Thai-Style Chicken Coconut Soup
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
Description
If you can’t find fresh lemongrass, most grocery stores will carry a paste version in a tube that works just fine in this flavorful soup.
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp (15 ml) grapeseed oil
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) lemongrass
- 3 large shallots, chopped
- 2 tbsp cilantro
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) fish sauce, 2 tbsp reserved
- 4 cups (960 ml) chicken stock
- 2 14-oz (400 g each) cans full-fat coconut milk, well shaken
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 8 oz (225 g) white button mushrooms, wiped clean, stems removed and cut into 1/4 inch slices
- the entire breast of one rotisserie chicken, sliced in 1/8 inch slices
- 3 tbsp (45 ml) fresh lime juice (2-3 limes)
- 2 tsp Thai red curry paste (more to taste)
For the garnish
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 serrano or jalapeno chilies, thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, sliced thin on the diagonal
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat until simmering.
- Add lemongrass, shallots, cilantro and 1 tbsp of the fish sauce; cook, stirring frequently until just softened, 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in chicken broth and one can of coconut milk; bring to simmer over high heat, cover and reduce heat to low; simmer for 10 minutes.
- Pour broth through fine mesh strainer and discard solids; rinse saucepan and return strained broth mixture to pan.
- Return pan to medium-high heat. Stir remaining can of coconut milk and sugar into broth and bring to simmer.
- Reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes; add chicken and cook for another 5 minutes, remove from heat.
- Combine lime juice, curry paste and remaining 2 tbsp fish sauce in a small bowl; stir into soup.
- Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with fresh cilantro, chiles and green onions. Serve immediately with lime wedges.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 25 mins
- Category: Soup
- Cuisine: Thai
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 380
Find it online: https://honestcooking.com/thai-style-chicken-coconut-soup/
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Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use lemongrass paste instead of fresh lemongrass?
Yes — the recipe excerpt specifically says that if you can’t find fresh lemongrass, most grocery stores carry a paste version in a tube that works just fine. The recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of lemongrass either way.
Why does this recipe strain out the lemongrass and shallots partway through?
After simmering the aromatics (lemongrass, shallots, cilantro) with 1 can of coconut milk and the chicken broth for 10 minutes, the broth is poured through a fine-mesh strainer and the solids discarded. This produces a clean, silky broth with all the infused flavor intact before the mushrooms and chicken are added.
Why is the lime juice and curry paste added at the very end rather than during cooking?
Lime juice and Thai red curry paste (2 tsp, plus the remaining 2 tbsp fish sauce) are combined in a small bowl and stirred into the soup off heat. Adding them at the end preserves the brightness of the lime and prevents the curry paste from losing its fresh, aromatic quality through prolonged cooking. 
