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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Great soup! Added 2 Tbsp fish sauce
This was great. Only thing I added was about 2 Tbsp of fish sauce.
Wow! Is this fantastic! Quick, easy and so delicious. Definitely a keeper and a sharer! Thank you.
I absolutely love this recipe,I have made it several times
This is a great recipe. I’ve made it multiple times and it consistently tastes great! Authentic Thai soup.
Excellent Soup! I realized I didn’t have coconut milk, so I used almond milk instead and then pinched some coconut flakes that I had (which melted) and it still tasted so great. This is a quick and easy recipe that is absolutely delicious!
I make this more for the broth, as I drink this at my desk and sometimes even for breakfast!!!
This has become one of our family favorites. My son (9 yrs old) loves to help in the kitchen, and this has become his dish. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve been determined to replicate the shrimp soup from a local Thai restaurant for YEARS! This is so close that I almost jokingly asked him if it was the recipe he uses!
Omitted the rice and added enoki mushrooms. Swapped out the red bell pepper for thai chilli (we like it spicy!), and used green onion instead of regular onion (what I had on hand). Also added some sirracha and finally some brown sugar to give it a little something sweet to balance it all out.
I don’t cook, but I’m learning. I folliwed this recipe and my family was super impressed. VERY easy and delicious
Wonderful recipe, I’ve made the soup several times. Can I freeze leftovers?
I’d like to know if the leftovers can be frozen too….
Likely not if you use shrimp in it. I’d make the broth, freeze that then add shrimp when serving.
Easy to put together and so delicious. Definitely a keeper. I have made it several times. Although very delicious the way the recipe is written I might start adding more vegetables like others have suggested.
This was delicious! I’ve never made homemade curry, and I will be making this again. Thank you!
Super easy to make and very tasty!
SO easy fast and insanely tasty! I totally forgot to make the rice…didn’t miss it. It was s big hit!
Subbed in Salmon, added mushrooms (cause I had them), a 1/4 Jalapeno pepper, and it was EPIC!
Tried it and it turned out delicious.
Absolutely amazing -both gourmet and comfort food at the same time! Restaurant grade. I fell in love with this recipe.
And so easy to put together. I love curry, I love shrimp I love to cook with coconut milk. So this soup was invented for me.
I made the vegetable broth myself it took me 25 minutes.
I put less lime juice though just half.
This was sooo good! I had a hankering for some Thai last week and this was pretty easy and delicious. After reading reviews, I decided to double the garlic and coconut milk and halved the onion. I also added sliced mushrooms at the same time I added the other vegetables. I also added some bamboo shoots while simmering. At the end, I adjusted the flavor with salt, pepper, and Sriracha. Definitely a keeper! My extremely picky kids even ate it. They didn’t love it, but they ate it, so that’s a huge win!
Delicious! Might use regular (vs. unsweetened) coconut milk next time. Instapot rice makes it really easy. Definitely putting this in the rotation.
Could I use chicken stock instead of vegetable stock?
Can I use chicken instead of shrimp?