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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.
Can’t wait to try this Tieghan! Do you know if it’s ok to use those rice noodles called “rice sticks” in this recipe or should I use a wider noodle? Thanks!
Hey Kathryn,
I really think any noodle you like will work well here. I hope you love the recipe, let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
This was so delicious !!! I will definitely make this again
Hey Roseann,
Thank you so much for giving the recipe a go! I am thrilled it was enjoyed. xTieghan
Hi, am I supposed to chop up the baby bin choy? Or was just for the kale?
Hey Sabeen,
You can chop the boy chop or keep it whole:) I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
made it with my kitchen leftovers, perfect toss it all in sort of soup. we had beef & regular onions so made meatballs out of that. threw in our extra vegetables from the week and made this perfectly saucy dinner for snowstorm weather. thanks for the base tieghan!
Hey Shelby,
Thanks so much for making the recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Thanks! xTieghan
The link for the curry paste doesn’t seem to be working. What brand do you recommend? I always have a hard time finding one that tastes authentic and not overly salty (cough cough, Thai Kitchen).
Hey Ally,
I like Thai Kitchen curry paste or I get mine from Thrive Market. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Amazing!! I love the honey in the curry. It really makes everything pop! Great recipe 🙂
Hey Alyssa,
I am so glad that you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for making it! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Sooo good! It did take around 30 minutes to make. Made SO much food and it was delicious. My family loved it. So excited to eat the leftovers asap. Thank you!!!
Hey Patti,
I am delighted you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
So easy and quick to make I loved it can’t wait to make it again
Hey Justine,
I am delighted you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
I made this last week with some baby bok choy-it was delicious, and very easy. This is definitely going in the regular dinner rotation, especially because most of the ingredients (except for fresh herbs and vegetables) are things that are easy to keep on hand.
Hey Suzanne,
I am delighted you enjoyed the recipe, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
Thanks for the recipe, my boyfriend cooked it today and we are both in awe, the taste is wonderful
Hey Aurelia,
Thanks so much for making the recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great week! xTieghan
Just made this tonight and it was fantastic! We are a family of 4 and everyone loved it!
Hey Jennifer,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Made this recipe last night for dinner and it was great! I doubled the amount of garlic and ginger in the meatball mixture for a bit of extra flavor, and am glad that I did. The tip of using oil on my hands before rolling the meatballs worked perfectly to limit the build up of the mixture on my hands; I will remember this! I substituted the fish sauce with coconut aminos and used green curry paste instead of red since that is what I had on hand. I also used rice noodles instead of egg noodles because of an allergy. I will certainly make this recipe again, but will try adding more greens or other vegetables into the broth. Leftovers for lunch were even better than the meal hot off of the stove! Thank you for a delightful recipe!
Hey Meagan,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe, I am so glad it was enjoyed! Have a great weekend:) xTieghan
Omg – that’s all I can say.
I’ve never been so excited for leftovers in my life!!
This went immediately into my “best recipes” folder.
Don’t skip the lime at the end. This is a flavor explosion according to my BF and that’s the highest compliment ever!
This will go in the rotation for sure!! Yummy!!!
Hey Kristen,
I am thrilled this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try! xTieghan
Delicious and super easy to make.
Thanks so much Kim! xTieghan
Absolutely delicious and so easy to make! Halved the recipe for my husband and I and it was perfect! Thank you xx
Hey Alex,
I am so glad the recipe was enjoyed, thanks for making it! xTieghan