One pot, 20 minutes, and a seriously cozy bowl of spicy coconut noodles. Part ramen, part noodle soup, they’re creamy, easy, PACKED with flavor, and perfect for busy weeknights.
On days I’m tired, get home late, or just not feeling like cooking, I’m always looking for low-effort recipes that still pack an incredible flavor punch (ideally with a few vegetables thrown in for good measure).
That’s exactly what these lovely spicy coconut noodles are. The recipe uses a shortcut flavor paste made from cupboard staples that does all the heavy lifting flavor-wise. It’s as simple as:
- Mixing the paste
- Adding coconut milk and vegetable broth
- Adding the noodles and veg to cook straight in the broth.
Why You’ll Love These Noodles
- Made in one pot – saving time and washing up.
- Super adaptable based on what you have to hand – a great way to clear out your veg drawer and easy to add extra protein.
- Quick and easy – they take just 20 minutes and have minimal hands-on time.
And if you love cozy noodle bowls like this, you might like to try these saucy peanut satay noodles, or butternut squash ramen next.
Ingredients You’ll Need
One of the best things about these coconut noodles is how flexible they are. You can essentially use whatever vegetables you have in the fridge, and whatever noodles you have to hand too.
- Aromatics.
- Garlic and ginger provide the base flavor, and I love using lemongrass for a citrus element (optional but recommended if you have it). Fresh is best, but pastes work too.
- Veggies.
- Pak choi, scallions, and cilantro are my go-to combo, but almost any green veg works. Try broccoli, green beans, peas, spinach, or edamame beans – fresh or frozen.
- Flavor base.
- Light soy sauce, gochujang paste, fish sauce, and chili crisp create the spicy, savory backbone of the broth. No gochujang? Try sriracha or red curry paste instead.
- Broth.
- Coconut milk and vegetable broth (stock) create the creamy, soupy sauce. Chicken broth (stock) or even water works too.
- Noodles.
- Ramen noodles are perfect, but you can use egg noodles, udon, rice noodles, or even spaghetti.
- Optional protein boost.
- Add shredded chicken, crispy tofu, or frozen shrimp to bulk the noodles out into a heartier meal if you like. Leftover chicken works well here – I often use chicken from my miso grilled chicken, or sticky gochujang chicken.
- Throwing frozen dumplings into the soup is a fab way to make it feel more luxurious. I love making my own dumplings (using homemade two-ingredient dumpling wrappers), like these chicken and mushroom potstickers, or juicy pork dumplings. But store-bought frozen dumplings are perfect.
How to Make the Coconut Noodles
This is a step-by-step photo overview of how to make the noodles – the full, detailed recipe with ingredient quantities is at the bottom of the page for you.
- Add the aromatics to a large pot and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Pour in the coconut milk and stock (broth), stir to combine, then bring to a simmer.
- Add the noodles straight into the broth, stir, and simmer for a few minutes until they’re nearly cooked through.
- Add the pak choi, or other green veggies, and stir through the sauce and noodles.
- Divide the noodles and broth between plates. Drizzle with chili crisp, scatter with scallions and cilantro, then finish with a squeeze of lime.
Kate’s Top Recipe Tip
- If you prefer soupier noodles, add about ½ cup more stock, or cook the noodles separately.
- For thicker, slurpable saucy noodles, reduce the stock by ½ cup and simmer the broth for five minutes longer before adding the noodles.
- And remember, the noodles continue to absorb the broth as they sit, so they will get thicker quickly.
How to Balance the Flavor of Your Noodles
The magic of these lovely noodles comes from balancing a few key flavors:
- Creamy: coconut milk
- Spicy: gochujang paste
- Savory: light soy sauce and fish sauce
- Brightness: lime juice and fresh herbs
If your broth tastes a bit flat, try a squeeze of lime, an extra dash of fish sauce, or drizzle it with extra chili oil.
Spicy Coconut Noodles FAQs
You can use almost any noodles you have in the cupboard. I’m using ramen noodles here, but udon, regular egg noodles, rice noodles, or spaghetti all work well too.
If you use rice noodles, I recommend cooking them separately first, just to make sure they cook properly.
You can swap in another chili sauce or curry paste easily. Sriracha or red curry paste are great, as is sambel oelek. The flavor will be a little bit different, but they’ll still work well.
Yes! You can make the coconut broth up to 5 days in advance and store it in the fridge. If you do this, don’t add the noodles or pak choi until you’re ready to serve.
Leftovers will keep well, but the noodles will absorb some of the sauce as they sit, so it’ll end up a lot thicker than it was originally. When you reheat them, add a splash of water to loosen everything up again.
Watch How to Make the Noodles
Like these noodles? Try these easy recipes next
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear from you! You can leave a recipe rating and a comment below. And remember to tag @DishedByKate on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok if you’ve made one of my recipes. Seeing your recreations really makes my day 😊.
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Quick Spicy Coconut Noodles
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
One pot, 20 minutes, and a seriously cozy bowl of spicy coconut noodles. Part ramen, part noodle soup, they’re creamy, easy, PACKED with flavor, and perfect for busy weeknights. They’re exactly the kind of quick, comforting dinner I turn to on days I can’t be bothered cooking.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons gochujang paste
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce (or a vegan alternative/more soy sauce)
- 2 tablespoons chili crisp or chili oil (plus more to serve)
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated (or use 2 teaspoons of ginger paste)
- 1 lemongrass stalk, crushed and chopped into 3 pieces (or use 1 tablespoon of lemongrass paste), optional
- 14 oz (400ml) can of coconut milk (look for a coconut extract level above 60%)
- 5 cups (1.2 litres) vegetable or chicken broth
- 7 oz (200g) noodles of your choice (ramen, udon, egg noodles, spaghetti)
- 2 heads of pak choi, sliced
- 4 scallions (spring onions), finely sliced
- Handful of cilantro (coriander) leaves
- 1 lime, sliced into wedges
Instructions
- Cook the aromatic base. Set a large saucepan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of gochujang paste, 1 tablespoon light soy sauce, 2 teaspoons fish sauce, and 2 tablespoons of chili oil. Stir for a minute or two, then add the garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for another minute.
- Make the broth. Pour in the coconut milk, lemongrass pieces (if you’re using it), and vegetable broth. Stir to combine everything, then bring it to a simmer, lower the heat, and leave it for five minutes to slightly thicken.
- Add the noodles and pak choi. Add your noodles directly into the broth, stir, then let them cook for about 4 minutes. Use your packet to guide you on the cooking time here – different noodles have slightly different cooking times. Once they’re almost ready, add the sliced pak choi and stir through the broth for a minute, until they look bright green. Remove the pot from the heat.
- Garnish and serve. Divide the saucy noodles and pak choi between bowls, spooning lots of the lovely sauce into each bowl. Squeeze a wedge of lime over each bowl, then top with the scallions and cilantro leaves. Finish with another drizzle of chili oil, then serve with more lime wedges on the side.
Notes
STORAGE INSTRUCTIONS: The noodles will continue to absorb liquid as they sit, so you’ll need to add a splash of water (or stock), when you reheat them, just to loosen them up again. They’ll keep for 3 days, stored in the fridge, and can be easily reheated, either on the stovetop or in the microwave.
INGREDIENT NOTES: This recipe is super adaptable based on what you have in your house. You could use green beans, spinach, peas, or edamame beans in place of the pak choi (or add a load of different veggies!) You could also add cooked chicken or throw in some raw shrimp to cook in the broth (add them into the broth when you add the noodles). If you don’t have gochujang paste, you could use another chili sauce like sriracha or red curry paste. If you don’t have chicken or vegetable broth, use water.
MAKE IT VEGAN: Swap the fish sauce for a vegetarian fish sauce, or use more light soy sauce.
- Prep Time: 5
- Cook Time: 15
- Category: vegetarian
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 350g
- Calories: 398
- Sugar: 11.1g
- Sodium: 1814.7mg
- Fat: 14.5g
- Saturated Fat: 6.6g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6.5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 57.3g
- Fiber: 5.4g
- Protein: 14.7g
- Cholesterol: 0g
wow this was so yummy! we used spinach as well and it was so good
So happy you enjoyed! Yesss it’s a great one for throwing in different veggies 🙂
There isn’t a more comforting dinner on a cold weekday evening <3 we loved it
Totally agree! Can’t go wrong with a warming bowl of noodles 🙂
Great recipe Kate! I added some baked tofu and some extra veg (sugar snap peas, baby corn etc) and it worked an absolute treat! Perfect weeknight supper.
Yummmm they sound like wonderful additions Anna-Marie, so pleased you enjoyed xx
This was so good! I used red curry paste, sautéed the bok choy (couldn’t find pak choy) and some mushrooms in Szechuan chili oil, used ramen noodles, and made a couple ramen eggs in the broth. Easy, and seriously so good. Thanks for a great recipe!
This was gorgeous!! So warm, the soup with the noodles was so good, I will definitely be making again! I added grated raw carrot on top for another vegetable that added freshness. I didn’t have any chilli oil so I just used 2tbsp of chilli crisp (trying to use more oil than the actual crisp) which worked wonderfully and I think I’d use a little less fish sauce next time but I may have been heavy handed anyways. I could totally see myself adding red peppers and maybe chicken if I wanted to embellish more.
Hi! This looks delicious! What kind of noodles did you use and what are some more options?
Hi Trisha! I just used regular egg noodles – similar to ramen. Rice noodles or udon would work well too, or instant ramen x
Best. Ramen. Recipe. Ever. I’m a ramen lover, and have never been able to find a recipe that satisfied like restaurants did until now. AMAZING. Followed recipe exactly. Husband says it’s his new favorite dinner. 6 stars!
Ahhhhh Kayla this is THE best thing to hear!! So SO happy you guys loved it so much ☺️ It’s a serious fave in my house too xx Kate
This is amazing! The sauce is sooo good. I added chopped mushrooms and my oh my! Thank you!!
Really good! I used spinach instead of pak choi, added roasted red peppers for some color (from jar) , and used udon noodles. Perfection on this dreary day.
So happy you enjoyed it Kath! Love those additions and tweaks too – and agree – perfect dreary weather food xx