry paste.
- Noodles: Khao soi is tradionally made with egg noodles but rice noodles, ramen noodles or even linguini will work here!
- Protein: chicken breast, tofu, shrimp (or sub our crispy tofu)
- Coconut oil, peanut oil or olive oil
- Shallot, garlic cloves, and lemon grass – for savory, punchy flavor.
- Thai Red Curry Paste (store-bought, I like this brand), more for spicier
- Spices: Ground turmeric or fresh turmeric root, yellow curry powder, ground cardamom
- Coconut milk– or coconut cream- use full-fat
- Chicken stock or veggie broth – for rich flavor.
- kaffir lime leaves – fresh is best, but frozen or dried will work too.
- fish sauce– or sub vegan fish sauce or more salt.
- soy sauce or try shrimp paste
- Brown sugar, palm sugar or an alternative substitute
- Chili garlic sauce– or try Sambal Olek.
- Fresh limes– for a little acid, and serving.
- Optional Veggies: red bell pepper, snow peas, or any other quick-cooking veggies to drop in the broth.
- Optional Garnishes: fresh basil (Thai basil is best!) or cilantro, bean sprouts, lime wedge, pickled mustard greens, crunchy noodles, thinly sliced red onions or scallions.
How to make Khao Soi
Cook Noodles. Cook egg noodles according to package directions. If using rice noodles, place them in a large baking dish, pour boiling water over the noodles, and let them sit, stirring occasionally, until they are soft.
Make the Broth. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic, and lemongrass. Sauté until fragrant and golden, about 3-4 minutes. Add red curry paste, ad the spices, sauté for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, and lime leaves and bring to a simmer, stirring. Once gently simmering, add the fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, and chili garlic paste.
Protein: Add the chicken or prawns ( or crispy tofu) and gently simmer covered, until cooked through. Chicken breasts will take about 10 minutes, prawns about 3 minutes. At this point, you can drop in quick-cooking veggies too.
If adding whole chicken breasts, shred with two forks and simmer for a couple of minutes.
Taste and Season. Give a generous squeeze of lime. Taste, adding more lime/salt/pepper/ red curry paste if necessary. Find the balance between salty, sweet, acidic, and spicy. ***You want the broth to be punchy and flavorful to hold up the noodles. If the broth lacks depth, more fish sauce, salt, or even a boullion cube will help. Heat it up, so it’s hot.
Serve. Divide noodles into the bowls and ladle the hot, flavorful soup over top this way it is a bit easier to handle.
Garnish with fresh basil, fermented mustard greens (chopped small), crispy noodles, bean sprouts, thinly sliced red onion, lime wedges, or chopped scallions.
Variations of Khao Soi
- Vegan. You can make this Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup vegan by using crispy tofu and vegan fish sauce, and swap in veggie stock for the chicken stock. You can add more veggies to the broth.
- Shrimp: Drop in peeled and deveined shrimp into the broth.
- Veggies: Simmer quick-cooking veggies into the broth- bell pepper, snow peas, zucchini, mushrooms, etc.
Serve Khao Soi with These Traditional Toppings
- Pickled mustard greens or stems, finely chopped- these truly add to the dish; find them at your local Asian market. I have linked them here, but honestly, I don’t like this brand- just want to show you.
- Crunchy noodles
- Fresh herbs: cilantro or Thai basil
- Lime wedges
More Thai recipes you may like:
- 33+Easy Thai Recipes!
- Thai Green Curry Noodle Soup
- Easy to Make Pad Thai with Chicken Shrimp or Tofu
- Authentic Tom Kha Gai (Thai Coconut Chicken Soup)
- Thai Green Curry with Vegetables
- Instant Pot Thai Curry Chicken
- Thai Burrito with Peanut Sauce
- Thai Fried Rice
How to Make Khao Soi! | 30-sec video
Khao Soi (Thai Coconut Noodle Soup)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 3 1x
- Category: Main, soup, seafood
- Method: stovetop
- Cuisine: Thai, northern Thao
Description
A flavorful and very addictive Northern Style Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup, called Khao Soi. Easy and fast, and so yummy. This simplified version uses store-bought red chili paste. I highly recommend doubling the broth for extra brothy.
Ingredients
- 6–8 ounces dry rice noodles or egg noodles (or sub ramen noodles, or linguini). This dish is typically made with Chinese egg noodles.
Coconut Broth
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil, (or peanut oil or olive oil)
- 1 large shallot, finely diced (or sub half an onion)
- 2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass
- 4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste (store-bought, I like Maseri brand), add more for spicier
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (or use grated turmeric)
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom powder
- 14-ounce can of coconut milk, full-fat
- 1 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth, or use water and one chicken bouillon cube)
- 6 fresh kaffir lime leaves (optional, but delicious!)
- 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 tablespoons brown sugar, palm sugar or an alternative substitute
- 1 tablespoon chili garlic sauce (Sambal Olek)
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 lime, more for serving
Protein
- 8–16 ounces protein: raw chicken breast (see notes), prawns, crispy tofu, or leftover baked chicken or rotisserie chicken)
Garnish with pickled mustard greens, crunchy noodles, cilantro, or Thai basil (or both) and more lime wedges.
Instructions
- Cook Noodles. Cook egg noodles according to package directions. If using rice noodles, place them in a large baking dish, pour boiling water over the noodles, and let them sit, stirring occasionally, until they are al dente.
- Make the Broth. In a large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add shallot, garlic, and lemongrass. Saute until fragrant and golden, about 3-4 minutes. Add red curry paste, turmeric, yellow curry powder and cardamom. Sauté for 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, chicken broth, and kaffir lime leaves and bring to a simmer, stirring. Once gently simmering, add the fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce, and chili garlic paste.
- Protein: Add the chicken breasts (or prawns) and any quick-cooking veggies, and gently simmer covered, until cooked through. Chicken will take roughly 10-12 minutes, and prawns will take 3-4 minutes. If adding whole chicken breasts, shred and return to the soup, simmer two minutes. See notes for Crispy Tofu.
- Taste and Season. Give a generous squeeze of lime. Taste, adding more lime/salt/pepper/ red curry paste if necessary. Find the balance between salty, sweet, acidic, and spicy. You want the broth to have flavor and depth to hold up to the noodles. Fish sauce really helps here. Heat up the broth so it is nice and hot.
- Serve. Divide cooked noodles into the bowls and ladle the hot, flavorful soup over top- this way it is a bit easier to handle.
- Garnish the bowls with pickled mustard greens (chopped up small), crispy noodles, fresh herbs ( basil and cilantro) and lime wedges.
Equipment
Notes
Thai Red Chili paste: The quality of the red chili paste makes all the difference here. I like Mae ploy or Masseri! The “Thai Kitchen” brand will lack flavor!
Chicken: You can simmer small chicken breasts “whole” in the broth (10-12 minutes), then once tender and cooked through, shred with two forks.
Crispy Tofu: Add it to the broth, right at the end. I like adding a little curry powder to the crispy tofu at the end.
Make Ahead: 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 a few thinly sliced fresh chilies (as a garnish). A few slices of galangal are a nice addition too.
If the soup lacks depth, more salt, fish sauce, or even a bouillon cube will work.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 bowls – with chicken breast
- Calories: 428
- Sugar: 10.3 g
- Sodium: 1075.7 mg
- Fat: 17.3 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 50.3 g
- Fiber: 2.2 g
- Protein: 18.3 g
- Cholesterol: 41.4 mg
Loved this recipe and easy though it took me longer then 15 minutes :-)… reminds me of dish I loved and ate all the time at a friends house when I was younger. Happy happy memories!
yay! Im so happy it brought you good memories. It will go faster the second time around. 🙂
Looks excellent! Really love the construction of this dish; will try it out as soon as poss.
Not only did I LOVE this recipe…….my picky 13 year old who doesn’t like anything, LOVED this recipe!
I will make this numerous times over the next fall/winter months! I did add an additional 2 cups broth. ( I used chicken bone broth to add extra nutrients) I added rotisserie chicken for my 9 year old, tofu for my 13 year old while my spouse and I enjoyed the addition of shrimp. By the way, it’s the first time I have ever felt compelled to leave a review…..this was AWESOME and EASY! I’m already looking forward to making it again and plan to have it as our winter staple go to meal!
Delicious! Perfect!
Deeelicious! Perfect!
Every single thing I try on this website works out!!! This soup was simple, completely filling and satisfying and my family loved it!!!
This is the best comment ever- makes me so happy!!! thanks and glad they are working out!!!
Je suis toujours d’accord pour du thaï . Chris 06
To quote my husband, “this may be the best thing you’ve ever made.” (Bar is low for Asian food). I couldn’t find samaba oleke at my Whole Foods, but the dish was fine without it. Added tofu that I pan fried and sweet potato that I quickly cooked up in the microwave. Definitely a keeper!!
Made this tonight and I swear I could feel it healing our sick family on this rainy fall day- it was so perfect! Took my husband and I right back to our honeymoon in Thailand. My 3 year old kept asking for more, blew me away!
Yay Katie! Glad you and your family enjoyed!!!
are the noodles precooked if so for how long ?
They are dry, uncooked noodles. Pour the boiling water over them.
Delicious! Next time might add lime leaves to pot, but will be making this again ?
A great addition, indeed!
It’s so delicious… but I found it took longer for me to prep. Just gathering everything out of the fridge and cupboard took over 5 minutes and then chopping and getting it all ready took longer than 10. But cooking was right on and the extra time was certainly worth it, as it turned out just like you’d get at a Thai restaurant. I added the lemon grass, lime leafs, and the cardamon and turmeric! Topped with sprouts, cilantro, and green onions. It’s on the spicy side so I might take down the Sambal Olek to half. But we ate it all up!! Thanks, Sylvia. I just love everything I’ve made from your site. And I only found it a few weeks ago!
Made these tonight for dinner with half the amount of soy sauce, fish sauce, and sugar, and it still tasted great! I used light coconut milk though, so I find it doesn’t need as much added salt as full fat coconut milk to balance out its richness.
Definitely a keeper recipe to make again!
This looks so yummy! As it’s colder now where I am and I always lack time I think I’m gonna have to make this soon!
Made it this afternoon. Awesome and so simple. This. Is definitely a keeper.
Yay! So Happy you liked it!
This looks delicious! I’ve been pinning some of your older recipes this morning to make soon. Wondering if I can sub in soy milk for the coconut? I’m not a fan of the taste.
I’m not sure? Give it a try…and report back…I’m really curious. I think that soy milk may not feel “thick” enough in the mouth, it lacks the fat content and the sweetness….so it may not translate well….I guess these are my concerns. You never know until you try though. 😉
This meal looks great! I added it to my to make list.
great! Let us know what you think!
Tried this recipe today and it was just perfect! Made it with chicken and my boyfriend and I loved it! It’s tasty, it’s flavourful and most importantly – it’s super quick!
Thanks for sharing. Will cook it again!
I’m happy you liked it! thanks!
Can’t believe that things that tasty can be that quick and easy to make! My husband and I LOVED this soup, and I can’t wait to make it again (and finish the leftovers!). A life-saver for a busy day. Thank you so much!
Oh that is great!! Glad you guys enjoyed!
Have to try this one as well! (:
Wow this looks so amazing, and I can’t believe it’s so quick and easy to make!!
Yum! Will definitely be trying this out soon. Thanks so much for sharing!
xx, R @ The Girl in Polka Dots
http://www.thegirlinpolkadots.com
This looks so delicious and simple! I love your photos too 🙂
Thanks so much Natasha!
Absolutely fabulous!!! Because fresh lemon grass wasn’t available, I used the tube lemon grass. You need triple the fresh. But oh so yummy!
Perfect!
Awesome recipe – I added a chunk of galanga and a few lime leaves and it was perfection. Thank you so much for a great recipe!
Such a great idea…love that you added it. I will adjust the recipe to include. 🙂