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Spicy Thai Noodle Bowls

December 9, 2015 by Annie Chesson 16 Comments

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Spicy Thai Noodle Bowls - Such an easy and yummy dish! The perfect combination of soft rice noodles and flavor packed broth. #GlutenFree -- TheGarlicDiaries.com

Thai food.

Thhhaaaiiiii fooooodddd. IT’S SO GOOD. And so, so, so, soooo flavorful. You will never have a bland bowl of Thai food.

And this Spicy Thai Noodle Bowl…I could pretty much eat it for every meal. You know a few days ago when I posted this Single Serving Peanut Butter Hot Chocolate and was talking about how my fridge is always overflowing with food? Since I still have to consistently cook blog recipes, but my food vacuum aka husband is deployed?

Well that was not an issue with these Thai noodle bowls. I have had them at least once a day since I made them last week. If I don’t eat them for lunch at work, I eat them for dinner at home. And soooometimes both. Lunch and dinner. Variety is not the spice of life when it comes to this recipe….These Thai noodles are the spice of life. Variety, take a vacation for a week.

Spicy Thai Noodle Bowls - Such an easy and yummy dish! The perfect combination of soft rice noodles and flavor packed broth. #GlutenFree -- TheGarlicDiaries.com

Alright…let me just break this down for you. The reasons why these noodle bowls make me so happy.

  1. The broth. The broth. It is PURE flavor. The perfect balance between savory, salty, spicy, and a teeny-tiny bit sweet. Garlic, scallions, ginger are sauteed as the aromatics for the broth. Throw some curry paste and chicken stock in there and let everything simmer for half an hour. Add in a touch of fish sauce, brown sugar, and soy sauce…go to Thai food heaven.
  2. The rice noodles! Seriously…rice noodles. I am so so so obsessed with rice noodles. I love everything about them. Especially the texture. If you have never had them before, they are different than regular noodles. They are softer…but they aren’t mushy (unless you overcook them). They are just wonderful! Massive fork fulls of rice noodles followed by a few unladylike slurps of broth = my happy place.
  3. The garnishes. I have had these noodle bowls a few times with no garnishes, and they are still yummy, but the garnishes add so much to the final dish. My two favorite staple garnishes are cilantro and bean sprouts. Cilantro brings brightness and extra yummy flavor to the noodle bowls, and the bean sprouts give you a wonderful, fresh crunch. The extra flavor and texture that these two garnishes bring make all the difference!

Let’s just stop writing/reading this post, throw our stuff in a suitcase, and move to Thailand right now. Sound good? LET’S DO IT.

Spicy Thai Noodle Bowls - Such an easy and yummy dish! The perfect combination of soft rice noodles and flavor packed broth. #GlutenFree -- TheGarlicDiaries.com

Orrrrr we can just make these Thai noodle bowls every day for the rest of our lives and pretend that we live in Thailand? I’m good with that plan too.

I briefly mentioned slurping up this delicious broth in my #2 of noodle awesomeness above, but I think we should talk about it a little more. You know in college when we all bought a billion packages of ramen noodles and ate them every day because we were broke? For me, there was always the fork vs. spoon debate I went through each time I made a pack of ramen. They are clearly noodles…which shouldn’t be eaten with a spoon…but there is also clearly broth…which shouldn’t be eaten with a fork.

I always ended up going with the fork and doing the bite and slurp routine. I find that this is what works best with these noodle bowls too. It’s the same situation…lots of noodles, lots of broth. We need to implement a spork here and all our problems will be solved.

Here is my recommendation for consumption: stir all garnishes into your hot, steamy, spicy, flavorful noodle bowls. Collect a big fork full of noodles, put in mouth, lift bowl unceremoniously to face, slurp at least one slurp of brothy goodness…maybe two, continue until bowl is empty.

It is mildly possible that I am bite-slurping a bowl of these noodles right now as I write this post.

And by mildly possible I mean it’s happening. 100%.

Spicy Thai Noodle Bowls - Such an easy and yummy dish! The perfect combination of soft rice noodles and flavor packed broth. #GlutenFree -- TheGarlicDiaries.com

Yay for Thai food and noodle bowls and slurping delicious broth!

Print

Spicy Thai Noodle Bowls

★★★★★

5 from 2 reviews

  • Author: Annie Chesson
  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 40 mins
  • Total Time: 50 mins
  • Yield: 5 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 tablespoon freshly grated (or finely minced) ginger
  • 1 bunch green onions (scallions), thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken (you can use breasts or thighs, it doesn’t matter)
  • 1 teaspoon red curry paste
  • 5 cups chicken stock
  • 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce (Tamari if you want gluten free)
  • 7 oz of rice noodles (can be a little more or less)
  • Cilantro, bean sprouts, and thin sliced spicy peppers (if you want it REALLY hot) for garnish

Instructions

  1. Heat a pan to medium high heat with some coconut oil (vegetable or canola will also work)
  2. Season your chicken with salt and pepper
  3. Brown your chicken in the pan (it doesn’t have to be cooked through) and set aside onto a plate
  4. Add your ginger, garlic, and scallions to the same pot and stir for a few minutes, until the veggies have softened
  5. Add the curry paste and stir together, let this cook for another minute
  6. Add the chicken stock and, using a wooden spoon, scrape the bits off the bottom of the pot that have stuck from the chicken and vegetables
  7. Bring this mixture to a boil and reduce to a simmer
  8. Add the chicken back into the pot, and simmer for 25 minutes
  9. Meanwhile, bring a separate pot of water to a boil
  10. When boiling, add your rice noodles and cook for 5 or so minutes, until soft but not mushy (follow package instructions if it tells you differently)
  11. When your broth is finished simmering, add your fish sauce, brown sugar, and soy sauce
  12. Remove the chicken to a plate and shred using 2 forks. Add it back into the broth
  13. When your noodles are done cooking, drain them in a colander and add them to the broth (to have more control over the amount noodles to broth, you can add plain noodles into each bowl and ladle broth on top of that.)
  14. Garnish with cilantro and bean sprouts. If you want to kick the heat up another notch, also top with thinly sliced spicy peppers (red jalapeno is what’s photographed).

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*This recipe is gluten free*

Spicy Thai Noodle Bowls - Such an easy and yummy dish! The perfect combination of soft rice noodles and flavor packed broth. #GlutenFree -- TheGarlicDiaries.com

Spicy Thai Noodle Bowls - Such an easy and yummy dish! The perfect combination of soft rice noodles and flavor packed broth. #GlutenFree -- TheGarlicDiaries.com

If you make this or any of my other recipes, be sure to Instagram it and hashtag #thegarlicdiaries!

In the mood for more Thai recipes? Head over and check out my Thai Meatball Lettuce Wraps ?.

 

 

 

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Dinner, Gluten Free, Lunch, Soup Tagged With: Asian, Chicken, Gluten Free, noodles, rice noodles, thai food, thai noodles

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Comments

  1. AsianFood says

    December 3, 2020 at 10:03 am

    Asian food is fresh and very packed with flavor. I love trying out the different dishes that they have to offer! This is a pretty cool.
    Regards:
    Asian Foods Near Me

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Andrea says

    December 19, 2016 at 8:33 pm

    I just wanted to say thank you for this recipe! It is delicious and was a hit with the whole family. You’re right, the broth is AMAZING!!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      December 20, 2016 at 9:08 am

      Hey Andrea! I’m so glad you tried and loved this recipe :). The broth really is just delicious isn’t it?? Thanks for the comment!

      Reply
  3. Emily says

    December 9, 2016 at 1:18 am

    hi Annie..

    Do you have a favorite fish sauce and curry paste you like to use?
    There are a lot to choose from…I’d like to hit the jackpot the first time around.

    I go to PHO for my Thai noodle bowl which i really enjoy. I have wondered about making it myself so I’m glad to have found your site….(thank you pinterest and thank you Annie ; )

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      December 9, 2016 at 9:16 am

      Hey Emily! I do have a favorite curry paste. Here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/Mae-Ploy-Thai-Curry-Paste/dp/B0091UW4QS
      I swear by this curry paste! I did tons of research for the most authentic and delicious option :). As for fish sauce, I just buy mine from the Asian section of my grocery store!

      Reply
      • Emily says

        December 10, 2016 at 12:18 pm

        Thanks Annie for responding. Mae Ploy it is!!!
        I’m so happy to try it.

        Reply
  4. Lisa says

    November 22, 2016 at 8:53 pm

    I just made this for dinner and had to throw it all out. It had no flavor, and there was no way I was going to make my husband eat it. I followed your recipe exactly, but this is the first recipe I’ve found off Pinterest that had such disappointing results.

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      November 29, 2016 at 5:09 pm

      I’m sorry this didn’t turn out for you, Lisa. This definitely wasn’t my experience, and I’ve had other people send me rave reviews of this recipe. I always hate to hear when my recipes don’t turn out perfectly for people, though! My suggestion for blandness in the future is salt, salt, salt! Food has no flavor without salt – even the most flavorful dish in the world will be flavorless without enough seasoning. It’s a rule I go by – just something to keep in mind when you try future recipes!

      Reply
  5. June says

    August 5, 2016 at 11:50 pm

    Have you tried it with beef instead of chicken? Almost like a stir fry. I’m curious! Thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      August 8, 2016 at 6:30 pm

      I haven’t tried that, June – but it sounds delicious! Let me know how it is if you ever try it out!

      Reply
  6. Keri @ Fashionable Foods says

    December 13, 2015 at 7:25 pm

    I am obsessed with Thai food! These noodle bowls look AMAZING! I also loooove rice noodles. I can’t wait to try this! Pinned!

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      December 13, 2015 at 8:33 pm

      Thanks, Keri! Aren’t rice noodles the best??

      Reply
  7. Dannii @ Hungry Healthy Happy says

    December 10, 2015 at 6:20 am

    There is just something so comforting about a big bowl of noodles, especially with some Thai spices too. The broth has to be good though.

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      December 10, 2015 at 9:18 am

      Agreed!! So comforting :).

      Reply
  8. Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says

    December 9, 2015 at 9:13 pm

    This bowl looks SO good, Annie! I just ate dinner and I’m already hungry again. I love thai food but have never made my own before. I definitely need to change that after seeing this recipe! Pinned!

    Reply
    • Annie Chesson says

      December 10, 2015 at 9:16 am

      Thanks, Gayle! You should definitely try making Thai food yourself….yum :).

      Reply

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Annie Chesson
I am a passionate Christian, wife, cooking addict, and mom to the two sweetest boys in the world! Join me in my journey to create delicious, flavorful food. More About Me...

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