Easy Thai Shrimp Soup
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Skip the take-out and try making this at home – it’s unbelievably easy and 10000x tastier and healthier!
I am such a sucker for Thai take-out, particularly for red curry and coconut soup. But ordering take-out has been getting a bit costly so this homemade coconut curry soup comes in very handy, especially during the cold, winter months. And the leftovers taste a million times better too.
Best of all, it’s so easy to make and it doesn’t require ingredients that are hard to find. And if you’re not a fan of shrimp, you can easily swap that out for chicken, pork or even tofu for a vegetarian option.
Either way, you’ll be sure to skip your usual Thai take-out and indulge in this budget-friendly version instead.
Easy Thai Shrimp Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
You can thaw frozen shrimp overnight, transferring it from the freezer to the fridge the day before. For a quick thaw, you can run them under cold water until completely thawed, about 5-10 minutes. Pat them dry as thoroughly as possible to remove any excess moisture.
Yes! Chicken is a great swap for the shrimp, and you can sub chicken stock for the vegetable stock as well.
I personally love Mae Ploy (contains shrimp paste). Thai Kitchen is also great, and more readily available at most grocery stores.
Easy Thai Shrimp Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 (12-ounce) can unsweetened coconut milk
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
- In a large saucepan of 1 1 /2 cups water, cook rice according to package instructions; set aside.
- Season shrimp with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Melt butter in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add shrimp, and cook, stirring occasionally, until pink, about 2-3 minutes; set aside.
- Add onion and bell pepper to the Dutch oven. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in red curry paste, garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
- Stir in coconut milk and vegetable stock; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until slightly thickened, about 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in rice, shrimp, lime juice and cilantro.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
Love this recipe and so do my friends.
I made this Tonite and it was fantastic!!! I tweaked it a little because I wanted to use my instapot because it’s easy. Also I used chicken since that’s what I had. Worked great in the instapot!! I added half the milk the garlic, chicken and broth , and curry to the instapot and pressure cooked it. I used my stovetop to quickly saute the onions and bell pepper with toasted sesame oil. When the insta pot was done I did a quick release, shredded the chicken and added the remaining ingredients (peppers, onions, remaining coconut milk, cilantro, ginger, lime juice and salt). My family loved it!! Thank you so much!
We love that!
I Love this soup! Unfortunately, I live smack in the middle of the Midwest where the only seafood you can get is frozen. I swap out chicken for the shrimp and chicken stock for the vegetable stock. So good (and simple)!
My husband and I loved this soup! He said it was one of the best dishes I had ever made! I used half the curry, my husband has been very ill so I didn’t want to make it too spicy.
Damn Delicious! Have made this twice now, a big hit!
I really enjoy your recipes! If I wanted to double this recipe what adjustments would you recommend or would you just double everything? Thank you.
Yes, it would be best to double everything. 🙂
This really does look Damn Delicious!! I like how the shrimp can be swapped out for tofu, chicken, or pork. Great work on the video’s and food photo’s. Once I started taking experimental photos of recipes I thought turned out well to share on social media I very QUICKLY realized how much work goes into making the food look… well, delicious!! Will have to get your cookbook soon.
My boyfriend and I made this soup and it is so delicious.
Awesome!
I made this soup tonight and it was delicious! It was easy to make and will be my go to soup now!
I just made this (with a few modifications) and OMG it was amazing!
Modifications:
Added some more kosher salt and more ground pepper as found it a bit too bland initially.
Increased the amount of red curry paste to 3 tablespoons (I prefer a smidge more spice)
Added sliced fresh mushrooms
Increased the coconut milk from 1 can to 2.
Finally, the limes I purchased were very small so I used juice from 2 small ones and that also brought flavour out even more.
Very easy to make and ready in under an hour!
Thank you for your feedback, Leasa!
I made this last night and I was so looking forward to it, but it was so flat. I made the recipe exactly as recipe was written. I had the expectation that the recipe would be full of flavor. I don’t know if it was because the recipe called for vegetable stock or what. I’m really bummed.
Hi Pamela,
I made it for first time tonight and as I was cooking and tasting it, realized needed a little “more”….
Modifications I made:
added more kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
3 tblsp of red curry paste instead of 2
more garlic
2 cans of coconut milk instead of 1
the recipient called for 3 cups of vegetable stock…I bought one of the cartons at grocery store which is actually 1 litre which would be equivalent to about 4 cups and I was worried it would be too watery but with everything else I added, you wouldn’t know
Some fresh sliced mushrooms
I had small limes so used 2 small limes and definitely gave it more zing
Honestly, in my opinion, these little additions just took it from pretty good to WOW!
Wow just made this soup. Easy and absolutely delicious. Didn’t have red curry paste so used yellow still very tasting and nice bite to it. So happy . Thank you. Lunch for the week.
Awesome! Thanks, Cathy!
Made this today, and it was delicious! I used a 12 oz. can of coconut milk. I see the grocery sells in the dairy sevtion in 1/2 gallons. Is this the same as the canned coconut milk?
No, those are two different kinds!
I made this last night for company and it was a hit! So delicious and easy. I put in more ginger than the recipe requires because I love ginger. Also, I added lemon grass because I also love lemon grass. I will make this recipe again and again. It’s a new favorite. Thank you.
sounds yummy!
I really like your blog. I follow you from Italy.
I would suggest you to include photos for each cooking step in order to make recipes even more easier.
Hi Stefano – there is actually a step-by-step video right above the recipe! That’s better than step-by-step photos, right? 🙂
Wow! This easy thai shrimp soup recipe is incredible! I’m seriously so inspired right now. I need to add 2 tomatoes to recipe and it would be perfect. Thx for sharing!
So great to hear Bella! Thank you 🙂
Could I use rice noodles instead of basmati?
Yes, absolutely!
I have been looking for ways to use shrimp paste.Can it be used in this recipe and if so, how much would I use? Thanks.
Unfortunately, without further recipe testing, I cannot answer with certainty. As always, please use your best judgment regarding substitutions and modifications.
Whew!! I think too much ginger!!! So spicy hot! I used cauliflower rice as substitute for rice to cut carbs tremendously.i love spicy food but it’s a bit overwhelming…hoping I can eat it. I need to go blow my nose now….lol
We tried this last night and it was fantastic! Will be making again. I made a few short cuts- like sautéing the veggies first, adding liquids and adding the shrimp the last 3 minutes it was simmering. My kids and husband loved this too, and I’ve already shared the recipe. Thank you for a great site and great recipes.