Curry Noodle Soup with Popcorn Chicken

In my neighborhood, there is a Chinese restaurant that serves a dish I’m absolutely in love with. And while things are a bit out of place at the moment due to the social distancing, I’ve used some of my time at home to recreate it.

The curry noodle soup is a favorite of mine. It features noodles swimming in a light, hearty, curry-flavored chicken broth. On top, crispy, golden brown chicken bites and baby bok choy combine to turn this soup into a meal. It’s incredibly delicious, and comforting too – just what we all need right now. 

Ingredients

I should warn you…don’t be intimidated by the ingredient list! While this curry noodle soup recipe looks long, it’s so easy to make. Honestly, it takes less than 30 minutes to put together. And very likely, you already have many of these things in your pantry. 

Cooking process

Crispy popcorn chicken (no deep-frying required!)

The chicken isn’t even deep-fried. I have a special technique to make it super crispy, with all the flavor, but less oil. These crunchy bites go perfectly on top of the noodles. You can use boneless chicken thighs or chicken breasts. Either one will work!

Make the soup in one pan

Once you’ve fried the chicken, you can make the noodle broth in the same pan. To do this:

• Saute the aromatics
• Gently cook the curry powder to release the fragrance
• Add the chicken broth and sauce and simmer

While the soup is simmering, I blanch the baby bok choy and boil the noodles at the same time in a separate pot. So everything will be ready at the same time.

Cook for one, or more

Another thing you’ll love about this recipe is that you can alter it for just one person, or for even more people. It’s easy to halve or double it to accommodate all the people under your roof. If you’re going solo, you can use this time to practice your cooking skills while enjoying the fruit of your labor. When things get better out there, you’ll then be able to invite all your friends over to sample this lovely curry noodle soup. 

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Curry Noodle Soup with Popcorn Chicken

By Maggie Zhu

4.75 from 4 votes

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 servings

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Surprise your taste buds with the textural and flavorful delights of my curry noodle soup. It’s full of fragrance and topped with perfectly crispy bites of popcorn chicken and leafy green bok choy for balance!

Ingredients 

Chicken

• 2 pieces chicken thighs or 1 breast (about 9 oz / 250 g), cut to 3/4” (2 cm) pieces
• 2 teaspoons Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 to 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/4 cup peanut oil
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Soup

• 2 ” (5 cm) ginger , grated
• 3 cloves garlic , grated
• 2 tablespoons curry powder (I used S&B Japanese curry)
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Toppings

• 8 oz (225 g) thin Chinese wheat noodles
• 2 heads baby bok choy (or other leafy greens, cut to bite-sized pieces)
• Green onion , chopped (Optional)

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Instructions

Make popcorn chicken

• Combine the chicken, Shaoxing wine, and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Stir to mix well. Let it marinate while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.
• When you’re ready to cook, add the cornstarch into the bowl with the chicken. Stir to coat it completely.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil (for the baby bok choy and noodles).
• Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet (or a medium-sized dutch oven) over medium-high heat until hot. Spread the chicken in the skillet without over overlapping. Cook until the bottom side turns golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Flip to cook the other side until golden brown, another 2 minutes. Once done, turn off the heat and transfer the chicken to a large plate.
• Sprinkle the white pepper over the chicken. Toss with a pair of tongs to mix evenly. Set aside.

Prepare soup

• In the same skillet (or pot) you cooked the chicken in, there should be 1 to 2 tablespoons of oil left. If not, add 1 tablespoon of oil. Turn to medium heat.
• Add the ginger and garlic. Stir until releasing fragrance, about 30 seconds.
• Add the curry powder. Stir and cook for another minute.
• Slowly add the chicken stock, stirring the curry to incorporate it into the liquid. Add the Shaoxing wine, rice vinegar, soy sauce, salt, and sugar. Bring it to a boil. Taste the soup. Adjust the seasoning by adding more salt, if needed. Turn the heat to low to let the broth simmer while you cook the noodles and baby bok choy.

Cook the noodles & baby bok choy

• The pot for the noodles should be boiling while you’re preparing the soup. Add the baby bok choy. Let it cook until soft, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Transfer the bok choy to a colander and run tap water over it to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
• In the same pot, add the noodles. Cook according to the package instructions. Once cooked, drain the noodles and transfer them to 2 serving bowls.
• Add the bok choy onto each bowl of noodles. Pour the curry soup evenly over the two noodle bowls and top with the chicken. Garnish with green onion. Serve hot as a main dish.

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 531kcal, Carbohydrates: 47.2g, Protein: 38.3g, Fat: 20.2g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 115mg, Sodium: 1551mg, Potassium: 38.3mg, Fiber: 4.5g, Sugar: 2.2g, Calcium: 102mg, Iron: 6mg

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More delicious noodle recipes

• Vegetable Lo Mein
• 15-Minute Korean Noodle Soup
• Japchae (Korean Sweet Potato Noodles)
• Char Siu Chow Mein
• Chicken Udon Soup

Lilja Walter is a part of the Omnivore’s Cookbook team and worked closely with Maggie to develop and test this recipe.