Spicy and Smooth Yellow Curry Chicken Noodle Soup

This spicy and smooth curry chicken noodle soup is full of warming flavors of yellow curry, some creamy coconut milk, a smidgen of heat, and vegetables like baby bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, scallions, and chewy egg noodles.

Equipment/Recommended Products

• Stock pot or Dutch oven
• Sharp knife
• Cutting Board
• Large spoon
• Tongs
• Meat Thermometer
• Microplane
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons

Key Ingredients Needed

• 1-2 teaspoon avocado oil, or olive oil
• 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken tenders, Or use chicken breasts and cut them into strips.
• Sea salt and cracked black pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic, smashed and thinly sliced
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemongrass (optional)
• 5 scallions cut into 1-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
• 1 cup sliced shiitake mushrooms
• 1 cup thinly sliced carrots
• 2 bunches of baby bok choy, roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 3 teaspoons yellow curry paste
• 1 teaspoon curry powder
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 8 cups chicken broth, Or use a homemade stock
• 13.5 oz can of coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon fish sauce
• 2 cups egg noodles

Optional Garnishes

• Thinly sliced chile or jalapeño
• Fresh parsley or cilantro
• Crushed toasted peanuts
• Lime wedges

Instructions/Step By Step Directions

Step 1: Heat the avocado oil in a heavy-bottomed stock pot or Dutch oven over medium heat.

Step 2: Hit the chicken tenders with some salt and pepper, and place them into the hot oil. Cook them for about 8 minutes, flipping them over with tongs halfway through, until the chicken is fully cooked and has an internal temperature of 165º F. When ready, transfer the tenders onto a paper towel-lined cutting board or plate and set them aside. If there are browned chicken bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, pour in a splash of chicken broth and deglaze the pot; leave the bits in there, they’ll add flavor!

Step 3: If necessary, drizzle a bit more oil into the pot. Stir in the garlic, ginger, and lemongrass, and let simmer for about 15 seconds or until aromatic.

Step 4: Transfer the chopped bok choy, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and scallions to the pot and stir to coat. Let them cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until they’re tender.

Step 5: Add the curry paste and mix it in well to lightly coat the veggies.

Step 6: Pour the chicken broth into the pot and add the turmeric, curry powder, coconut milk, and fish sauce; give everything a good stir. Make sure that the curry paste has completely dissolved and that the coconut milk is well-mixed into the broth.

Step 7: Bring the soup to a simmer and let it go for about 5 minutes. In the meantime, chop or shred the chicken on a cutting board. (Shred it using two knives.)

Step 8: Add the egg noodles and the chicken to the soup and simmer until the noodles are fully cooked—about 8 minutes.

Step 9: Once the noodles are cooked, it’s ready to eat. Serve the soup garnished with slices of fresh chile or jalapeños, fresh parsley or cilantro, or crushed toasted peanuts. Add a wedge of lime to spritz some fresh lime juice in there, too!

Notes/Tips

• Don’t add more noodles than the recipe calls for! It’ll be tempting, but once the noodles are completely cooked, you’ll see that 2 cups is enough. If you do accidentally add too many noodles and they soak up the broth, simply add more chicken stock.
• Sometimes after the soup sits in the fridge, the noodles inevitably soak up a lot of the broth anyway. So if that happens, add some chicken broth when reheating leftovers on the stovetop.
• Make this a vegetarian-friendly soup by omitting the chicken (you could use tofu instead) and fish sauce, and using vegetable broth.
• You can crank up the heat in this soup by adding Sriracha, or Sambal Oelek to the broth while it simmers.
• Fresh stalks of lemongrass aren’t always easy to find, so you could either omit the lemongrass or get the grated lemongrass in a tube—but freshly grated is way better and will offer optimal flavor.