This 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) and hails from the Northern part of 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, what you put in the soup is up to you!
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 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.
- Rice noodles, or Chinese egg noodles, or ramen noodles
- Protein: chicken, tofu, shrimp or prawns (or sub our crispy tofu)
- Coconut oil, peanut oil or olive oil
- Shallot, garlic cloves and lemon grass
- 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– full-fat
- Chicken stock or veggie broth
- kaffir lime leaves
- Optional Veggies: red bell pepper, snow peas, or other quick-cooking veggies
- fish sauce– or make our vegan fish sauce
- soy sauce (perhaps reduce if using vegan fish sauce, or use to taste) or shrimp paste
- Brown sugar, palm sugar or an alternative substitute
- Chili garlic sauce (Sambal Olek)
- Fresh limes
- Optional Garnishes: fresh basil (Thai basil is best!) or cilantro, pickled mustard Greens (traditional), crispy noodles, bean sprouts, lime wedge, thinly sliced red onions or scallions.
How to make Khao Soi
- Place rice noodles in a large baking dish, pour boiling water over the noodles and let them sit until they are softened, drain. Toss with a little oil to prevent sticking.
- In a large dutch oven, heat oil over medium heat, saute shallot, garlic and lemongrass. until golden, about 3-4 minutes, then add the red curry paste, turmeric, curry powder, and cardamom, stirring for one minute.
- Add the coconut milk, chicken broth and kaffir lime leaves and bring to a simmer, stirring. Once gently simmering add the bell pepper, fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce and chili garlic paste.
- Add the prawns (or chicken or crispy tofu) and gently simmer until cooked.
- Give a generous squeeze of lime. Taste, adding more lime/salt/ red curry paste if necessary. Find the balance between salty, sweet, acid and heat.
- Divide the rice noodles into the bowls and ladle the flavorful soup over top- a bit easier to handle. Garnish with fresh basil, pickled mustard greens, crispy noodles, bean sprouts, thinly sliced red onion, lime wedges, or chopped scallions.
Variations of Khao Soi
- 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.
- You can make this with chicken breast, chicken thighs or with shrimp.
- Traditional Khao Soi is often topped with crispy noodles and pickled mustard greens, a garnish, which you can pick up at Asian Markets. The pickled mustard greens are especially nice here.
Serve Khao Soi with These Toppings!
- pickled mustard greens or stems (traditional)
- crispy ramen noodles (traditional)
- cilantro or Thai basil
- Lime wedges
- Bean sprouts
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
How to Make Khao Soi! | 30-sec video
Khao Soi (Thai Coconut Noodle Soup)
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 3-4 1x
- Category: Main, soup, seafood
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Thai
Description
A flavorful and very addicting 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. Watch the video.
Ingredients
- 4–6 ounces dry rice noodles
- 1 tablespoon coconut, peanut or olive oil
- 1 large shallot finely diced ( or sub half an onion)
- 2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass
- 4 garlic cloves, rough chopped
- 2 tablespoons Thai Red Curry Paste (store-bought, I like this brand), more for spicier
- 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (or use grated turmeric)
- 1/2 teaspoon yellow curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 14-ounce can coconut milk, full-fat
- 1 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth, or use water and one chicken bouillon cube)
- 4–6 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)
- 8–12 ounces protein: raw, peeled prawns, or crispy tofu, or raw, thinly sliced chicken breast- or leftover baked chicken or rotisserie chicken)
- salt and pepper to taste,
- 1 lime
Garnish with fresh basil (Thai basil is best!), pickled mustard greens (traditional), cilantro, bean sprouts, lime wedge, crispy noodles, thinly sliced red onions or scallions.
Instructions
- Place noodles in a large baking dish, pour boiling water over the noodles and let them sit, stirring occasionally until they are al dente. Drain. Toss with little oil to coat to prevent sticking.
- While the water is boiling, prep the protein, shallot, garlic, lemongrass, and red bell pepper, then get all other ingredients ready by the stove.
- 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. Saute for 1 minute.
- Add the coconut milk, chicken broth and kaffir lime leaves and bring to a simmer, stirring. Once gently simmering add the bell pepper, fish sauce, sugar, soy sauce and chili garlic paste.
- Add the prawns (or chicken or crispy tofu) and gently simmer until cooked. Give a generous squeeze of lime. Taste, adding more lime/salt/pepper/ red curry paste if necessary. Find the balance between salty, sweet, acid and heat.
- Divide noodles into the bowls and ladle the flavorful soup over top- a bit easier to handle.
- Garnish with fresh basil, pickled mustard greens, crispy noodles, bean sprouts, thinly sliced red onion, lime wedges, or chopped scallions.
Notes
The quality of the red chili paste makes all the difference here. I like Mae ploy or Masseri! “Thai kitchen” brand will be lacking in flavor!
To bump up the flavorful coconut broth even more, add few slices of galangal!
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 chili sauce, or a few thinly sliced fresh chilies ( as a garnish)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4 bowls
- Calories: 348
- Sugar: 10.3 g
- Sodium: 1345 mg
- Fat: 16.4 g
- Saturated Fat: 13.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.4 g
- Fiber: 1.9 g
- Protein: 12.5 g
- Cholesterol: 71.4 mg
This is some of the greatest Thai Food I’ve ever had – and I made it! This is my boyfriend and I’s favorite recipe. We both agreed that when we’re craving curry now, we don’t need to worry about ordering out. We served it over brown jasmine rice the second time we made it and I think it worked beautifully. I really can’t say just how much we love this meal!
Great to hear!
dear Sylvia, i love the recipe but i dont get one thing (sorry for stupid question) but while i cook the lemon grass and shallots in a pot with oil, i am boiling the noodles in a different one? and than add water of nuddles to my pot with other ingredients?
thanks hope my question was clear .
Yes, you cook the noodles separately. Just pour hot water over them and set them aside, drain them later. In a separate pot, make the soup.
thank you so much, so the soup main liquid is coconut milk right? no water added
Yes, not water, just coconut milk and the cup of broth. 🙂
Hi! I’m going to make this tomorrow. Could I use egg noodles?
You can….. but not traditional? It would still work though.
Holy Moly! You ever cook something and you cant beleive YOU made it becuase its just that good?? That’s how I felt about this recipe! SO good… made it along with the crispy tofu 🙂 so glad I found your blog, I cant wait to try more of the recipes! Making the Pad-Thai for dinner tonight!
Thanks so much Kayla! Glad you liked this!
I have made several of your recipes and the whole family has LOVED every one of them! I am wondering if I can can use this recipe as a “regular” curry dish where I can pour it over rice? I am so excited to try this! (you are the only website I have been willing to give my email to as I love love love your wide range of recipes that are so well thought out) p.s. could I omit or lessen the amount of fish sauce?
Yes, you could try! It is more of a soup, so would be a little “thinner”, maybe decrease the broth to thicken. The fish sauce adds depth. You could add to taste, and use less. Or try it without first. It does enhance this though!
We used to live in SE Asia, and Thai cuisine is our favorite. Eating this felt like traveling back to Thailand. I really can’t say enough about how much my husband and I loved it. The broth will now be the base for many recipes! Thank you so much!
Jennifer and Jason
thanks so much!
I have just made this curry noodle soup for Hubby and I on a Friday night in Auckland NZ and in the middle of lockdown! And its super delicious, easy recipe to follow and what I really loved the most was that it was authentic. Thank you Sylvia, outstanding!!
Thanks so much, happy you enjoyed it!
This is 5 stars the best khao soi we’ve had outside of N. Thailand. Thank you! This will be included in our monthly rotation of recipes. I’m so excited to have found your blog. This week alone we made 4 recipes: portabello tacos, pad thai, spring rolls and khao soi. All have been restaurant quality delicious and not overly complicated. We can’t wait to try more!
Thanks so much Lindsay- really appreciate this!
This is fantastic. My husband and I loved it. I didn’t change a thing. I added ginger. It was perfect. It tasted better than a restaurant!!
Thank you.
What type of chicken should you use? Does chicken breast cut up into smaller pieces work?
You can use breasts or thighs. I would pan-sear or cook it first, or if cut very thin, I guess you can drop into the broth.
So delicious!! I am just experimenting with Thai cooking, don’t’ have much experience with lemongrass. I don’t think I minced it enough, but that is my fault! Otherwise, so, so good!! I’m wondering if it would give the same flavor if you put in larger pieces of lemongrass while cooking, then remove it? Either that, or I really need to get my knives sharpened! #covidissues
You could try that, smash them really good and maybe add a few extra!
This looks great! What vegetable would you recommend substituting for the red bell pepper?
You really could sub any quick-cooking veggie or more of the others. 🙂
This transported me back to Thailand in an instant, my belly was very happy! Making it again this week with the intention of making enough for leftovers.
Do you think it will last for 2 days in the fridge once made and cooked (without noodles in)?
Yes, totally! I’d say it would last 3-4 days in the fridge. Great call to leave the noodles out.
Wow — just… wow! We spent quite a bit of time in northern Thailand, and one of our favorite things to eat there was the khao soi from a tiny little shop on an out-of-the-way street. Since returning to the US, we’ve tried to find kaho soi at Thai restaurants here but very few serve it, and the ones we’ve tried were terrible! Your recipe was spot-on like the one we used to love in Thailand. This is going to be our new treat when we’re needing comfort food!
OMG, this recipe is fantastic and very very authentic! My fave soup that transfers me to Thailand in a few minutes it takes to make it. Highly recommended, thanks again Sylvia for another brilliant recipe!
Thanks Alex!
I made Khao Soi today. My husband and son really enjoyed it. It took me over an hour to prepare it and boy were they hungry! But worth the wait… yummy!
It was excellent!! I added a bit of cilantro and chopped basil at the end and served yummy! Followed instructions super easy will make again 😊
This soup was amazing! My picky 2 year old devoured it. Thank you so much! I will be trying some more recipes.
Hi I was wondering how many the x1 measurements cook for is that for 2 people or does it literally mean just 1. We are a family of 6 and I was just wondering what measurements I should use. It looks delicious! Thanks
1 recipe serves 3-4, so I would double the recipe in your case. 😉
I used chicken in this recipe and it is the best soup I have ever made. Brought me right back to Chiang Mai, Thailand. Delicious!
Glad you liked it Kim!
Delicious recipe! While I was cooking I was wondering where I could find that beautiful white pot with a handle in the photos?
It’s Danske – available online.
This was divine! I didn’t have lemongrass, fish sauce or the kefir lime leaves at hand, but it was still absolutely delicious. Added a big squeeze of fresh lemon when I sautéed the shallot, and lots of fresh lime juice when I added the soy sauce. Thank you for this great recipe!
Great to hear Maddi!
Just made this. Absolutely delicious and so easy. Had everything on hand except red bell pepper, so subbed thinly sliced carrots and frozen peas. I prefer the flavour profile of green curry paste, so used that instead of the red. Topped with basil, lime wedges, scallions and as per your notes added fresh ginger (didn’t have galangal) to the broth and fresh red chillis to the garnish. Also added crushed peanuts on top. Thank you!
I enjoyed making this recipe. My family loved it. I used chicken and Thai chili paste in the recipe. I was out of the red curry paste so used the yellow curry paste instead. Same company. My husband does not care for noodles so I made both white rice and noodles. We loved it.
Perfect- sounds great! Like how you adapted to your needs, thanks for sharing!
This was my third recepie from feastingathome and I am so impressed. This was easy, quick, and so flavorful. I didn’t use any of the optional seasoning and used rotisserie chicken leftovers. This was my first time using red curry paste, and not being afraid of heat I eyeballed those 2tbl and it was HOT. But still so good!! I will definatly make this again.
Thanks so much Jennifer, thanks for the comment- helpful! Do you happen to know the brand of red curry paste you were using? For other readers?
This was amazing! I used rotisserie chicken and the optional turmeric, lime leaves and subbed a roasted jalapeno for the chili paste and roasted anaheim pepper for the bell since I can’t eat bells. I had bought the fresh lime leaves for another recipe and froze the remaining leaves which I thawed before using. I removed the rib before tearing leaves into small pieces but leaves were still not able to be chewed. I guess I should not have torn leaves into pieces but left whole and removed before eating?
Thanks Beth, Yes, add the leaves whole. You can just pick around them or remove.