Thai-Inspired Coconut Curry Soup With Vegetables

By Ali Slagle

Published Jan. 2, 2020

Thai-Inspired Coconut Curry Soup With Vegetables
Linda Xiao for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Monica Pierini.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
4(1,434)
Comments
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There are dozens of types of curries in Thailand, but most can be categorized as red, green or yellow; this is a streamlined vegetarian version of a red curry, named after the color of chile found in the curry paste. This one is spicy, sweet, creamy and adaptable. When the red curry paste is cooked in oil, the blend of chiles and aromatics like galangal and lemongrass come alive and become the curry’s backbone. Because store-bought pastes vary in intensity, this recipe also uses fresh garlic and ginger to ensure a zingy final result. Use any vegetables you like, but it’s nice to have one hearty vegetable (like sweet potato) and one crisp one (like snow peas) for a mix of textures. If you find your curry too spicy, stir in a bit of brown sugar. If it’s feeling a bit flat, squeeze in a little lime juice or add a dash of soy or fish sauce.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 5ounces rice vermicelli noodles
  • 1tablespoon coconut oil
  • 1cup chopped sweet potato, carrots, parsnips, cauliflower or winter squash
  • 1(2-inch) piece ginger, finely grated (no need to peel)
  • 4garlic cloves, finely grated
  • 3tablespoons Thai red curry paste
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
  • 1(14-ounce) can full-fat coconut milk
  • 1cup chopped snow peas, bok choy, snap or frozen peas, edamame or green beans
  • 1lime
  • Cilantro or basil leaves, for serving
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

422 calories; 26 grams fat; 22 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 2 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 46 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 3 grams sugars; 6 grams protein; 540 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cook the noodles according to package directions. Drain, rinse and set aside.

  2. Step 2

    While the noodles cook, in a medium pot, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the sweet potato, ginger, garlic and red curry paste. Season with a pinch each of salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture turns a shade darker and begins to stick to the bottom of the pot, 3 to 5 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Stir in the coconut milk, snow peas, 1 cup water and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a simmer and cook until the snow peas are bright green and the sweet potato is tender, 5 to 7 minutes.

  4. Step 4

    Remove from heat. Cut the lime in half; squeeze one half into the curry and cut the other half into four wedges. Divide the noodles among bowls, top with the curry and herbs. Squeeze more lime juice over as desired.

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Ratings

4 out of 5
1,434 user ratings
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Comments

Shannon

This was so easy and delicious. I used only sweet potatoes and used bok choy vs snow peas. I also had some chicken bone broth that I needed to use up so added that in place of the water. I probably would have eaten the whole pot myself but my kids were looking up at me with sad eyes so I had to share. Huge hit.

wkmtca

are you suppose to put the carrots, parsnips, cauliflower, in at the beginning if not using sweet potato or what? this recipe is poorly written. and i believe the sweet potato will take a lot longer to cook than snow peas.

BarbW

The flavor is great, but I think the water made it too dilute. I used about 2/3 lthe noodles called for and about 1 1/2 times more vegetables - cauliflower for the hard veges, and peppers, green beans and broccoli for the soft. Added broccoli when the beans were just starting to get tender. Next time I'll add water only at the end, and not very much.

RudisHuman

@Pat B or maybe a NEW jar of red curry paste?

Nicola Shipman

This sounds crazy, but it's Christmas Eve and I have no ginger, at all, not even powdered, since I made so many gingerbread cookies, cake etc etc. It's too late and I'm too tired to go out again. Thus, I look in the cupboard.. gingersnaps! Figuring it's kind of like using them in sauerbraten, I plopped in a few. Nice sweetness, a touch of ginger and definitely a thickener! Not perfect but in a pinch:-)

GW

This didn’t work out for me at all. I think my issue is twofold. First, I used a good spicy Thai curry paste. It was way too powerful for these proportions. I should have known better, but it’s been a while since I’ve made red curry. Second, this recipe lacks the basic Thai curry techniques that build depth of flavor. Those techniques involve cooking the curry paste and coconut milk down until the fats split and the coconut milk caramelizes. Then building it back up again into a sauce with more coconut milk and flavoring it with fish sauce, palm sugar (or brown sugar), kefir lime leaves etc. It takes a little more time, but the depth of flavor you build is absolutely worth it. It takes what this recipe is, a bit of a one note simmer sauce, and turns it into a real wowzer. I recommend Pailin "Pai" Chongchitnant’s Thai curry recipes. Check her website and YouTube channel out for details. She is phenomenal at walking you through Thai cooking techniques, how the flavors work, and choices you can make along the way to tweak the flavors to your liking. I’ll try the idea of this NYTimes Thai inspired soup recipe again (I really do like the idea), but with Pai’s techniques as a base for a soup with more complexity.

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