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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
I made this last night and absolutely love it! So flavorful!
Some of my meatballs fell apart but I didn’t really care at all because it was so delicious.
Thank you Katie! I am so glad this recipe turend out so well for you! xTieghan
I made this yesterday with the boy choy. Absolutely delicious and so easy to make!!
Will make this again for sure! Thank you for the recipe
Thank you for trying this Terri! I am really glad it turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was a winner! I made a few changes based on preference and what I had on hand. I used ground pork (can’t handle the texture of ground poultry) and a 5oz box of “Super Greens” in place of the Bok Choy. We didn’t have basil but didn’t miss it and I used traditional linguini since we were out of rice noodles. It was so delicious and easy. Hands on time was less than 15 mins. This is going into the monthly rotation for sure.
Yes! So happy to hear that Sarah! Thank you! xTieghan
Just made this, and was it ever delicious! Instead of meatballs (because I had two screaming kids), I browned the meat in the pan with the scallions, ginger and garlic. I didn’t have fish sauce on hand and used half soy and half rice wine vinegar to still get the brightness. I definitely want to try it with the fish sauce though! Thanks again!!!
Thank you so much for trying this Lauren! So glad it turned out so well! xTieghan
This meal was AMAZING. Perfect comfort food after a very hard week, Can’t wait to make again.
Thank you so much Tiffany!! I am so glad you tried this and loved this!! xTieghan
I made this last night and served it with rice noodles. It was very delicious as written!! There were 2 meatballs leftover with plenty of broth/sauce so I added cubed pieces of tofu for the two of us to eat tonight. The tofu was a perfect match with the broth/sauce. Thanks for the flavorful recipe.
So happy to hear that Melissa! Thank you for trying this! xTieghan
Loved loved loved it. It’s not too too many ingredients and the taste is fabulous. I will definitely make it again
Thank you Kay! xTieghan
Absolutely loved this. Husband demands this goes into the dinner rotation! Made it with veggie meatballs.
Amazing! Thank you so much Laura! xTieghan
I just made this last night and it is fantastic! The recipe is easy and the flavors together are amazing. We did not use the chili oil as suggested as we found the red curry paste was hot enough. I did sauté the shallots too. Can’t wait to eat the leftovers!
Thats when you know its good haha! Thank you so much for trying this Pam! xTieghan
What a great soup! Nice and light, but still so flavourful! Really easy to make too. Thank you!
Thank you so much Kristen! xTieghan
I’m really interested in how to prepare the meatballs by themselves without the soup/broth. Do you have any recommendations? I do plan to make the full recipe soon, but I’m in need of a different meatball recipe as I’m getting bored with my go-to.
Hi Kyle! Just cook the meatballs as directed, but cook them for 5-8 additional minutes, turning them throughout cooking, to ensure they are cooked through before you remove them from the pan. Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
LOVED it. the meatballs were so good. It was nice addition to my normal ramen rotation
So glad this turned out so well for you! Thank you Lauren! xTieghan
We’ve just finished a bog portion of this wonderful soup with my husband and we LOVED it!! And I couldn’t get kale in the grocery shop so it was without it, yet it was fantastic. Next time with kale and next time with a photo on Instagram 😉 Thanks a lot for this recipe, Tieghan! ?
Hi Kata! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! Thank you so much! xTieghan
We enjoyed this yummy dish for dinner this evening. It was easy to put together and not too spicy for the kids. Thank you!
Thank you Alissa! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
Meatballs
Had tons of flavor but I increased amounts of ginger, garlic, green onion and added lemon grass. Didn’t have the pop I thought it would have. Hubby thought bland needed more flavor and I was afraid it would be too spicy for him. I added chili oil to increase heat.
Hi Renee! I hope you liked it with the chili oil! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan