Yum! This is a delicious soup I recently made, thanks to a reader (and ahem, family member) named Jimmy. He had found the recipe in a Rachel Ray magazine, tried it himself and then sent me the instructions. “Maybe if you think it’s worthy enough you could share it with your Cracking Curry viewers,” he said.

The timing could not have been more perfect, as the BF had the flu. What’s better than chicken noodle soup when you’re sick? So after a quick trip to Chinatown to secure the more hard-to-find ingredients (in this case, Thai basil and the rice noodles), I tried making it myself.

To note, this is slightly different than the Rachel Ray version…hers calls for cilantro, which the BF doesn’t like, so I substituted Thai basil (which actually makes the dish more authentic). I used a generous helping of my homemade red curry paste, whereas her recipe calls for just 2 teaspoons. Jimmy mentioned that he used more chicken (hers called for just 12 oz) to make it heartier, so I did the same. I also added a few chopped chile peppers to the soup, as I can’t resist spice — plus I thought the heat might benefit the flu victim’s sinuses.

This was truly delicious — an easy recipe that I’ll definitely try again! Thank you, Jimmy and Rachel Ray.

Thai Curry Soup

1 16-ounce chicken breast, with bone in
6 cups chicken broth (plus 2 cups water)
3 tbsp red curry paste
6 oz rice noodles
1 red bell pepper, julienned
2 chiles, sliced
2 scallions, sliced
Fresh Thai basil
1 lime, cut into wedges

In a medium saucepan, bring the broth and 2 cups water to a boil. Add chicken on bone, and reduce to simmer. Cover until the chicken is cooked through, about a half hour. Remove chicken, let cool, then shed and set aside meat. (If you like, add a dash of fish sauce to help keep chicken moist.) Return bones to the broth, bring to a boil and reduce by about a third. Remove and discard bones. Add curry paste into the broth and return to simmer. Add the noodles and bell pepper; cook until the noodles soften, about 5-8 minutes. Stir in the chicken. Add chiles.
Serve the soup in bowls and top with the scallions and fresh Thai basil leaves. Garnish with lime wedges. Delicious!