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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
This is amazing but I can never get the meatballs to hold up their shape! any advice?
Hey Stephanie,
Try using a cookie scoop to form the meatballs, I find this helps! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Hi!
Can you use low-fat coconut milk to cut the calories? Or will this not work
Hey Elizabeth,
Low fat coconut milk would be okay to use. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I made this and it was DELICIOUS!!! Highly recommend. I love Half Baked Harvest recipes.
Aw I am so glad you have been loving this and others of mine! Thank you Olivia! xTieghan
Just made this tonight. It was delicious! My family loved it. Didn’t change a thing. Thanks
Love that! Thank you so much Tricia! xTieghan
This is my second time making this. It is so delicious the perfect dinner for any night of the week. The only thing I do differently is add both bok Choy and kale because I love them both!
Love that!! I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Alexandra! xTieghan
I made this for my family and I’m so obsessed!!! My new favorite thing to cook for sure ??
Aw so amazing! Thank you for trying this one, Isabella! xTieghan
I subbed beef mince instead of chicken, and green curry sauce instead of red, just because that’s what we had on hand. Can confirm this combination is also delicious!
Thank you so much Emma! xTieghan
Forgot to ask this question. Is there any reason I should not just put the rice noodles directly into the soup rather than dirty another pot just to soak them? Thanks.
Hi Mary,
Keeping the noodles in the soup will make them mushy, you also need to cook your noodles according to package directions. I like to keep the noodles separate from the soup and spoon the soup over the noodles. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Just made this for lunch ad it’s a definite repeat recipe. Next time I might try chicken thighs or pork shoulder. I loved the meatballs but prefer more evenly distributed protein. I will also use the Pad Thai noodles and not the birds nest. I didn’t have chili oil but it definitely benefited from some Siracha. I’ve already sent this to several family members who will love this too!
Thank you so much Mary!! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! xTieghan
I made this a couple days ago. It is DELICIOUS! I didn’t have chicken so I skipped the meatballs and added what I had, a big hunk of baked cod broken up. Still adding the ginger and garlic to the soup when I cooked the bok choy and zucchini. My husband liked it too. The only thing he doesn’t like is coconut so I was concerned he might taste the slight hint of coconut, but he devoured two bowls of it. It was such a nice meal to take to work for my lunch.
Thank you so much for trying this Joan!! I am really glad it turned out so well for you!! xTieghan
OMG this recipe is life changing. I’ve introduced so many to it because it is incredible. The flavor is outstanding and I can’t wrap my head around how easy it is but also how flavorful and satisfying it is.
Thank you so much! I am so glad this turned out so well for you! I hope you continue to love all of the recipes you try of mine! xTieghan
I loved this recipe and am making it again!
Love that!! Thank you Laura! xTieghan
Hey 🙂
Planning on making this for dinner one night this week, ideally using as many ingredients as I already have in the pantry. Could maple syrup substitute for the honey, or do you have any other recommendations?
Thanks!
Hi Emily,
Yes maple syrup would be okay to use or agave would be great too. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
One of my fave new recipes! I have made this 3x already but had to add a little Panko to hold the meatballs together, otherwise they fall apart while cooking.
Thank you so much Marianne! xTieghan
Hi, I’m about to make this dish, it looks exactly what my family loves. Can I substitute spinach for Kale/Bok Choy or any other veggies? Thanks
Hi Sunita,
Yes that would totally work! I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan