Khao soi is a rich and comforting Northern Thailand coconut curry chicken noodle soup that is everything.
We crushed this bowl: just the right amount of spicy and creamy and full of the good stuff. The chicken is tender and hearty, the noodles chewy, the lime so bright and fresh.
Ever since I bought a little package of Thai red curry paste, I’ve been red currying all the things. I’ve done red curry potatoes, red curry chickpeas, and even red curry dipping sauce for fries. I’m surprised that Mike and I aren’t red from all the red curry paste we’ve been eating. I can’t get over how good it is. And really, it’s so much easier opening a package than getting out a mortar and pestle to make curry paste from scratch.
Thai red curry paste is the secret to how flavorful and rich this soup is while still somehow being done in 15 minutes whether you cook it on the stovetop or in an instant pot. One taste and I bet this will be a new weeknight staple. It’s that addictive.
While the egg ribbons and crunchy bits are completely optional, they add a lot of textural and taste contrast too. Maybe if you’re looking to do something new, give egg ribbons a try if you haven’t. They’re really simple but so satisfying.
What is khao soi?
Khao soi is a rich and comforting Northern Thailand coconut curry noodle soup. It’s also popular in neighboring countries Myanmar and Laos. The coconut curry soup base is creamy and packed with umami thanks to red curry paste, ginger, garlic, and fish sauce. Khao soi usually has chicken in it, but it can be found with beef as well.
How to make khao soi
- Fry the aromatics and curry paste. In a medium sized pot, add a little bit of oil. When the oil is hot, add the ginger and garlic and fry, stirring occasionally. When soft, add the curry paste and fry over medium high heat, stirring, until the oils start to separate.
- Add the stock and coconut milk. Stir in the chicken stock, coconut milk, and chicken.
- Simmer. Bring everything to a simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken breast is cooked through.
- Cook the noodles. While the soup is simmering, cook the egg noodles and drain well.
- Season. Taste the soup and season with fish sauce and a touch of sugar.
- Assemble. When the chicken is done, remove from the soup and shred. Add the chicken to the bowls with the noodles and top with the soup. Finish off with lime and cilantro and enjoy!
What is red curry paste?
Red curry paste is a seasoning paste made from dried chili, garlic, lemongrass, shallots, galangal, makrut lime, coriander, and cumin. It’s the base of many Thai dishes. You can make it at home by soaking the dried chilis then pounding everything together. Or, you can buy a tub of it from the grocery store. Red curry paste is incredibly flavorful and a super helpful back pocket ingredient that can level up your cooking game.
I love Aroy-D Thai red curry paste – it has a pretty simple ingredients list: chilis, garlic, lemongrass, shallots, salt, galangal, makrut lime, coriander, and cumin. Pretty much like what I would put into a curry paste if I were to be making it myself. Also incredibly popular is Mae Ploy brand.
Best noodles to use
Traditionally khao soi is made with fresh chewy Chinese egg noodles. You can find these egg noodles in the refrigerated aisle in the Asian grocery store. You can also use: chow mein noodles, dry egg noodles, instant ramen noodles, fresh ramen noodles, or even just spaghetti if that’s what you have.
Can I make khao soi without noodles?
You can totally make this without noodles. Technically it won’t be khao soi, but it will still be a very tasty coconut curry chicken soup. Add some root vegetables, leafy greens, or tofu to bulk it up and if you’re doing keto, use shirataki noodles for a keto khao soi.
Can I cook the noodles in the soup?
Please don’t cook the noodles in the soup! Fresh egg noodles need to be cooked in a large amount of roiling boiling water to properly cook. If you’ve ever had slimy, soggy noodles, it’s probably because someone cooked them in soup. Egg noodles release a lot of starch into the water they’re cooking in so it will change the soup texture and flavor.
Instant pot khao soi
Instant pot khao soi isn’t actually much faster (if it is at all) but if you want the easy cleanup and no smells feature of the instant pot:
- Add chicken stock, coconut milk, red curry paste, garlic, ginger, and chicken to the insert.
- Set the pressure to high and cook for 5 minutes.
- Cook and drain the egg noodles while the Instant Pot is doing its magic. Divide the noodles into deep bowls.
- Quick release when the Instant Pot is done, remove the chicken, and shred it. Divide the chicken between the bowls.
- Season the soup with fish sauce and sugar
- Assemble. Ladle the soup on top of the noodles and chicken. Top with lime wedges and cilantro, and enjoy!
Extra toppings for khao soi
The best part of khao soi are the extra toppings. So if you want a vibe, be sure to include these on the side to top your bowl:
- Crispy noodles. The best part! Crunchy, crispy, nutty, rich deep fried egg noodles. This is pretty simple, just heat up a bit of oil in small pot and deep fry over medium heat until the egg noodles are crispy and brown. Drain on paper towels. You can also cut up some wonton wrappers and fry those too.
- Sliced shallots. Sharp and sweet raw spicy heat.
- Lime wedges & cilantro. A squeeze of tart acidity rounds out the flavors whlie the chopped cilantro adds freshness.
- Egg ribbons. These aren’t traditional, but I like making egg ribbons to swirl into the noodles.
- Extra chili paste. Have a little dish of prik pao (Thai chili sauce) so you can add some extra spice if needed
Dishes to serve with khao soi
Khao soi is hearty enough to be eaten on its own but what is life without variety? Here are a few dishes to serve alongside your khao soi;
- Thai Sticky Rice to soak up that extra soup
- Spring Rolls for some crunch
- Larb Moo Thai Pork Salad as a “side salad”
Steph
Khao Soi
Ingredients
Khao Soi
- 2 cups chicken broth no sodium preferred
- 14 oz coconut milk 1 can
- 1-2 tbsp Thai red curry paste
- 1/2 inch ginger thinly sliced
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 large chicken breast or 2 small ones
- 1 tbsp fish sauce or to taste
- 1 tbsp sugar or to taste, brown sugar preferred
- 2 portions egg noodles or ramen noodles
Optional Toppings
- 1/2 shallot sliced
- 2 lime wedges
- 1/4 cup cilantro chopped
- 1 batch egg ribbons
- 1/2 cup crispy wonton strips
Special Equipment
Instructions
- In the Instant Pot insert, add the chicken stock, coconut milk, red curry paste, garlic, ginger, and chicken breast. Cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
- While the Instant Pot is doing it’s thing, slice the shallots, cut the lime, and wash the cilantro. If you’re using any extra toppings, prep them now. Cook and drain your noodles and divide them between two deep bowls.
- When the Instant Pot is done, quick release the pressure. Carefully remove the chicken and shred. Add the chicken to the bowls with the noodles.
- Stir the fish sauce and brown sugar into the soup. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning with fish sauce, sugar, and curry paste if needed, then divide evenly between the two bowls. Finish with lime and cilantro and enjoy!
This is pretty similar to the red curry ramen posted a few weeks back, right?
hi kyle,
absolutely, but without the sesame paste, mushrooms and peppers :)
This looks really good! I love all things red curry and this fits my need for weeknight instant pot dinners that are boyfriend approved as well. Thanks!
hope you get to give it a try odessa! :)
I love all these flavors, and of course noodles are always good ;). Can’t wait to try on a cold night!
:) these guys are perfect for a cold night!
I’m new to your blog and everything looks really delicious. I wanted to ask, if I were to double the recipe how would that effect cook time?
hi krysty,
you don’t need to change the cooking time if you’re using an instant pot. if you’re doing it on the stove, it might need a bit more time, add an extra 5 minutes and start checking from there :)
This is no Khao Doing, because the curry paste we use is totally different. However, it is a good try.
Can you substitute chicken thighs for the breast? How would the cooking time change?
hi mel,
you can use chicken thighs. in the instant pot, the time won’t change, for the stove, you might want to add a couple of minutes :)
That was super tasty and easy. I used shrimp instead of chicken and added some mung bean sprouts for the crunch. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
yay! shrimp was a good choice. imagine chicken and shrimp together?! so good :)
Egg ribbons?
Never mind, I googled it….should’ve tried that first!
Please do a tutorial for egg ribbons. I googled and the first hit is a person with a really strong desire to know how to make them, its the best read.
i’ll do it this month for sure :)
hi anna, here’s a tutorial!
This was very tasty! I doubled everything else, but just used one can of coconut milk, so my broth was probably a little thinner. My family loved this. This is the fourth ramen soup recipe I’ve tried in the Instant Pot, and it was unanimously voted the winner. Thanks for a great recipe!
yay so happy your family loved it! warms my heart :)
This is probably the tastiest thing I’ve made in my Instant Pot! I used chicken thighs instead and it came out AMAZING! Do you have recommendations on what wonton strips to buy? Had to skip this topping since I didn’t have time to go to the Asian market. Thanks for posting this awesome recipe!
hi vy,
yay!! chicken thighs are the best! it’s so funny, if i make stuff with breasts, people want to use thighs; if i use thighs, people always ask about breasts LOL
as for wonton strips, i just deep fried wonton skins in a tiny bit of oil. any brand of wonton skins will do. if you want to go with a store bought crunchy, you can go with some of those deep fried noodles they sell too :)
Nowadays American supermarkets may have a small section near the fresh veggies that you can find wonton skins, tofu, dairy free cheeses and stuff like that.
Just made this, subbing in thighs because deliciousness. It was excellent, even my relatively picky 2 year old destroyed her share and was drinking the leftover broth from her bowl!
hey matt!
so awesome that you guys liked it. so cute that your daughter finished off the broth too! :)
This looks delicious. If I wanted to double up the recipe do I cook for 10min and double the recipe?
hi gardenia,
yes, you can definitely!
Hey, thanks for the recipe..I don’t use an instant pot so just wonder how long to cook on the stove.
hi! the stove instructions are at the bottom of the recipe in italics :)
What brand of ramen noodles do you use in this?
they’re sun noodles :)
If I am not a fan of chicken can I sub tofu or shrimp? Or will it not be as flavourful?
hi priya,
you can totally sub tofu or shrimp. you won’t have to cook them as long though, so after simmering everything together to meld the flavors, just add them at the last minute or so.
This was delicious! I added some Chinese broccoli to the broth and sautéed it in the instapot for 5 min at the end and used all your suggested toppings except sub scallions for thinly sliced green onion. Def a hit!
I am using youre recipe to hopefully fix the base soup i used from a dofferent recipe.. currently it looks/taste a little thin, red, and acidic, unlike a savory sweet creamy like at the restaurant. Would doubling the coconut milk make it extra creamy and a bit sweeter? I feel like i cant get it to taste quite right and maybe that is because of the red curry paste i used- all i had was “thai kitchen red curry paste”-from a general grocery store. Its not tasting very close to khao soi, comparing to all the times i have had it >.<
hi, adding coconut milk will definitely make it extra creamy and and a bit sweeter. if you only have thai kitchen curry paste you can try frying it up with some extra minced garlic and ginger to add a boost of flavor!
Hi! this looks delish but I have a quick question. Could you substitute a red meat for the chicken? I was thinking something like brisket or stew meat so it would pull apart the same in the instapot? is that totally unrealistic?
you can totally use beef, you would probably want to add extra time so the beef pulls apart :)
Add me to the list of people singing the praises of this soup. I actually had poached chicken and homemade both already, so I just made this stovetop, simmering for about 10 minutes to meld the flavors. I thought I had made enough for leftovers, but everyone went back for seconds, it was that good. Thanks for a great recipe!
This sounds amazing! I searched for the stovetop instructions but had no luck. Could you please send them to me?
hi, they instructions are under “how to make khao soi” :)
Fry the aromatics and curry paste. In a medium sized pot, add a little bit of oil. When the oil is hot, add the ginger and garlic and fry, stirring occasionally. When soft, add the curry paste and fry over medium high heat, stirring, until the oils start to separate.
Add the stock and coconut milk. Stir in the chicken stock, coconut milk, and chicken.
Simmer. Bring everything to a simmer over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until the chicken breast is cooked through.
Cook the noodles. While the soup is simmering, cook the egg noodles and drain well.
Season. Taste the soup and season with fish sauce and a touch of sugar.
Assemble. When the chicken is done, remove from the soup and shred. Add the chicken to the bowls with the noodles and top with the soup. Finish off with lime and cilantro and enjoy!
I never comment on these but I made this (minus the pressure cooker, just took a loooong time) the other day and it was insanely good. Made it for one of the artists I manage who just finished up work on an album and he was blown away 12/10
I have lived most of the past 10 years in Chiang Mai, Thailand, where this dish originated. When I am in the States, it is hard for me to find the ingredients for khao soi. This makes it much easier for me, and it is not far off from what I get in Thailand. However, the photo shows it being served with chopped sticks. The Thai people do not use chopsticks. They use spoons and forks. No problem, it is good any way you eat it. LOL.
The name is confused for me, because I thought it was ramen when I saw the picture, but this I think this recipe is very delicious for me, I love some soups, and I like so much some Asian food, in this case the Thaifood.
I like coconut, and I didn’t think to put it in my soup, but I need to try it.
I think is better with fish than chiken or beef, but I don’t want to chance or disrespect the cultural recipe.
I need prove this umami.
Thank you so much for this recipe, I will make this recipe and inform you about it.
How is there so much fat in it?? Is there a way to cut the fat down?
it’s the coconut milk, you can use reduced fat or even just change the amount of coconut milk – it just won’t be as rich and creamy.
I made this last night and was really happy with how it turned out. Very approachable recipe and ingredients. Followed the recipe pretty much as-is, only omitting the crispy noodles because I didn’t have any to spare. My fiancée said this dish was better than when we order it for takeout.
When I make this again, I plan to incorporate some broccoli to make it more hearty and a cornstarch slurry to get a more gravy-like consistency for the soup.
I love all your recipes! How would I substitute the chicken with tofu here?
i would do it just on the stove, no instant pot. use a brick of firm tofu, cut into 1 inch x 2 inch rectangles and simmer it in the broth. if you have access too tofu puffs or fried tofu, those are amazing too!