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?
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I have made this soup twice and each time its delicious . This time I added snap peas and half a stock of celery . A tasty meal in a bowl . A couple of toasted nan bread and what else could you need! Great recipe
Spicy and Delicious!! A must try!! Keeper recipe!!
This is a family favorite! I made this at our family reunion. It was a hit! Your recipes are my go to favorites. Thackeray you SO much!
Very good but VERY spicy! I would use only 1 (or even 1/2) tablespoon of the red curry paste. I added more vegee broth and rice to temper the spice.
So good! I too used seafood stock since I had some homemade in freezer. I also added diced celery, carrots and spinach because I love extra vegetables. I will make it again.
Thank you.
This was really good! I added another 1/2 T of the red curry paste and added some fresh basil leaves. I didn’t have Thai basil but the Italian basil was a good substitute. I also added some diced potatoes. Our local Thai restaurant adds potatoes so I threw some in
This soup was amazingly delicious!! Perfect for this cold chilly day here in NY. Thank you ❤️
I’m wondering how many days I can keep this refrigerated?
Hi, has anyone made with brown basmati rice? Wondered if flavor would be much different. Saw comments on rice noodles below; though nothing on rice varieties. Thanks
Made this so many times. Just made with chicken breast instead of shrimp for the first time. Sooo good.
Mmmm, that first bite is unforgettable – I had to say it out loud: DAMN! Sooo good.
I added tofu for extra protein and kept the rice separate. I also made stock out of the shrimp peels and heads, instead of using vegetable broth. And just so you know, Mae Ploy red curry paste has some kick, so try some before you think about adding more in for extra flavor, like I did. Yellow curry paste has less heat, and I’ve seen some comments that Thai Kitchen brand red has almost no heat at all :D, in case you don’t want the heat.
Looks wonderful but I won’t eat it all. Can you freeze this?
Made this, and it was damn delicious. My family loved it! Will definitely be making it again and again!
Look delicious I can’t wait to try. It’s so hard to find shrimp recipes thank you for sharing. I appreciate this recipe Amen God bless
Made this!! Better than some restaurants I’ve been too. Well worth the effort, so delicious!
Added some mushrooms. *chef kiss* Amazing
I have both shrimp and scallops in the freezer. Do you think I could use BOTH in this soup? If so, do you recommend any adjustments to the recipe?
Made this tonight. We like spicy, so we kicked it up some, but I’m sure it would have been just as delicious as written. Definitely a keeper recipe.
Loved this recipe.. Made it 3 times. The last time I added some sliced mushrooms and spinach (because I had them) and it was fantastic!
Delicious, but . . . If you don’t consume all the soup the first time, any remaining rice will bloat absorbing the broth, and the red peppers, when reheated, will lose their integrity.
Would recommend a slight change to the recipe encouraging folks to add only as much rice as will be consumed at that sitting. Not sure how to handle the red pepper issue.
I don’t usually leave a review on recipes because usually I just want to sit and enjoy the meal so I tend to forget. I hadto take minute to say that just as is, this is damn delicious. I will do some add ons next time as others have suggested but just as written it certainly doesn’t disappoint.
Does anyone have the nutrition information for this recipe? I’ve made it before and loved it, but I’m diabetic now and need the nutrition information.
MyFitnessPal will let you “build a recipe” and then you can log it as serving. There’s also a really good chance that someone has already created the recipe too. They’ve recently put a bunch of their better functions behind a pay wall but if your need to track all aspects of your diet is important enough it may be worth it? Hope this helps!