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!

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) 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

Khao soi ingredients on the counter

This simple version of Khao Soi is made even easier with store-bought red curry paste.

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.

Soaking rice noodles in hot boiling water.

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.

Making the flavorful coconut broth.

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.

Adding raw chicken breast to the broth to simmer and cook.

If adding whole chicken breasts, shred with two forks and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Shredding the chicken breast with two forks.

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.

Ladling the khao soi over the noodles in a bowl.

Serve. Divide noodles into the bowls and ladle the hot, flavorful soup over top this way it is a bit easier to handle.

Garnishing the soup with mustard greens, crunchy noodles and cilantro and lime.

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.
Khao soi made with shrimp- in tow serving bowls.

Serve Khao Soi with These Traditional Toppings

Khao soi toppings: mustard greens, crunchy noodles, lime and herbs.

More Thai recipes you may like: 

Khao Soi recipe in a black bowl with a lime and cripsy noodles.

How to Make Khao Soi! | 30-sec video

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.

more favorites from feasting at home

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Khao Soi recipe in a black bowl.

Khao Soi (Thai Coconut Noodle Soup)

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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

Units Scale
  • 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

  1. 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. 
  2. 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.
  3. 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. 
  4. 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. 
  5. Serve. Divide cooked noodles into the bowls and ladle the hot, flavorful soup over top- this way it is a bit easier to handle.
  6. 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

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Comments

  1. This is so delicious! I don’t live in the city anymore and it’s been years since I had Khao Soi. This recipe is authentic and easy to prepare. I didn’t have crispy noodles so I fried thin strips of tortilla and it was a good replacement. I would give it 10 stars if I could!

    Reply

    1. Awww, thanks, Melissa! And love the improvising with the tortilla strips.

      Reply

  3. This was one of the most delicious soups I have ever made. The broth was incredibly complex and rich is flavor. I made it the day before we had guests for dinner so I believe that the flavors had time to develop overnight. I added additional veggies – diced zucchini, mushrooms, snow peas, etc. to have a more “all-in-one” dinner, Next time I make it I would add the protein shortly before serving so the chicken and shrimp wouldn’t overcook. Also I would use japchae noodles rather than rice noodles as their texture is better for my taste. There was NONE left! My sister made it a week later to RAVE reviews. Thanks for another delicious unusual recipe.

    Reply

    2. Hi Judy
      I went to a Korean restaurant today and had Japchae noodles for the first time ever! They would be great in this recipe!

      Reply

      1. I get them on amazon. If you get them, don’t try to break before cooking or you’ll have little pieces of japchae all overy your kitchen! I use scissors to cut them once they cool.

        Reply

  5. My oh my!!
    I encourage everyone to make this! Easy, flavors are incredible even tho I never had lime leaves! Used thinly sliced chicken breast, zucchini and red peppers.
    A must try.
    A definite keeper!
    Will make winter nights more enjoyable here in Alberta!
    Thank you so much!

    Reply

  6. Super easy recipe and fast to make, we loved it, very nice as comfort food for our rainy days here in Costa Rica. Thanks.

    Reply

  7. Thank you very much for the recipe 🙏
    I will make it again for sure. The only modification that I will make next time is to omit the sambal oelek because it was a little too spicy for us.
    I made the recipe with one bell pepper and one bok choy to have a little more veggies.

    Reply

  8. This is the recipe I make when I want to impress a guest. I’ve been making different variations of curries for years, but this recipe just hits on some kind of magical, chemically perfect combo of flavors that takes the dish to a whole new level.
    Tip: I like to use one tablespoon of massaman curry paste and one tablespoon of red curry paste rather than two red. It gives it additional complexity and takes the heat level down a bit, making it more widely palatable when serving to a group.
    Don’t skip the red onion garnish! It’s to die for. I’ve also used cilantro a few times and like it just as much as Thai basil and better than other basil varieties.

    Reply

    1. Thanks Kristina! Appreciate this and I will have to try with the massaman curry- love that idea!

      Reply

    1. Sorry, I added a link to something similar- kind of like the fried noodles on top of a Chinese chicken salad. You can also fry your own thin vermicelli rice noodles in a wok- they puff up beautifully in hot oil, and drain over paper towels.

      Reply

  11. Made this last night for supper! Absolutely delicious! Lots of interesting flavours running through with a tang of spice (I added birds eye chilliest). Thanks for another great recipe :))

    Reply

  12. I tried this last night. My partner and I both said “Superb!” In NZ at the end of winter capsicums are an arm and leg! Broccoli and julienned carrot were suitable substitutes.
    No rice noodles? Mung bean vermicelli quite fine!
    Thanks, Feasting! A marvellous repast!

    Reply

  13. Sylvia,
    This was super srumptious, a big hit with all. Can’t wait to make it again. Followed exactly but omitted the cardamom and garnishes were beansprouts, chopped peanuts, coriander and lime. Really happy to have another of your great recipes,
    Thanks so much, Annette

    Reply

  14. YUM, we had this for dinner tonight and it was absolutely delicious! I ran out of chili garlic paste so added some sriracha which worked out well. Did add the turmeric & cardamon and shrimp! Perfect – oh, and the basil at the end for serving was a very nice addition as well. Thank You Sylvia, we will definitely have this again and again.

    Reply

  15. Thank you so much for having a “Print” function with choice of font size.
    It is very much appreciated.

    Kindly

    Reply

  17. A perfect soup on a cold spring night–doubled the amount of chicken stock and took liberties with the seasonings/protein based on what I had on hand, but your dish in essence. (One of the things I most love about your recipes is that they are robust enough to allow substitutions and tweakings –surprisingly, this is a rare gift–but maybe it’s just that I trust your palate and I’m not wandering far. )

    Thanks for just what we needed in the face of an April snow.

    Reply

  19. So delicious! It took me significantly more than 5 minutes to prep the ingredients (particularly since I made the crispy tofu) but it was well worth it! I was fortunate to have the shallot, lime leaves, palm sugar, lemongrass, thai basil, thai coconut milk, and sambal olek all on hand — they make such a difference. Loved the pinch of cardamom :).

    Reply

  20. Was really good. I’d use more turmeric next time. Added extra cardamom, and a little anise[would also add more]. Didnt have proper noodles to fry, but there was some rotini from lunch that fried perfectly! Used tempeh and added bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, mushrooms and extra broth. thanks for the recipe, i’ll def use again.

    Reply

  21. Hi- This looks really good and I want to make it. Do you have any substitutions for coconut milk? I understand that it will change the flavour but I don’t want coconut flavour either!

    Thanks!

    Reply

    1. Hi Fredrick- it really “makes” the soup here, I hesitate to suggest anything else to replace it! I guess you could try leaving it out completely and make it more like Tom Yum soup? More hot and sour ?

      Reply

  22. I made the vegan version of this tonight and was actually blown away by how it tasted just like the khao soi I’ve had in restaurants, maybe even better. I didn’t even have enough lemongrass and the ones I’d had were crap, and it was STILL delish. My only complaint was that adding the crispy tofu in at the end made for some really bland tofu and didn’t add anything to the dish. The brocolli and spinach I’d added were delish though. I’d use them again. Maybe next time I will just drop raw tofu chuncks into the soup while it cooks so it can absorb the flavor. Already excited to eat leftovers! PS, who my carnivorous husband who was initially disappointed by the lack of shrimp also loved it.

    Reply

    1. Great to hear Michelle. Try spicing up the tofu a bit (even with just more salt and pepper) before crisping, it will help a lot. 🙂

      Reply

  23. Fantastic recipe, 2nd time making it. I have eaten Khao soi in Northern Thailand and Laos and this is just as good! Thanks

    Reply

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