Thai Chicken Soup

This easy Thai Chicken Soup is made with tender chicken and rice noodles in a flavorful coconut milk broth with red curry, fresh ginger, and lime. It's creamy, cozy, and packed with restaurant-quality flavor.

Prep Time20

Cook Time35

Total Time55

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American, Thai

Servings: people

Calories: 476kcal

Author: Stephanie

Ingredients

Chicken

1 ¼ lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts see notes
Salt/pepper
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons avocado oil can sub olive oil

Soup

1 tablespoon butter
1 small yellow onion diced
1 cup carrots julienned
1 red bell pepper sliced into thin strips
4 cloves garlic minced
2 teaspoons fresh ginger minced
2 tablespoons red curry paste see notes
5 cups chicken broth
13.5 oz. unsweetened full-fat coconut milk
2 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon sriracha
4 oz. rice noodles
3 cups bok choy roughly chopped
½ chicken bouillon cube to taste at the end if desired
½ teaspoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice plus more to taste
2 tablespoons cilantro roughly chopped

For Finishing

3 green onions sliced
Optional: Lime wedges & roughly chopped peanuts

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Place saran wrap over the chicken and tenderize each side with a meat mallet. Pat the chicken dry and season each side with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Rub each side with a little oil, then heat the remaining oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and sear for 3-4 minutes per side, until a golden crust has developed. (It’s okay if it’s not cooked all the way through yet, it will finish cooking in later steps. Don’t dice/shred yet.)
Melt the butter in the same pot over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook for 5 minutes. Add the sliced bell peppers and cook for 3-4 minutes, until slightly softened.
Add the garlic, ginger, and red curry paste and cook for 1 minute. Add a splash of broth and use a silicone spatula to ‘clean’ the bottom and sides of the pot, which will add more flavor to the broth. Stir in the remaining broth along with the coconut milk, peanut butter, soy sauce, honey, and sriracha. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce to a simmer.
Add the chicken breasts back along with any juices from the plate. Cover partially and simmer gently until the chicken is cooked through, about 10-15 minutes. (Don’t let it boil or the chicken will become tough.)
While the soup simmers, boil the rice noodles in a separate pot according to package instructions. Drain once cooked and transfer to serving bowls.
Remove the chicken, dice/shred it, then add it back to the soup.
Taste the broth. If a slightly more savory flavor is desired, stir in ½ chicken bouillon cube. (I always do!) Add additional sriracha or hot sauce if more heat is desired as well.
Stir in the chopped Bok choy and simmer for 2 minutes, or until tender. Remove from heat and stir in the sesame oil, lime juice, and cilantro.
Ladle the soup into serving bowls and garnish with green onions, lime wedges, and roughly chopped peanuts if desired. Serve!

Notes

Pro Tips:

Heat Level: As written, this soup isn’t very spicy. (My 10 year old gives it a 1 out of 10 for heat.) Feel free to take the heat up a notch by adding more sriracha, some cayenne, or using a spicier red curry paste.
Red Curry Paste: I use Thai Kitchen brand, it adds a lot of restaurant-quality flavor to the soup and can typically be found in the Asian/international aisle at the grocery store. Note that different brands have different levels of heat, Thai Kitchen is generally a more mild variety. If you’re unable to use it, there isn’t a direct substitute, but you can omit it and increase the garlic and ginger to taste, along with a little extra sriracha for heat. A pinch of ground coriander and/or cumin can also be added for more depth of flavor.
Chicken: Bone-in chicken breast or chicken thighs will add the most flavor to the broth, boneless also works well and is usually what I have on hand. 2½ to 3 cups of leftover/rotisserie chicken can be used instead if needed, add it when the chicken is added back to the soup at the end.
Noodles: Rice noodles are my preferred choice for this soup, but ramen noodles or thin egg noodles can also be used. Be sure to cook the noodles separately and add them directly to serving bowls. This ensures that they don't absorb the broth and helps them maintain their texture without becoming overly soft.
Bok Choy: Regular or baby bok choy can be used. Chop the leafy green portions and the white stalks into bite-sized pieces.

Storage:

Store in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. This soup freezes and reheats well!
Store the noodles separately from the soup to prevent them from absorbing all of the broth and becoming overly soft.

Nutritional information is an estimate and is per serving. There are 6 servings in this recipe.

Nutrition