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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Just wonderful flavors! I omitted rice for lower carbs. I added about 1/4 tsp Sriracha and a pinch of cayenne. Salt & pepper to taste. I cut each shrimp in 2 pieces. Was easier to eat and had more bites of shrimp per spoonful. I’ll definitely make this again.
Thanks for a great recipe!
What an exquisite soup this is! I felt I was sitting down to eat in a famous New York restaurant, surrounded by waiters in tuxedos.
I made my own broth first, as others did, and I used the shrimp shells along with chicken bones, for a several hour simmer.
In the more-flavor department, I added a couple tablespoons chopped roasted tomatoes in EVOO, and that also imparted a deeper rosy shade to the base that was attractive.
At the end, your lime juice suggestion gave it the kiss of life.
Look at all the people who love your recipe, Chungah, and now I add another to your list of admirers.
Just inspired!
I have made this several times, and it is just so darn good! Very easy, easy to follow. You will find that this recipe will lend you to make it in different versions, as well! I make it with chicken too. Damn Delicious!
Delish! Easy, but there is simple prep involved. Hubby & I cook together so a task divided is half the time 😉 I doubled the recipe and added just a tad of buffalo sauce to give it a mild kick. Flavors are amazing!
So, adding my review to all these 5-stars and boy is this recipe worthy!! For anyone debating whether or not to try this recipe—the hype is real! I followed recipe as is except to sub chicken for the shrimp (had chicken on hand) and used chicken broth instead of vegetable. This is quintessential comfort food, wonderful flavors, very easy to make and easy to adapt to your taste. I did add more garlic because I love it. Made jasmine rice on the side and some vegetable spring rolls. Love, love, love and Thank You for the recipe.
I assumed I would like the soup; the ingredients were great. However, my neighbor does not like Thai food, so I did not tell her this was Thai soup. I asked her to try it, called it shrimp and rice soup. She loved it.
Packed with delicious flavor and super easy to make! I added fish sauce, some red pepper flakes, and bit more of the red curry paste. I also used a full carton of chicken broth instead of the veg broth and it was perfectly fine. I’m a fan of fresh ginger so I also a bit more. The fresh cilantro is a must! So yummy!!
OMG this soup was beyond delicious! I did realize after picking up the groceries that I only had about eight shrimp in the freezer, but I did have some frozen cooked chicken legs from Costco. So I thawed it, cut the meat off the bone, and did a rough big chunk dice. Then I realized after I started sauteing vegetables that the red curry paste I put in my basket while at Central Market was not here. Somehow it was left in my basket during checkout. But I did have gochujang and cumin. Last-minute alternatives made for a great dish! Since I’m low carb, I shredded/riced some cauliflower and roasted it in the oven for a bit. I did not add the cauliflower to the soup, just used it as a base for plating. This is a definite dish I will be making on the regular!
Delicious!
I didn’t have red curry so, I used curry powder. I added broccoli and carrots!!!!
Damn DELICIOUS!
I altered this recipe to my own taste but it’s also great just as it is. It’s pretty darn yummy.
OMG so yummy!! Followed recipe except Better than Bullion chicken instead of stock. Added 1Tbl fish sauce. Thank you for a great, favorable recipe!!
We 100% loooooved this quick, easy soup! Cold Sunday night: I have prawns, I have coconut milk, I have Thai red curry paste, I have chicken stock (and a few other things like ginger, garlic, red peppers in my crisper) googled Thai coconut prawn soup recipes, with my four MAIN ingredients in mind, and Damn Delicious delivered! Seriously? Come onnnnnnnn! This was so quick and easy to pull together. We couldn’t believe how flavour packed this dish was! I DID add fish sauce as others had mentioned – cause I have it and I like it – but OMGawsh……fantastic, rich, flavour bomb soup! YUMMMMM Thanks for the inspiration!
This is delicious. I didn’t have unsweetened coconut milk so mine was a little sweet but I added a bit more lime. I love trying new recipes and this one is a keeper.
Great soup! Loved it and it was super easy. Unfortunately I used frozen shrimp and that did not go well. Will try again with fresh shrimp.
Thanks for sharing
The meal was superb. Thank you for sharing. I will definitely make it again. I added Zucchini and green beans. This was mentioned in another review.
So good! Thanks for the recipe!
Amazing recipe! I added fresh basil with the cilantro and followed previous suggestions to only partially cook the shrimp. I used chicken broth vs veg broth and also added sliced mushrooms and more garlic because why not! So good!
Super easy to make and tastes delicious, no more take out for me. I spiced it up with Thai Chilies. So good!
Per my previous review, if using the already cooked Uncle Ben’s rice packets, use a HALF PACKET, not the whole packet. Delicious recipe.
Absolutely delicious…never had this in a restaurant with the rice in the soup but it was a winner. It was easy for me because I keep chopped onion, cilantro and garlic in the freezer. I also had a packet of Uncle Ben’s already cooked basmati rice which has the perfect packet amount to add to the soup. Plus I had a tube of ginger paste so for me it was really super easy, otherwise I may not have considered it easy.