Thai Beef (Meatball) Noodle Soup Recipe
Adding to my Thai culinary recipe collection is this fragrant Thai Beef Noodle soup. It gives me all the street food vibes! After making Pad Kra Pao I was hooked on making more Thai recipes that gives my (Thai) step-mother a run for her money 😂. She is my go-to Thai cooking guru but I think I’ve found something she’ll be impressed by!
The recipe is fairly simple and requires your standard Thai spices and ingredients. Because the beef mince is made into meatballs, you can play around with the cooking time to produce medium to well-done balls. And you can go full made-from-scratch mode with your homemade bone broth OR if you’re short on time, use some store-bought stock/broth.
Ok, let’s… Get into it!!
Thai Beef Noodle Soup Ingredients
5 garlic cloves, peeled, roughly chopped
1 – 2 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp whole black peppercorns
1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
500g beef mince
1 egg, room temperature
3 whole star anise
1 cinnamon stick
¼ cup soy sauce
1 tbsp seasoning sauce (Golden Mountain brand or sub with dark soy sauce or coconut aminos)
6 cups beef stock
2 cups sliced bok choy (or other Asian greens)
1 red onion, sliced
4 spring/green onions, quartered
250g cooked rice noodles to serve
Garnish (optional):
fresh coriander
bean shoots
fish sauce
Thai basil
Cooking Instructions
Boil 1-2 litres of water for your noodles in a large saucepan or kettle.
In a medium bowl add mince, egg and salt pepper. Mix until well combined and shape into small balls. 500g of mince should yield about 20 balls.
Add half the vegetable oil to a large pot on medium-high heat. Allow it to warm up for 1 minute. Add meatballs and brown all over. Remove from and set aside.
Add coriander seeds, garlic, black peppercorns and salt (to taste) to a mortar and grind into a paste.
Reheat a large pot on medium heat and add the rest of the oil and paste. Cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes).
Turn the heat high and add the cooked beef balls, beef broth, and soy sauces. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes then turn to low, add the star anise, and cinnamon stick. Cover with a lid and cook for 1-2 hours. Timing is dependent on how cooked you like your meatballs. At the 1.5-hour mark, the middles are still slightly pink, which I prefer.
Place your dried noodles in a large bowl enough to cover the tops. When the water has boiled, pour over the top and let sit for 20-25 mins. Strain the water, place the noodles back into the same bowl, and fill with cold water.
10 minutes before your soup is ready, add the sliced red onion, quartered green onions and sliced bok choy/Asian greens.
Serve with a side of bean sprouts, coriander ( and Thai basil.
Optional: if you require an extra kick of flavour, add a few drops of fish sauce.
This aromatic soup is perfect on cold days and if you close your eyes, you can imagine yourself enjoying it in the busy streets of Thailand. It’s my go-to comfort food and hopefully, it gets you through these cold wintery months too! Enjoy 🙂
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More recipes here:
- Pear & Passionfruit Jam
- Spice Plum and Blueberry Jam
- Elderberry Syrup
- Pad Kra Pao {Authentic Pork Mince and Thai/Holy Basil}
- Zucchini Slice with Bacon and Creamed Corn
- Sourdough Bread for Beginners
Thai Beef (Meatball) Noodle Soup
This aromatic soup is perfect on cold days and if you close your eyes, you can imagine yourself enjoying it in the busy streets of Thailand. It’s my go-to comfort food and hopefully, it gets you through these cold wintery months too!
Ingredients
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled, roughly chopped
- 1 – 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp whole black peppercorns
- 1.5 tbsp vegetable oil
- 500g beef mince
- 1 egg, room temperature
- 3 whole star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- ¼ cup soy sauce
- 1 tbsp seasoning sauce (Golden Mountain brand or sub with dark soy sauce or coconut aminos)
- 6 cups beef stock
- 2 cups sliced bok choy (or other Asian greens)
- 1 red onion, sliced
- 4 spring/green onions, quartered
- 250g cooked rice noodles to serve
- Garnish (optional): fresh coriander, bean shoots, fish sauce, Thai basil
Instructions
- Boil 1-2 litres of water for your noodles in a large saucepan or kettle.
- In a medium bowl add mince, egg and salt pepper. Mix until well combined and shape into small balls. 500g of mince should yield about 20 balls.
- Add half the vegetable oil to a large pot on medium-high heat. Allow it to warm up for 1 minute. Add meatballs and brown all over. Remove from and set aside.
- Add coriander seeds, garlic, black peppercorns and salt (to taste) to a mortar and grind into a paste.
- Reheat a large pot on medium heat and add the rest of the oil and paste. Cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes).
- Turn the heat high and add the cooked beef balls, beef broth, and soy sauces. Bring to a boil for 5 minutes then turn to low, add the star anise, and cinnamon stick. Cover with a lid and cook for 1-2 hours. Timing is dependent on how cooked you like your meatballs. At the 1.5-hour mark, the middles are still slightly pink, which I prefer.
- Place your dried noodles in a large bowl enough to cover the tops. When the water has boiled, pour over the top and let sit for 20-25 mins. Strain the water, place the noodles back into the same bowl, and fill with cold water.
- 10 minutes before your soup is ready, add the sliced red onion, quartered green onions and sliced bok choy/Asian greens.
- Serve with a side of bean sprouts, coriander ( and Thai basil.
- Optional: if you require an extra kick of flavour, add a few drops of fish sauce.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 396Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 2271mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 33g
