Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup
Nothing smells better than a steaming bowl of chicken broth infused with spicy ginger, coconut milk, kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce, red curry paste, galangal, lime juice, and topped with fresh cilantro.
This Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup is all about the infused broth.
After visiting a great Thai restaurant in DC over Christmas, I’ve been wanting to make a Thai-inspired soup. This is what I came up with.
This recipe is a very, very loose interpretation of the traditional soup, Tom Ka Gai. I cannot stress the word loose and roughly inspired enough. This is not traditional by any means.
Since this soup doesn’t include all that many ingredients, I strongly urge you not to substitute or leave out any of the ingredients.
Fresh kaffir lime leaves and dried (or even better, fresh!) galangal, an Asian aromatic root similar to ginger, can be found at Asian supermarkets and some Whole Foods locations.
Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 2 quarts low-sodium chicken broth
- 4 ounces dried soba noodles
- 2 inch chunk fresh ginger peeled and roughly chopped
- 5 fresh kaffir lime leaves torn
- 2 teaspoons dried galangal root
- 1½ teaspoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
- 1⅓ cups (320 mL) light canned coconut milk
- 1 (8 oz) large boneless chicken breast cut into ½-inch pieces
- fresh lime wedges
- cilantro leaves for garnish
Instructions
- Add chicken stock to large soup pot, bring to a boil and reduce by half. Meanwhile, bring a separate large pot of water to a boil. Season generously with salt. Add the soba noodles and cook until al dente (just firm to bite). Drain and rinse noodles under cold water. Allow to drain and set aside in a bowl.
- Add the ginger, kaffir lime leaves, and galangal to the reduced broth and reduce heat to very low simmer. Simmer broth for 15 minutes then strain broth into another large soup pot (or alternatively, combine these ingredients in a cheesecloth sachet and tie). Return strained broth to heat and season to taste.
- Whisk in the red curry paste, fish sauce, cayenne pepper, and coconut milk. Place over low heat (not simmering, but very hot) and add the chicken, stirring occasionally, until it is almost cooked. Add the cooked soba noodles and cook just until the chicken is tender.
- Stir in the juice of half a lime. Serve soup piping hot, garnished with cilantro, along with lime wedges for squeezing.
Tips for Success:
- Kaffir lime leaves and dried (or fresh) galangal can be found at Asian supermarkets and some Whole Foods locations.
35 Comments on “Thai Coconut Chicken Noodle Soup”
I’m confused: at what point did you add the chicken? To the broth at the beginning? To the coconut milk?
When you say ” Place over low heat (not simmering, but very hot) and add the coconut” to the coconut milk, I wonder if you meant chicken?
Thanks!
Yes! It should be ‘chicken’ not coconut for that step. So sorry for the confusion. Thank you so much for pointing that out – I’ve fixed that and added further clarification! Hope you like it.
This is a fantastic recipe! I just made it for the first time and used leftover grilled chicken from last night’s dinner. I didn’t use the full amount and added some thinly sliced yellow & red bell peppers, shiitake mushrooms and cherry tomatoes (halved). I also used somen noodles which worked well!
Can’t wait to try it again and add some thinly sliced jalapeño!