East Indian Curried Chicken Noodle Soup

Thai Curried Chicken Noodle Soup

I first started making the East Indian version of this soup over 20 years ago using regular old fashioned, available in every grocery store curry powder.  So when Mr. C invited the other 2 members of the Tim-E3 Jazz trio to rehearse at our place on Sunday, I offered to make lunch for the guys since they would be here from 11:00 am till about 3:00 pm. I decided to use Tim and Todd, along with Mr. C of course, as my taste testers (aka Guinea Pigs) to see if using red curry paste would work to create a Thai variation of this soup. So I served the guys a bowl of each and had them decide which they liked better or even if they liked the soups at all? Well, all three of the guys decided both were keepers. So I decided to post both recipes and let you decide which version better suited your taste.

The base ingredients are exactly the same in both soups. But what makes the difference is the curry used. And for people like Mr. C and myself, who BTW are curry “nuts”, we probably like the East Indian curry better. Only because that’s the curry flavor we grew up with. OK, I didn’t actually experience curry until after I was out of my parent’s home. In fact, I doubt either of my parents even knew what curry was until the latter part of their lives. But I started making curry in my early 20s. And since I don’t really feel I achieved adulthood until I was about 28 (some would say I’m still not there!), I feel comfortable saying that I grew up loving curry. But enough about my latent development!

Both soups are very easy to prepare and don’t have to be simmered for hours to achieve a lovely blended flavor. And truly, both are really delicious! Both exotic and down home at the same time. Each would make a really delightful first coarse soup to either an Indian or Thai meal.

So is you too love soup and would like to prepare one, or in this case two, that are both different, easy, and fairly quick to prepare, give either one of these a try. Kripyā bhojan kā ānnaṅd lijīyai (please enjoy your meal) in Hindi and taan hâi a-ròi in Thai.

East Indian:

• 2 tsp. coconut oil or canola oil
• 2 c. bite-sized pieces of uncooked chicken
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 T. regular curry powder (like McCormick)
• 2½ c. chicken stock
• 1 can light (reduced fat) coconut milk
• 4 T. fish sauce
• 1 T. low sodium Tamari or soy sauce
• juice of ½ lime or more to taste
• 6-8 oz. cooked egg noodles (I use Rose brand Chinese Egg Noodles)
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced, garnish
• 1 T. chopped fresh cilantro, garnish
• lime wedges, garnish

Heat the coconut oil in a medium large covered soup pot. Add the chicken, salt, and pepper. Sauté the chicken just until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, and curry powder to pan; cook for about one minute. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, fish sauce, and Tamari. Bring to just under a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the reserved chicken and cook for 1 minute or until the chicken pieces are hot. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the lime juice and cooked noodles. Adjust seasonings. Serve hot garnished with green onions, cilantro, and lime wedges.

Thai:

• 2 tsp. coconut oil or canola oil
• 2 c. bite-sized pieces of uncooked chicken
• ¼ tsp. kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
• 2 T. Red Curry Paste
• 1 tsp. turmeric
• 2½ c. chicken stock
• 1 can light (reduced fat) coconut milk
• 2-3 T. fish sauce
• 1 T. low sodium Tamari or soy sauce
• juice of ½ lime or more to taste
• 6-8 oz. cooked egg noodles (I use Rose brand Chinese Egg Noodles)
• 4 green onions, thinly sliced, garnish
• 1 T. chopped fresh cilantro, garnish

Heat the coconut oil in a medium large covered soup pot. Add the chicken, salt, and pepper. Sauté the chicken just until cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside. Add the garlic, crushed red pepper flakes, curry paste, and turmeric to pan; cook for about one minute. Add the chicken stock, coconut milk, 2 tablespoons of the fish sauce, and Tamari. Bring to just under a boil, reduce heat, cover, and cook for 30 minutes. Stir occasionally. Add the reserved chicken and cook for 1 minute or until the chicken pieces are hot. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the lime juice and cooked noodles. Adjust seasonings. Serve hot garnished with green onions, cilantro, and lime wedges.