Thai Glass Noodle Soup- Gang Jued Woon Sen

This Thai glass noodle soup or Gang Jued Woon Sen is essentially a Thai chicken noodle soup, that combines a simple flavorful broth, glass noodles, and chicken meatballs. It makes for a super satisfying, healthy, easy meal.

This recipe uses sweet potato glass noodles to make it Paleo and AIP-friendly but typically uses mung bean vermicelli aka Thai glass noodles, cellophane noodles, or mung bean thread noodles. You can use whichever noodle works best for you. This recipe is gluten-free, dairy-free, Paleo, and AIP. 

For another Thai inspired meal, also check out Thai Coconut Lime Chicken.

If you're in search of other glass noodle recipes, check out my Korean Glass Noodle Recipe with Ground Beef, Paleo Bacon Chicken Pasta Salad, and 19 Best AIP Glass Noodle Recipes.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe:

• It’s an easy recipe and it's fast.
• It’s healthy and comforting
• Ingredient substitutions are easy and you can easily make it fit your flavor preferences.

Recipe Ingredients

Chicken Meatballs

• Ground Chicken or Ground Pork- Either works well but pork is a bit more flavorful. Try to go with pasture raised/organic meats.
• Cilantro Roots- The cilantro roots have a slightly different flavor than the leaves. Technically you should mash up the cilantro roots with the garlic with a mortar and pestle and then add it to the ground meat. However, I know not everyone has a mortar and pestle, so I just chose to chop the ingredients very tiny before adding them to the meat. See notes in the notes section below on how to mash stuff up without the mortar and pestle (if you’re interested).
• Garlic Cloves- As mentioned above, dice these very very small (if not using mortar and pestle) before adding to the meat.
• Coconut Aminos- Try to use coconut aminos if you can but soy sauce works too. The flavor is a bit saltier than coconut aminos and not sweet at all so start with half the recommended amount and taste as you go. Just note soy sauce does contain gluten and soy so it’s not suitable or Paleo/AIP. 
• White Pepper- This has a subtle but unique flavor so use it if you can. If not, black pepper is ok too but it has a slightly stronger flavor so use a bit less. I’d use ¼ tsp black pepper in place of ½ tsp white pepper.  You can omit the pepper altogether for AIP.

Soup

• Avocado Oil
• Shallot- If you don’t have any shallots, a yellow, white, or red onion is fine too.  
• Garlic Cloves
• Shiitake Mushrooms- I prefer shiitake mushrooms for this soup but you can really use any type of mushroom.
• Cold Water- This is used to form our broth. Some people prefer to use chicken broth, chicken stock, or bullion- you can do this if you'd like but you will need to use less coconut aminos and fish sauce. Just add them to taste in this case.
• Fish Sauce- If you’re not a fan of fish sauce, just use some soy sauce or coconut aminos or even salt in its place. 
• Coconut Aminos- As mentioned above, coconut aminos are a little sweeter than soy sauce so the flavor is a bit different from soy sauce. However, you can use soy sauce instead if needed. Just add it slowly and taste as you go. 
• White Pepper- As mentioned above you can substitute black pepper if needed but it has a stronger flavor so you may want to use slightly less. Omit for AIP. 
• Sweet Potato Glass Noodles- As I mentioned above, I used sweet potato glass noodles for the sake of keeping the recipe AIP and Paleo. One package is relatively small (3.5 oz) and I found it to be enough. However, you may feel the need to add a second package to make it a little more “noodley”..this is fine.  Mung Bean noodles are the more commonly used noodle used for this type of recipe and you can use these if you prefer. Kelp noodles are another great option for AIP and are also low-carb. 
• Carrot Ribbons- To create carrot ribbons simply use a vegetable peeler. Peel the outer skin and discard it but then continue peeling and reserve those pieces for the soup. 
• Fresh Spinach Leaves- You’ll add these in at the very end. 
• Green Onions- These will be added at the end as well. 

Step by Step Instructions

1. Prep the meatballs- Mix together the chicken, cilantro roots, garlic, coconut aminos, and white pepper. Work the mixture together with your hands, slapping the meat against the side of the bowl a few times to break down the protein a bit and form a smooth mixture.

2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and add the shallots and and mushrooms. Saute for 1-2 minutes until onions are translucent.
3. Add the garlic and cook a minute more.

4. Add the water and bring to a boil. Add fish sauce, coconut aminos, and white pepper. Drop heat to medium.

5. Use a spoon to form small meatballs and drop into the boiling water.

6. Add the dry sweet potato glass noodles and carrot ribbons. ***Note, if using mung bean vermicelli, you’ll need to soak and drain the noodles before adding them to the soup.

7. Add in the spinach and green onions (or spring onions).

8. Serve with fresh cilantro over the top. 

Recipe FAQ’s

Tips:

• When making the meatballs, it’s easiest to use your hands to massage the meat and slap it against the bowl to get a smooth mixture. However, you don’t want to use your hands, you can use a wooden spoon. 
• Traditionally, the meatballs are formed using bare hands and you can do this if you’d like. However, I find it much easier to scoop up a little piece with a spoon and then use another spoon to push the meatball off into the soup. 
• If you happen to use some sort of rice-based noodle for this recipe, just note that they soak up a lot more liquid than the glass noodles so you may need to add a smaller amount of noodles or more broth to compensate.

Variations:

• Add some firm tofu in place or in addition to the meatballs. 
• Make it your own with additional flavor enhancers: Add a few red pepper flakes, fresh chilies, lime juice, red curry paste, oyster sauce, sesame oil, fresh herbs, additional fish sauce, and/or coconut aminos, etc.
• Add other veggies like Napa cabbage, bok choy, bean sprouts, or red bell pepper
• Add a little coconut milk for a creamier, richer soup

If you liked this recipe, you may also like:

Coconut Aminos Teriyaki Sauce 

Air Fryer Chicken Teriyaki

Ground Chicken Stir Fry

AIP Mongolian Beef

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed this recipe. If you made it, leave a comment below and let me know what you thought. I'd love to hear from you!

Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @foodcourage for the latest AIP/Paleo recipes and Food Courage happenings!