Ten years ago, my friend Ann made this soup for our family when we moved into our house. This has become one of my favorite soups and I like to prepare when I’m in a jam and need dinner quickly! It is quite easy, tasty, and perfect for a cold winters night. The blend of coconut milk and red curry paste is the perfect combination for a Thai style soup without any fuss. I will warn you though, it does have a nice kick to it. It will warm your bellies and leave you feeling satisfied. If you don’t like spicy food, just reduce the amount of curry paste to your liking.
I typically prepare this soup whenever I have leftover chicken and rice stored in my freezer. What I love about this recipe is that it doesn’t require exact amounts of anything. It’s a little bit of this.. a little bit of that. Before you know it, you have an awesome soup your friends and family will love! Enjoy!
(PS: If you make this soup for your friends who just had babies, I promise you.. You will be a Rock Star because all they’ve been eating since they’ve been home with a new baby is 10 different types of lasagnas and red sauce pasta dishes.)
Note: The only Asian ingredients you need is red curry paste and coconut milk. Fish sauce is optional. Not having fish sauce is no problem. I’ve posted pictures of the ingredients I used below because someone emailed me asking for the brands of the Asian ingredients I use. For the coconut milk and fish sauce I have no particular brand I am loyal to. I just happened to buy Chaokoh coconut milk and Squid brand fish sauce because they were on sale. However, I do like the Mae Ploy brand curry pastes. These ingredients can be found in most Asian grocery stores or in the Asian aisle of your neighborhood super market. You can also purchase them online – just do a Google search.
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped - except for a few matchsticks for garnish
- ½ onion, chopped finely
- 1 red bell pepper, chopped finely - except for a few thinly sliced pieces for garnish
- 1 cup cooked chicken meat, chopped
- 1 cup cooked rice
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons red curry paste (if you like it less spicy, just use 1 tablespoon)
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 21 oz chicken broth (roughly 1.5 cans of Swansons brand)
- 13.5 oz can Asian coconut milk or cream (unsweetened)
- Optional: few sprigs of cilantro
- Note: Reserve some of the coconut milk, carrots, and red bell pepper (and cilantro) for optional garnish.
- In a medium sauce pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat and cook the carrots, onions, and red bell pepper for approximately 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken, rice, brown sugar, curry paste, and fish sauce stirring and sauteing everything until curry paste is completely incorporated (approx. 2-3 minutes).
- Pour chicken broth and coconut milk into the pan and give it a good stir for a half minute. Reduce heat to medium and allow the soup to cook for 15-20 minutes.
- Serve with a spoonful of coconut milk added on top with a few matchstick carrots and a slice of red bell pepper for garnish. Enjoy!
Alice Currah says
Hi, the rice should be cooked and you add it with the chicken. And the milk is added with the broth. Both are listed in the instructions.
chris says
You never say how or when to add the rice? do you pre cook the rice and add when you add broth and milk?
JoAnn says
I loved this! Made with homemade chicken stock and light coconut milk. Delicious and healthy. Thanks so much for sharing.
Bonnie says
I’m making this for the second time. I’ve noticed that many recipes like this add in peas of various sorts and am wondering if they would take away or add to this simple recipe? I know it is delightful as is…
Misty says
When I am not feeling well I crave curry soup and was until now only able to get it at the local ‘noodle’ shop ($$). I made a big pot of this today and am loving how it soothes my sore throat and makes me feel all cozy and comforted.
Thank you so very much
Misty
melissa says
Just made this today! I cannot stop eating it! It is sooo good!!!!!!!!!! I did vary a little from the recipe by adding 1 tbsp. of red curry paste, 1 tsp of reg curry powder and a tsp of red pepper flakes.
TheHillHangout says
Just found this recipe on Pinterest. I will definitely be repinning and making it very soon. Thanks for sharing!
Pauline says
This soup is absolutely wonderful. I followed the recipe except I substituted a large leek instead of the onion. Just finished the first pot and already my husband is asking when I will be making it again.
Kenyon says
i made this soup last night and it was so good and easy! i will definitely be making it from now on fairly often. thanks! 🙂
Chris says
Looks great. How many people does this serve?
Allison says
The flavors were nice but it was wayyyyy too bland. I doubled the red curry paste and added crushed red pepper flakes. I also added a squeeze of lime for a little zing. The basic recipe is good – the flavors are there. They just need to be kicked up several notches. (And… I’m not a spicy food lover, fyi.)
Lisa K says
I am making this today for the second time- this soup is SO delicious! I only had a small can of coconut milk and the yellow curry (same brand as pictured above) and it was fantastic. We really love cilantro so I did put more in than the recipe called for. Thanks for posting this recipe!
alice says
Yes, you could substitute any curry you would like. I like the red one the best.
Angiesurecanbake says
WOW!! I love this soup. I usually get it from a thai spot in the city but have always wanted to make it myself. I did add some minced ginger & 2 cloves of crushed garlic & it was soooo good! The only other change it did make was I added whipping cream & had to add more curry paste. Next time though I will cut down the chciken broth to 1/2 & replace it with extra coconut milk or whipping cream. I like a more creamy soup. Oh! before I forget… you have to try it topped with chopped cilantro, green onions & a sliced boiled egg. OMG!!!! You will loveit trust me 🙂
Gin says
Hi Alice
One question, does this recipe goes well with Mae Ploy green curry paste. I still have 3/4 Mae Ploy green curry paste sitting in the fridge and I am going to try this recipe this coming Sat. Would you recommend that I go for red or just use the green curry paste. Your respond to this asap is greatly appreciated. Thanks, Gin
Christy says
Thanks for this recipe-it looks wonderful! I love your site here.
Christy
Jill says
This is on the stove cooking right now. I’ve had a much simpler version of this before (only broth, chicken, curry and coconut milk), but the extras included in this recipe have added so much color and aroma. Can’t wait to dive into it in 30 minutes!
Fairbanksgrrrl says
I tried this last night, and it was SO good. Thanks for the amazing recipe! It’s going into regular rotation at our house.
Michelle says
I wont have my baby till August, but I am already craving this. I had been buying this soupa t a local Earth Fare market and they havent been carrying thier Coconut Curry chicken soup since this past winter. Now that is all I want. I have the lable saved on all the ingrediants that go in it, but this will make things sooo much easier. Thank you thank you thank you sooo much!
alice says
Hi Kristine,
Sorry, I’m not familiar with that dish but it sounds amazing! I know some chefs who blend or cook with the shells of shrimp to extract the flavor. Perhaps this is what you had?
Kristine says
wow this was icredibly delicious! this is the very first time when I have made something so good, my boyfriend’s first words after tasting it was: just like in a restaurant!
i also have a question for you:
last year i was in Berlin in an indian restaurant and they had the most impressive shrimp soup ever and since then i have not found any recipes closed to that so maybe you have something in mind? it was very hot, blended and with huge shrimps in it and taste was very close to this coconut curry soup
thanks for your fantastic recipes! i’m a huge fan
liz says
That was delicious. I did a couple modifications because we’re on Atkins (no carrot or brown sugar, a little splenda, a lot more chicken and used grated steamed cauliflower for the rice) which might not sound good but it was excellent. Thank you for the recipe.
joanne says
I have a pot on my stove right now. I have one word, “Amazing”. In our family we have always enjoyed Japanese curry as my husband lived there for 18 years. Recently, my kids discovered other curries and took us to Annapurna, a Nepal/Indian/Tibetan Restaurant on Broadway in Seattle. We ordered four kinds of curries and your recipe tastes so close to one of the curries we ordered! I can’t wait for the kids to try this! Thanks for the great recipe!
claudia dan says
Alice,
I looooooove your soup. I bought ingredients today and even thou it was a mild day here in Seattle I made the soup for dinner. My hubby looked at me in AWE like I was some kind of secret chef. I used brown basmati rice and forgot the fish sauce but it still turned out very delicious.(At the asian store I bought exaclty the same brands you are using without even knowing that’s what you are using too 🙂 I’m from Eastern Europe and to me these flavors are out of this world. I cook some italian , some french ofcourse eastern european like stuffed cabbage rolls , chicken papricash etc. but going Thai was new to me and I love the fact that I was able to make it and turn out so delicious. I love this soup but I also love the technique and I will make diffrent variations soon. I got the Naan bread from T.J. to go with the soup… forget it, it was perfect on own.
Thank you for your blog.
Bonnie says
I just came across this recipe and it looks yummy. It’s not clear to me what the yield is – maybe 2 or 4 adults? I need to make it for 6 adults so I was thinking of doubling it. Does that sound about right?