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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.
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.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Loved this quick weeknight meal! Amazing flavors and textures. The only change I made was the addition of mushrooms to soak up the wonderful broth. Delish!
Hey Kathryn,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
My meatballs sadly fell apart, so it was more of a crumble situation so I added cubes of soft tofu and shitake mushrooms to help give it some texture, and I loved how it turned out. Nice, easy recipe otherwise!
Hey Erica,
So sorry to hear about the meatballs, thanks for giving the recipe a try! Happy New Year! xTieghan
Made this as written except I added chopped lemongrass, salt, and diced jalapeno to the meatballs, and added yellow curry powder, some tumeric, and shrimp paste to the broth (as recommended by other khao soi recipes I found online). I think these additions really made a difference. My meatballs also fell apart when browning, even after adding an egg and some breadcrumbs. Lime juice at the end is key! Overall, totally delicious recipe.
Hey there,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad it worked out for you! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Creamy deliciousness! First time making and will certainly be adding to the recipe box! Thank you for warming our tummies!
Hey Kelly,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you enjoyed! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Any good subs for coconut milk? There’s a coconut allergy in my family.
Hey Claire,
You can use another milk that your family enjoys. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
I made this tonight and my whole family (husband and three teens) absolutely raved about it! My kids ate it over rice and my husband and I ate it with egg noodles. I didn’t have bok choy, so I subbed some grated carrot and it came out great. Ground turkey worked well in place of the chicken (can you tell I didn’t want to go to the grocery store?!) I’m looking forward to making it again.
Hey Kiki,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, I am so glad you and your family enjoyed the soup! Happy Holidays! xTieghan
The flavor was outstanding. I added shitake mushrooms because everything is better with mushrooms. Loved the crunchiness of the kale. My only complaint was my meatballs were quite bland. I guess it was okay bc the rest of the bowl was jam packed with flavor. Any tips for ramping up the flavor of the chicken?
Hey Margo,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe, I am sorry you found the meatballs to be bland. Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? You can always add more spice to your liking. Please let me know if you have any other questions. Happy Holidays! xTieghan
Just made this tonight and oh my word!! Flavour explosion!! Yuuum!! Thank you for posting!!
Thank you Shell! I am really glad this recipe turned out so well for you! xTieghan
This was so easy and so yummy! I read the recipe wrong and only bought one can of coconut milk. It still came out great! I am so happy I found your recipes. I really enjoy making a new recipe every week during this coronavirus.
Hi Michelle! I am really happy you found my recipes too! I hope you continue to enjoy them! xTieghan
This was delicious, I wouldn’t change a thing! Since we have gone back into lockdown in PDX, this will be my new comfort food.
Thank you Shannon! I am really happy to hear that! xTieghan
Made this last night per recipe instructions, and it was a huge hit. I made it again tonight with some improvisations (I didn’t have any ground chicken for meatballs so I subbed tofu) because it was so good, and I still had most of the I gradients! This is such an amazing recipe!
Thank you so much Claire! I am really glad you enjoyed this one! xTieghan
Husband said one of the top ten meals I ever made for him! Did half bokchoy and half kale. Also added some shiitake mushrooms. Delicious!!
Thank you so much Kat! xTieghan
This soup is delicious! I would just say something is not quite right with the meatballs. They need some kind of binding agent bc they were falling apart
Hi Amanda! I am really glad you enjoyed this soup. Is there anything that did not get added to the meatballs? I would love to help! xTieghan
Pretty good recipe! My only advice would be to double the garlic and ginger and to add salt to meatballs and in general recipe (much needed and enhances the flavor of the dish!) Added some Panko to meatballs and they held up better. Definitely add lime at the end!
Thank you so much Melanie! I am really happy you enjoyed this! xTieghan
I make this all the time. My friends all rave about it and always ask me to make it. SO GOOD!
Thank you so much Mickaela!! xTieghan