Thai Coconut Curry Soup

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Are you ready for flavor explosion? Try this amazing, fragrant and warming Thai coconut curry soup loaded with vegetables, and tons of flavors and made creamy with some thick coconut milk!

Use this vegan recipe as a base version - make it spicy or mild - according to your taste preference. Add your choice of proteins - chicken, shrimp, tofu - go wild! 🙂

Tuck into this warm and comforting bowl of curry flavored Thai coconut milk soup.

what are the basic ingredients to make the thai coconut curry soup?

Full recipe + measurements + video can be found in the recipe card below.

This coconut milk soup with irresistible Thai flavors is very easy to prepare. The key ingredient is the curry paste - you can use homemade curry paste or to make your life easier, use store bought one.

• Mixed Vegetables - onion, carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms, etc.
• Curry Powder
• Red Curry Paste
• Ginger and Garlic
• Soy Sauce
• (Vegetable) broth
• Coconut milk
• Cooking oil
• Salt
• Thai Basil & Cilantro for garnish
• Lime/lemon wedges to serve

Mixed Vegetables - carrots, bell peppers, mushrooms etc

This vegetarian Thai coconut soup is in fact loaded with vegetables. I have used our favorite vegetables to prepare this - onion, carrots, bell peppers, and mushrooms. You can use these or use a combination of your favorite vegetables. I would suggest using quick-cooking vegetables to reduce cooking time.

Add vegetables that need higher cooking times first followed by the ones that need less time. You will notice that I have added carrots first and the mushrooms at the end - for the same reason.

Onions

I usually use red onions for most of my cooking, especially Indian cooking. For this recipe, however, I have used sweet onions. I like this mainly for aesthetics (the translucent sweet onions just blend in with other colors). If you do not have sweet onions, please use the onions that are easily available to you.

Curry Powder

The curry powder (the McCormick brand, one of my favorite brands) is a mix of spices like Coriander, Fenugreek, Turmeric, Cumin, Black Pepper, Bay Leaves, Celery Seed, Nutmeg, Clove, Onion, Ginger, and Red Pepper. It has a bold flavor and has a golden yellow color due to the turmeric(turmeric can stain very easily, so be careful!).

This spice adds the required heat to the dish. If you like it spicier, add some chilli sauce for extra oomph! There could be a chance that the curry powder flavors vary between the brands (if you are using store-bought ones). Make sure you adjust the quantity to suit your taste.

Red Curry Paste

Red curry paste is a mix of different spices and other flavorings. The one that I use has the following ingredients - red chillies, coriander root, shallots, lemon grass, garlic, kaffir lime peel, lemon grass, salt etc.

I have used store-bought red curry paste to cut down on the time without compromising the flavors. The combination of the curry powder and red curry paste is amazing! The flavor blend just gives you a warm feeling inside of you :).

Just like store-bought curry powder, the spice levels of red curry paste can vary based on different brands. Adjust the quantity used to suit your taste. Taste as you go for this recipe.

Leftover red curry paste can be stored in the refrigerator.

Ginger & Garlic

These are must-have in this dish. I prefer to use a little more ginger than garlic because I like the warm ginger undertones in the dish. This is especially true if you are preparing this on a winter evening.

Soy Sauce

Try to use a good quality soy sauce to get the maximum umami flavor. I recommend that you do some brand research to ensure that the Soy sauce you are using is in fact vegan. Also, keep in mind to check the gluten-free label for Soy sauce if you are following a GF diet.

(Vegetable) broth

If you make broth at home, you can definitely use that. But this recipe is like a cheats recipe to get the maximum flavor without going into the hassle of making everything from scratch. So, if you do not have time make broth at home, feel free to use store-bought ones.

Adjust the salt based on the sodium content in the broth you are using.

Coconut milk

I have used canned coconut milk available in the grocery stores. I think in India, coconut milk is available in tetra packs. Those would work perfectly as well.

I have used full-fat coconut milk to get a rich creamy coconut-y taste. If you are counting calories, you can use low-fat ones, but the result will not be as creamy as using the full-fat version.

Leftover coconut milk? You can use them in the following recipes.

Recipes using coconut milk

Brown Sugar (optional)

If you like to have sweet note to your soup, add ½-1 tablespoon of brown sugar along with the broth.

Salt

A small note on salt, especially if you are using store-bought spice blends - the red curry paste, curry powder (some brands), broth and soy sauce all have salt in them. Before you add salt to the soup, taste it and make sure you are not adding more salt than is necessary.

I like to season with salt at the end, to ensure that I am not adding too much salt.

Lime/Lemon Wedges

I L-O-V-E to drizzle a dash of lime/lemon juice on the sup. The tanginess from the lemon just perks up the entire dish to a new level. Try it!

Equipment/utensils needed

This is pretty straightforward, versatile and forgiving recipe for the vegetable soup in coconut milk with Thai flavors made on stovetop. You will need:

• A large soup pot
• Cooking spoon
• Chopping board and knife
• Measuring scale and spoons ( optional, if you can eyeball the ingredients)
• Ladle to serve the soup
• Serving bowls and spoons

what are the steps to make the thai coconut curry soup?

Detailed instructions and video can be found in the recipe card at the end of the blog post.

• Heat oil. Add onions, garlic, and ginger. Cook until translucent.
• Add the vegetables.
• Add curry powder, red curry paste. Cook until aromatic.
• Add the soy sauce followed by the broth. Bring to boil.
• Add the coconut milk. Simmer to let all the flavors blend.
• Ta-da!

What proteins can I add to the soup?

• To keep it vegan, add tofu along with the mushrooms. Be gentle with the stirring to ensure tofu pieces do not break.
• If you like chicken, you can add some pre-cooked shredded chicken along with the broth.
• Something with seafood? Of course! Try this soup with some shrimp (peeled and deveined). Pan-fry the shrimp before you add it to the soup.

If you are going with the chicken or the shrimp variation for this coconut curry soup, use chicken broth instead of vegetable broth for added non vegetarian flavor.

Make it a fuller meal

This Thai flavored soup is not thick like the pureed soups. It is slightly thin and watery, but full of flavors.

• Serve the soup along with some rice noodles.

• I love to serve this with some aromatic jasmine rice.

While the soup is boiling and then simmering, prepare the rice noodles and rice according to the package directions.

Thai coconut curry Soup Toppings 🙂

• I like the flavors of Thai basil in this soup! If you can't find Thai basil, use regular basil. It will be fragrant and amp up the flavor.
• Another topping I love to use in this soup is fresh Cilantro. Just amazing!
• Want some crunch? Add some roasted, crushed peanuts.
• Want it spicier? Top with some freshly chopped chilli pepper or drizzle some chili oil. Ooh so good!

Meal prep tip for thai coconut curry soup

Most of the spices and flavorings used in this Thai soup are premade and store-bought.

Make-from scratch: If you are in the habit of making everything from scratch, you can prepare stock (broth), curry powder spice mix and red curry paste at home in advance and use as required.

Store-bought: You are more or less prepared for making the soup. :). You just need to chop the vegetables and cook. But if you are extremely busy, you can chop and slice the vegetables and store them in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Saving leftovers

Storing in refrigerator: You can store the leftover soup in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Reheat in a microwave or on stovetop until heated through.

Freezing the soup: If you are planning to freeze the soup:

• Make sure you completely cool the soup before freezing.
• Add coconut milk only after you have reheated the soup. (Do not add it before you freeze).
• Do not cook the vegetables fully. Slightly undercook them so that they will cook to perfection when you reheat the soup.

(the above tips are form https://www.thekitchn.com/)

Have you tried these?

• This was a reader requested video for cleaning and preparing mushrooms.
• Do you love Thai flavors as much as we do? Then you SHOULD try this Thai flavored pineapple curry rice.
• Can't get enough mushroom recipes. We got you covered - this mushroom bhutti is a Konkani style preparation using mushrooms. Rich coconut and tamarind flavors.
• These flavor-packed mushrooms taste amazing with rice - if you get small button mushrooms, you don't even have to chop them! 🙂

Additional notes

• 1 CUP = 250 ML. (US cups are typically 240 ml. You can use US cups with no significant change to the dish)
• 1 TEASPOON= 5 ML; 1 TABLESPOON= 15 ML
• Grams to cups measurements – we strive to provide these conversions as accurately as possible. There might be some slight variations depending on the brand, weighing scale, etc.
• The serving size is 4. To make it a fuller meal, add a serving of rice noodles or jasmine rice along with the soup.
• You can choose your favorite protein to add - tofu, shrimp/prawns, chicken, etc are good options.
• If you like a hint of sweetness, add ½ - 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
• Different brands of curry powder and red curry paste have different levels of heat. Add smaller quantities at a time, taste as you go. Add more if you want more spice and flavor.
• Like it spicier? Add some chilli sauce along with soy sauce to perk up the heat or serve with some fresh chillies. One more idea for you to make it spicier is to drizzle some chilli oil.

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