Thai Red Curry Chicken Noodle Soup
I’ve been making this a lot lately as the weather has suddenly cooled and now we are into fall. I have to say that I prefer milder weather than the heat of summer. With cooler weather, I really enjoy making soups and stews.I especially love curry flavoured soups. My favourite is, of course, Malaysian laksa but this Thai red curry chicken noodle soup definitely rivals it. If you have leftover cooked chicken, simply make the soup and add the cooked chicken when ready to serve. Dinner will be ready even quicker!Thai red curry has enough heat and spiciness that is not too much for me. The red comes from the red chilis but the spiciness doesn’t overwhelm the other flavours. However, every brand of curry paste is different. Some are more intense than others, so depending on the brand you buy, you will have to adjust the amount of paste, fish sauce and sugar. The one I use, Aroy-D, is pretty intense in flavour. This recipe is based on that and my preferred spiciness level. I have tried more mellow pastes and I end up having to use more. You’ll have to experiment and adjust according to your own tastes and preferences.
Servings: 4 servings
Ingredients
- 1 pound small or medium rice stick noodles
- 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs or chicken breast cut into 1½ inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil
- 2-4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 can (400ml/13.5 oz) coconut milk, divided
- 6 kaffir lime leaves (optional) ripped
- 2 tomatoes cut into eighths
- 4 ounces bean sprouts
- ½ cucumber julienne
- 2 tablespoons cilantro chopped
Instructions
- In a large bowl, soak noodles in room temperature water for 30 minutes for small or 60 minutes for medium noodles.
- Bring a large pot of water to boil to blanch noodles just before serving.
- In a dutch oven on medium heat, add oil, curry paste, sugar and ¼ cup coconut milk and stir. Cook until most of the moisture has evaporated and the paste is frying in the oil.
- Add chicken and cook until pieces are separated. Then add chicken broth and lime leaves. Bring to a simmer and let it simmer for 3-5 minutes until chicken is completely cooked through.
- Stir in remaining coconut milk and heat through. Taste the curry, to see if it needs more fish sauce or sugar. Adjust to taste.
- Turn down the heat, add tomatoes and cook for another minute.
- Blanch noodles 5 seconds for small or 8-10 seconds for medium and place noodles in individual serving bowls. Ladle soup over the noodles.
- Garnish with cucumbers, bean sprouts and cilantro.