The best Thai Coconut Soup you can make at home! Easy to make with coconut milk, mushrooms, shrimp, and chicken broth! This tastes just like it’s from a restaurant! Serve over basmati rice.
If you love Thai food, you will appreciate this Thai coconut soup as it has many common ingredients with some of your favorite takeout Thai food favorites. The creamy coconut milk creates a familiar, rich base for this delicious Thai coconut soup. Meanwhile, the red curry paste and fish sauce are brought to life by the opposing sweetness of brown sugar. With the added ginger and lime juice, you won’t lack flavor.
This is a family friendly soup that isn’t too spicy. If you want to add a heat kick I have some suggestions below!
The Best Thai Coconut Soup Recipe
Easy recipes like this one are great because you only need several simple ingredients to create a hot soup that’s going to make your kitchen smell amazing. It’s perfect to serve on a cool night when you want something both filling and flavorful. Serve it with on top of basmati or jasmine rice. If you’re feeling creative, you might even pair it with rice noodles. However you choose to serve it, you and your company will surely enjoy this rich and flavorful soup!
You may also like these soup recipes: Beef and Mushroom Dumplings Soup, Homemade Wonton Soup and Hot and Sour Udon Noodle Soup.
How to Make Thai Coconut Soup
In a large pot, prepare the Thai curry paste and fresh ginger over vegetable oil.
Next, make the chicken broth mixture in the pot and bring to a boil.
Add the coconut milk and mushrooms last. Cook and then add in the shrimp. Lastly, stir in the fresh lime juice.
Serve on top of steamed rice. Garnish with fresh cilantro or green onions if desired and enjoy!
Storing and Reheating Leftovers
Refrigerator: If you store your leftover Thai coconut soup in an airtight container and in the refrigerator, it can last up to three to four days.
Freezer: If you’d like your soup to last longer than four days, keep it in a freezer-safe container. In the freezer for up to three months.
Reheating: If you keep your leftover soup in the refrigerator, you can reheat it in the microwave or in a pot on the stove top.
If you keep leftover soup in your freezer, you can reheat in a pot on the stove over medium heat, mixing as it thaws out.
Want it a little more spicy?
Add 4 teaspoons of red curry paste (instead of 3), 3/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes and one teaspoon of sriracha! This will surely give it a kick of heat!
Want Thai Chicken Soup instead?
Simply swap the 1 pound of shrimp for 1 pound of cooked cubed chicken breast or chicken thighs.
Want to add more veggies?
You can add more mushrooms to this Thai soup, along with adding in chopped kale or spinach, snow peas, carrots, green peppers or baby corn.
Thai Coconut Soup FAQs
What is the most famous soup in Thailand?
Tom Yum soup is one of the most popular soups in Thailand. Tom Yum is also known as Tom Yam. ‘Thom’ means ‘boiling soup’ while ‘Yam’ might refer to the mixed spices. Although different sources claim variations of what the ‘yum’ or ‘yam’ means.
This Thai Coconut Soup recipe is not like Tom Yum soup but is more similar to Tom Kha soup.
What is the difference between Tom Yum and Tom Kha?
Tom Yum soup is a spicy soup with ingredients such as chili peppers, lime juice, shrimp, galangal, and fish sauce.
Traditional Tom Kha is known for being made with coconut milk like this recipe, with chicken, chili pepper, galangal, mushroom, and ginger. While this recipe is not Tom Kha, it does have common ingredients such as the use of a base of coconut milk.
What does Tom Kha mean in Thai?
As mentioned above, the ‘tom’ in ‘tom kha’ means ‘boiling soup’ while the ‘kha’ refers to the galangal. You might also hear or see tom kha gai soup which is essentially the same thing. ‘Gai’ means ‘chicken’.
Fun fact: The first recorded Tom Kha recipe was allegedly found in 1890. However, this recipe was made with duck!
Which is healthier tom kha or tom yum?
Given both are made with fresh ingredients, free from many preservatives and saturated fats, they are both relatively good for you. However, Tom yum contains fewer calories because of its broth base while a coconut base will have more calories.
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Thai Coconut Soup
PrintIngredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger grated
- 1 tablespoon red curry paste
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 (13.5 ounce cans) coconut milk
- 8 ounces shiitake or button mushrooms sliced
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
- 1/4 cup cilantro finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
- In a large pot heat oil on medium high heat. Add ginger and curry paste, stirring for 1 minute.
- Add chicken broth, fish sauce, brown sugar and salt into the pot. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.
- Add coconut milk and sliced mushrooms, and cook for 5 more minutes or until mushrooms are softened.
- Add shrimp and cook until shrimp is bright pink, about 5-7 minutes. Stir in lime juice and mix.
- Serve in bowls on top as is or on top of basmati rice. Add fresh cilantro on top (optional).
Heather Weiss says
If I wanted to add shredded carrots do I put that in same time as the mushrooms? I havenโt made this yet but I can tell it will be amazing and much easier ingredient list than the traditional.
Pamela Reed says
Hey! I would add them in at the same time that you’re adding coconut milk and mushrooms. You could use fresh or frozen carrots! Hope this helps!