on Jul 28, 2023
What is Chicken Thukpa?
The word “thuk” means heart and thukpa is nothing short of heartwarming. Thukpa is a hot noodle soup with Tibetian origins and it’s made with vegetables and/or meat and an intensely flavourful broth. There are a million thukpa varieties, and it was so difficult to choose because they’re all so good. But our favourite is a chicken thukpa, with an intensely flavoured broth, juicy pieces of meat and a hot chilli oil to finish. I love the fact that this Chicken Thukpa – a kind of chicken noodle soup is a whole meal in itself, and incredibly nutritious. Meat, lots of veggies and noodles! The broth is so comforting, and the chilli oil gives it that hit of heat. It’s super easy, I’m gonna stick with that method, and after reading this post, you will too!
Watch how to make Chicken Thukpa Recipe Video
Why should you make Thukpa in the Instant Pot?
Thukpa is only as good as the stock used to make it. When you make stock in the instant pot, there’s no guesswork involved. It’s a dump and go kinda recipe. On the stove top, stock needs to be simmered for a good 2 hours for all the flavours to come together. But in the instant pot, the stock takes 30 minutes. The other veggies and noodles are also made in the same inner pot of the Instant Pot so cleanup is pretty much sorted. I don’t think you need any more convincing 🙂
Assembling A Bowl of Thukpa
Noodles firstThen gently pour the brothDrizzle some chilli oil (adjust according to your taste)Top off with spring onions and serve!
And that’s it! Such simple flavours that work so well together! Serve this chicken thukpa and Netflix all evening! If you liked this recipe, leave me a comment below!
More Soupy Noodles You’ll Like:
Vegetarian PhoBurmese Khow SueyChinese Hot & Sour Noodle SoupThai Carrot Ginger Soup with NoodlesSpicy Thai Curry Pumpkin Noodle Soup
Instant Pot Chicken Stock
I made a chicken stock with veggies and spices. The stock gets its intense flavours from chicken, celery, mushrooms and whole spices like star anise, coriander seeds and peppercorns. It’s sooo good that you can drink it just like that!
Top tips for IP chicken stock:
Sear the chicken in oil before adding any other ingredients to lock in the juiciness. We highly recommend using bone-in chicken thighs for stock. Chicken thighs can withstand the longer cooking time as opposed to breasts. And that’s why the meat remains really juicy and succulent.Fry the onions, celery and mushrooms with the chicken to get some colour on them.Strain out the stock with a fine sieve so that any debris gets filtered out.
Note: I shred the seared chicken pieces using a fork and add it to the boiling pot of thukpa. The chicken doesn’t need to be cooked any more, so it goes in right at the end. All you vegetarians out there can just skip the chicken and make a veg thukpa!
Chilli Oil
Though Chicken Thukpa finds its origins in Tibet, it’s super popular in Nepal, Bhutan and some North-East Indian states. Interestingly, the Nepalese are famous for their spicy version of Thukpa in which generous amounts of chilli oil are added. Adding chilli oil also gives the thukpa a gorgeous red colour. The chilli oil is made by soaking dry red chillies in hot water and then blitzing it to make a paste. Then the chilli paste is fried off in oil and seasoned. It’s so simple, but it really elevates the thukpa experience!
