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Weeknight Thai Chicken Meatball Khao Soi. This northern Thai inspired noodle soup is the simplest weeknight dinner. Made with flavorful Thai curry paste, coconut milk, and plenty of fresh herbs and lime juice. Toss in seared gingery chicken meatballs and plenty of delicious egg noodles, it’s hard to beat the easy Thai inspired soup. It’s the perfect any night of the week dinner that’s made in 30 minutes, hearty, cozy, and healthy too.
Say hello to my personal favorite recipe of the week. This soup is a combination of everything I love most. It’s colorful, hearty, full of so many vegetables, has crispy (flavorful) chicken meatballs, noodles, and truly the most delicious soup broth. If I wasn’t making a million other things every single week I would be making this soup on repeat. It’s one of my favorites…probably should have saved it for a possible future cookbook but I simply had to share.
Sooo, hopefully, that lets you know just how excited I am. I know this soup is different, but I beg you to try it.
The background + inspiration.
First, I want to share the background on Khao Soi, in case you’re unfamiliar with it. It’s a soup from Northern Thailand made with very specific Thai curry paste giving the soup its unique rich flavor. Additionally, it’s made with creamy coconut milk, which makes this more like a curry…but yet it’s still soup. Well actually, it’s somewhere in between the two!
After reading up on Khao Soi, I discovered there are actually a few variations throughout different parts of Thailand. Some parts of the country will use rice noodles, while others use egg noodles. However, the broth remains the same…curry paste and coconut milk. You can read up on the history here, if you’d like.
So the inspiration? Of course, it’s once again my brother, Brendan. He’s traveled to Thailand a few times now and each time he brings me curry paste and noodles. It’s like winning the lottery, I love him so much for it. Praying he and Lyn’s head back soon because my stash is currently gone.
Anyway, this is their favorite soup. I’ve made a couple versions of it now, one you can find in the Half Baked Harvest Super Simple Cookbook. But I think today’s version might just be my favorite…
My point is, I just love the meatballs in this version, they’re such a fun twist.
Here is how you make Thai Khao Soy.
Going to put this right out there before getting into details, this is not an authentic Khao Soi. This is just my take, it’s similar but different.
Moving along, aside from cooking the noodles, this soup is made entirely in one pot. The meatballs are the exact same mix that I used for my ginger sesame meatballs…ground chicken, green onions, garlic, and ginger. Roll this all together, then pan-fry the meatballs in a bit of olive oil to get them nice and crispy on the outside. Toss in some baby bok choy, or other greens of your liking, and sear them until they are crisp. At this point, you’ll remove everything from the pot so that the meatballs and greens don’t overcook or lose their crispness.
Next, you’ll want to sauté the Thai red curry paste for a minute or two before adding in the liquids. This will activate the flavors in the curry paste and give you a richer tasting broth. Now, just add in all the liquid, stir back in the meatballs and bok choy, and simmer everything together for a few minutes. You want the meatballs to cook fully through and the flavors in the soup to meld together.
While that’s happening, boil some egg noodles (or use rice noodles if you are gluten free). By the time the noodles are ready, the soup will be too!
Let’s talk about the toppings.
Because they are the best part! Well, maybe not the best part, but they contribute so much to this soup.
I am not shy with my toppings, I really like to layer them on. Use ingredients you love most, but here are my recommendations…plenty of fresh Thai basil, a generous handful of thinly sliced green onions, some very thinly sliced shallots (bonus points if you fry the shallots in oil first), lots of fresh-squeezed lime juice, and lastly – chili oil…lots and lots of chili oil.
For the chili oil, I simply make up a quick homemade batch, but you can easily use store-bought too. And if you can’t find any Thai basil, regular Italian basil works as well.
And that’s it, simple, so much flavor, quick, easy, extra color, and insanely good!
I really can’t begin to express just how good. If you loved my Thai ramen or my coconut milk braised chicken, I think you’ll also greatly enjoy this. Similar(ish) flavors, but very different dishes.
The broth, the crispy meatballs, the noodles, the toppings…everything all together. It is the BEST. Creamy, hinted with ginger and garlic, a touch spicy, a touch sweet, herby, salty, so perfect. Yeah, I think that pretty much sums this up. So how about a cozy bowl of Khao Soi tonight? You only need thirty minutes.
You can do it!
If you make this Weeknight Thai Chicken Meatball Khao Soi, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Weeknight Thai Chicken Meatball Khao Soi.
Servings: 6
Calories Per Serving: 636 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 green onions, finely, chopped, plus more for serving
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 1 clove garlic, minced or grated
- black pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 baby bok choy or 1 bunch kale, chopped
- 1/4 cup Thai red curry paste
- 2 (14-ounce) cans full-fat coconut milk
- 3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce (or low sodium soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon honey
- 1/4 cup each fresh cilantro and Thai or regular basil, chopped, plus more for serving
- 8 ounces egg or rice noodles
- sliced limes and thinly sliced shallots, for serving
- chili oil, for serving
Instructions
- 1. Add the chicken, green onions, ginger, garlic, and a pinch of pepper to a bowl. Mix until just combined. Coat your hands with a bit of oil, and roll the meat into tablespoon-size balls (will make 15-20 meatballs).2. Heat a large pot over medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil shimmers, add the meatballs and sear until crisp, about 4-5 minutes, turning them 2-3 times. Toss in the bok choy and cook 2 minutes more, until just charred on the edges. Transfer everything to a plate.3. To the same pot, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and the curry paste. Cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk, chicken broth, fish sauce, and honey. Slide the meatballs and bok choy back into the soup. Simmer over medium heat until the meatballs are cooked through, 5-8 minutes. Stir in the herbs. 4. Meanwhile, cook noodles according to package directions.5. Divide the noodles between bowls and ladle the soup over. Top each bowl as desired with basil, green onions, shallots, lime juice, and chili oil.
This post was originally published on January 22, 2020
SO delicious and flavorful! Made a pot this afternoon, added sliced shiitake mushrooms (5 oz package) and used lemon instead of lime. Thank you for this incredibly satisfying soup recipe. The chicken meatballs with the ginger et al – Beyond description delicious.
Thank you so much Kelly! I am so glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was delicious! I made it for a dinner with friends last night and even a couple of people who said they don’t like curry liked this soup.Full disclosure, I used a Cambodian Lemongrass curry for the curry paste (because that’s what I had) and make meatballs out of ground shrimp instead of chicken, but everything else was the same. Thanks, Tieghan! Another winner!
Wow yes! That is so great to hear! Thank you so much for trying this recipe Heather! xTieghan
What would be a good vegetarian substitute
for Chicken meatballs for this recipe?. I love your
version on this Thai dish and so wanting to try it! But I don’t eat chicken.
Hi there!! I would chickpeas in place of the meatballs, that will be delicious! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I just have to say “WOW” on this one! Made it for ladies night last night and it got rave reviews! Phenomenal! Can’t wait for leftovers today!
Hi Christin! I am so happy to hear that you loved this so much! Thank you! xTieghan
What kind of egg noodles am I looking for for this?
Hi Michelle! I like to use more of an Italian variety made with flour, but any egg noodles or noodles you enjoy will do. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Made this tonight. It was amazing!
That is so great to hear! Thank you so much Gopa! xTieghan
My husband and I both loved the unique sauce! I personally adore fish sauce, so besides putting it in the broth, I added Red Boat’s fish salt to the meatballs. ?
I am so glad this turned out so well for the both of you! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Daughter made this last night. It was delicious. Very satisfying on a rainy night. Haven’t tried a recipe yet we haven’t enjoyed.
Awh that is so great! Thank you for trying this! xTieghan
I bought a jar of Tom Yum paste at whole foods yesterday – could I use that? thanks!
Hi Diane, I am sure that will work nicely. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Made this for dinner! Excellent! Loved the savory depth of flavor from the fish sauce. This got even better as it set so I had to have another bowl! Thank you for sharing!
Yes! Thank you for trying this Lorie! I am so glad you enjoyed it! xTieghan
Oh my gosh Tieghan this looks sooooo gooood!!! I think I drooled reading the entire post/recipe and the pictures were so amazing. This really does look so tasty, I have close to everything to make it, just need to pick up a few things for it and I will be on my way to tastiness with this recipe. So much to it and a great bite with every spoonful, and so colorful! Great photos and a great recipe as always, you are amazing at what you do and so very talented!
Haha thank you so much Lou!! I am so glad you are loving this and I hope you try it! xTieghan
This looks amazing! I have green curry paste at home right now…do you think that would work?
Hi Cecilia! Green curry paste will be a little different, but I am sure still delicious. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
I have some leftover ground chicken from another of your recipes, so this should be perfect!
Yes!! I hope you love this recipe Melissa! xTieghan
How necessary is the fish sauce? Not a fan!
Hi Lois! You can use an equal amount of soy sauce instead. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Do I have to add the fish sauce? My hubby hates it. I made one of your other recipes that had fish sauce and even though I thought it was delicious. He did not like it at all.
Hi Kim! You can use soy sauce in place of the fish sauce. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan