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!
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reasons to make easy thai shrimp soup
- Takeout favorite
- Budget-friendly
- Uses easy-to-find ingredients
- Cold weather comfort food
- Leftovers taste even better
- Super flexible recipe (and can be made vegetarian friendly)
what is red curry paste and where can i find it
Commonly used in Thai dishes, red curry paste is made from a blend of red chili pepper, garlic, lemongrass, Thai ginger and various spices.
Red curry paste is typically used for stir-fry, soups or mixed with coconut milk for curry. It is readily available in most grocery store chains, particularly the Thai Kitchen brand, and online, with some brands containing shellfish (shrimp paste).
tips and tricks for success
- Know your shrimp size. Shrimp size is calculated on number of shrimp per pound. The smaller the number, the larger your shrimp. There are about 40-50 medium shrimp per pound.
- Buy frozen shrimp. For superior quality and freshness, using frozen shrimp is ideal (but avoid the bags with freezer burn), opting for a quick thaw under cold running water.
- Use your favorite protein. This recipe will work well with chicken thighs, chicken breasts, shrimp or tofu.
- Use full fat coconut milk. Although lite coconut milk can certainly be used, full fat coconut milk will yield a much more rich and creamy broth.
- Mix it up. Swap the red curry paste for green, add in more veggies (cabbage, zucchini, mushrooms or bok choy) or use rice noodles in place of rice.
- Stir in more stock with leftovers. When reheating leftovers, stir in more stock as needed as the rice will continue to soak up the broth.
what to serve with thai shrimp soup
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.
We personally love Mae Ploy (contains shrimp paste). Thai Kitchen is also great with mild heat, and more readily available at most grocery stores.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days.
We do not recommend freezing this as coconut milk tends to separate when frozen.
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 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Equipment
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.
Video
Did you make this recipe?
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Delicious recipe, have made it a few times now! I use frozen cauliflower rice cooked in the microwave, to make it healthier and slightly easier. I do add a little fish sauce, extra coconut cream, and extra veggies like mushrooms, zucchini, a little tomato, green onions, and I double the recipe. I save shrimp shells in the freezer to make stock, and sometimes make my own chicken bone broth as well. I also like to add chicken to make it more meaty without using as many shrimp. The flavor is amazing, and like any great soup, this tastes even better the next day!
LOVE THIS – this recipe is so easy and absolutely fantastic. Just perfect – THANK YOU – this is the first recipe I have tried from this website and plan to make my way thru a lot of them.
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!