This simple spin on chicken coconut curry combines chopped leftover rotisserie chicken or roast chicken with Thai yellow curry paste, light coconut milk and chicken bone broth, and high protein ramen to make a high protein soup in no time at all.
The secret ingredient? Powdered peanut butter—it thickens the coconut curry without using full fat coconut milk or coconut cream while keeping the fat and calorie content in check. It also gives a great peanut flavor that works so well with Thai flavors.
Ingredients and Modifications
At its core, this recipe just calls for some type of cooked chicken, ramen, coconut milk and broth, powdered peanut butter, and a handful of seasoning options. It’s seriously simple.
Don’t want to fuss with dicing an onion? It will work without it. Maybe add some extra curry paste or a frozen cube of crushed garlic to make up for it.
Speaking of the Thai curry paste, I used a paste from a brand called Mekhala with a short ingredient list. I picked this up at Central Market here in Austin, but it looks like it’s available on Amazon as well. Any yellow curry paste should work, though. Just keep in mind, different curry pastes may have different flavor profiles and spice levels.
It’s always a good idea to taste and adjust before serving. Since the curry paste is one of the primary flavor components, feel free to add more as needed. On the flip side, you can combat an overly spicy paste with acidic ingredients like lime juice and other add-ins.
You can use any type of ramen (save the seasoning packets for something else), but I used the Rice Ramen from my chili crisp noodle bowls. I’ve made this soup with other noodles like the egg noodles in my Dan Dan noodles. Just make sure they’re quick-cooking noodles.
As a final ingredient note about the rotisserie chicken, you’re welcome to use any cooked chicken in its place. You can even cook chicken in the broth before adding the ramen (check the notes in the recipe card for more info on this). But I always like to recommend stocking up on multiple rotisserie chickens at one time, pulling all the meat off and freezing for later. I have a TON of rotisserie chicken recipes that repurpose it into dishes like this soup.
Fixin’s and Final Notes
It’s no secret that I’m chili crisp obsessed, and you will see it used to garnish this chicken curry soup in photos here once again. It’s the perfect pairing and a great way to increase the heat without over-spicing the soup for the less-tolerant in your house.
Something you don’t see in photos but makes a great garnish is a handful of wonton strips. Sure, you can fry your own noodles like in khao soi, but I like the convenience of the crunchy topping you can find in most stores. Check around the croutons and salad toppings if you have trouble tracking them down.
You can also add texture with things like roasted peanuts, raw minced shallots or red onion, and chile flakes.
Have fun and don’t be afraid to tweak things. Instead of throwing cilantro into the soup with the chicken and ramen, bok choy or spinach would add more volume and nutrients to your soup, if you’re into that sort of thing.
Let me know in the comments if you have any questions about an ingredient modification or preparation steps. Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this chicken curry soup! If you do, I always appreciate recipe reviews.
Thai Rotisserie Chicken Curry Soup
Leftover pulled rotisserie chicken or roast chicken with ramen in a thick and creamy Thai yellow coconut curry.
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
- 1 large Onion, diced
- 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
- 2 Tablespoons (60g) Thai Yellow Curry Paste*
- 1/3 cup (42g) Powdered Peanut Butter
- 2 14-oz cans Light Coconut Milk
- 4 cups Chicken Bone Broth
- 2 packs Rice Ramen (or your choice of ramen/noodles)
- 1 pound Rotisserie Chicken or Cooked Chicken, chopped
- 2-3 handfuls Chopped Cilantro
- 1-2 teaspoons Fish Sauce
- Juice of 1 Lime
For Serving
- Minced Shallots or Red Onion
- Lime Wedges
- Chili Crisp
- Wonton Strips
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion and salt. Sweat the onion until soft, about 4-5 minutes, before adding the curry paste.
- Stir the paste and onion together and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds, before adding the powdered peanut butter, coconut milk, and chicken broth. (Optional: Add a handful of chopped cilantro.)
- Bring to a simmer before adding the ramen and chopped rotisserie chicken. (If you're not in a hurry, you can cover and simmer for longer before adding the chicken and ramen to further develop flavors.)
- Cook for 4-5 minutes until the chicken is heated through and the ramen softens and separates.
- Add the fish sauce, a squeeze of lime juice, and salt to taste before serving.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro and minced shallots or red onion, lime wedges, chili crisp, and wonton strips or fried noodles, if desired.
Notes
*I used Mekhala Thai curry paste, which lists shallots, garlic, lime juice, galangal, Himalayan pink salt, dried red chili, spices, and turmeric as its ingredients. Not every curry paste is the same, so you may need to adjust to fit your flavor/spice preference. Spice wise, this soup is on the mild end of the heat spectrum.
Don't have rotisserie chicken on hand? You can cook boneless skinless chicken thighs in the broth before adding the ramen. Add the chicken thighs after the bringing the soup up to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. You can transfer the chicken out of the soup to chop or just shred in the pot before adding the ramen and cooking for another 5 minutes or so.
Want to use real peanut butter instead of the powdered peanut butter? I would swap it for about 1/2 cup of peanut butter.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: about 2 cupsAmount Per Serving: Calories: 350Total Fat: 15gCarbohydrates: 23gProtein: 31g
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