This flavourful Thai soup features chicken, rice and mushrooms, in a lightly creamy Thai flavoured red curry broth. Deliciously different chicken and rice soup!
This Thai chicken soup is one I have been enjoying for years. Its hearty and flavourful, featuring wonderful Thai flavours, which are a favourite of mine. With the chicken and rice, it's also hearty enough to satisfy as a dinner soup.
This soup starts with cooked chicken and cooked rice, so needless to say, if you happen to have either of those in your fridge as leftovers, you are ahead of the game. Even if you don't, the soup comes together quickly. I usually make the rice ahead and refrigerate, then make the soup quickly at dinner time. If I don't have cooked chicken already, I simply dice up a chicken breast and quickly cook it up in a skillet as I start the soup.
Ingredient Notes
Chicken - I generally use boneless chicken breasts, though boneless chicken thighs are fine here, too. Left-over cooked chicken is ideal, as you can skip the step of cooking the chicken ahead.
Mushrooms - Regular white or cremini mushrooms are best here.
Red Bell Pepper - use fresh if you have it. Jarred roasted red peppers will also work here.
Fish Sauce - ideal if you have it. If not, you can substitute soy sauce.
Worcestershire Sauce - again, ideal if you have it. If not, simply add another splash of soy sauce.
Half and Half Cream - this is 10% b.f. cream. You can substitute milk, but your soup will be less creamy. For a non-dairy soup, replace the cream with more coconut milk.
Coconut Milk - I like to use regular coconut milk for the creaminess and thickness, but lite will work here as well.
Thai Red Curry Paste - I prefer red curry paste in this soup. If you only have green or yellow, you can use, though the flavour profile will be a bit different.
Sambal Oelek - this is the spicy Asian Chili sauce. It packs a punch, so use to taste or omit if you don't want any heat. Asian Chili Garlic Sauce is a good substitute or even Sriracha.
Rice - Any cooked rice is fine here. I prefer a classic long-grain rice, but Basmati, brown rice or a wild-rice mix would also work.
For thickening - cornstarch or arrowroot starch, mixed with water
Cook's Notes
- One important note about this soup! You don't want to combine the soup with the rice until right before you will be eating it. If you're cooking rice at the same time you are making the soup, simply spoon some warm rice into a bowl and spoon the hot soup overtop. If you are starting with leftover rice, simply warm slightly before adding to bowl and spooning the hot soup over top.
- Likewise, if you have leftover soup and rice, refrigerate separately. To reheat, you can add the rice to the soup to reheat, as long as you will be consuming right away.
- The reason for this? The rice soaks up the soup as it sits, resulting in a bowl of rice instead of a bowl of soup.
- Start with leftover cooked chicken (or chicken from a rotisserie chicken) and/or leftover cooked rice to make this soup even more quickly!
Change it Up! Use Asian noodles instead of rice. Simply soak/cook any Asian noodle and add some to the bowl before spooning over the hot soup.
Recipe
Wicked Thai Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into thin 2-inch strips
- 1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced, (a standard 8 oz. size tray package)
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 large chicken breast, cooked, then diced or cut into bite-sized pieces
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup half and half (10%) cream, or use 1 cup more coconut milk instead
- 1/2 cup coconut milk, 1 small can or if using a large can stir coconut milk first, then measure out
- 2 tsp red curry paste
- 1 tsp Sambal Oelek chili paste, or Asian Garlic Chili Paste/Sriracha as an alternative but you may need less
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste, to taste
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- 2 cups cooked rice, long grain white, basmati or brown rice or try a mix of long grain with wild rice for some added texture
- leaves Fresh cilantro, parsley or basil shredded for garnish
Instructions
- Start rice cooking. If cooking chicken, cut in half lengthwise to make thinner pieces and cook in a skillet over medium heat until cooked through. Remove to cool slightly, then dice. Set aside.
- Heat large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add 1 Tbsp. oil. When hot, add mushrooms and cook until golden and tender. Remove to a plate. In the same pot, add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and heat. Add onion and red pepper, and saute just until softened. Return mushrooms to pot. Add broth and cooked chicken and heat through. Add fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce and simmer 5 minutes. Add cream and coconut milk, turn heat to low, then cover and simmer 2 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine curry paste, Sambal Oelek, tomato paste and cornstarch and mix until incorporated. Stir into soup until combined and heat until soup simmers, thickens slightly and has a velvety appearance. Taste and season with salt and pepper, as needed.
- To serve, spoon some hot rice into a bowl, then spoon hot soup over-top. Serve immediately garnished with cilantro, parsley or basil leaves.
- Store any leftover rice and soup separately, as the rice will soak up all the soup broth if store together.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided for general guidance only and should not be relied upon to make personal health decisions.
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Brenda says
Hi Jennifer,
This soup is awesomely delicious, a restaurant in Ottawa called Green Rebel make a similar one and run out of it all the time, now I can make my own. Love this recipe, I never knew I liked coconut milk...lol
How many calories per serving? I don't know what Kcal is?
Thank you
Brenda
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed it Brenda! Now that you've discovered coconut milk, you should try some Thai curries. Similar flavours to this soup really. And kCal is just the scientific short form for calories (or Energy from food), so whatever is listed there is the calories per serving.
Shelley says
This is the most amazing soup! My favourite.
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Shelley! Thanks :)
Dale says
Cooked a double batch for the Soup Club at work today. Turned out really nice.
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Dale! Thanks :)
Jill says
This was absolutely amazing! I wish I had doubled the recipe! I didn't use cream. I used a can of coconut milk instead.
Jennifer says
Glad you enjoyed it :) Thanks!
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
It isn't soup weather as far as our area of Florida goes but who cares when you can enjoy a soup this good. It is always soup weather!
Jennifer says
I'm jealous of your not-soup weather, but glad you get to enjoy soup, anyway :) Thanks!
Cathy says
I am wondering if this soup freezes well?
Jennifer says
Hi Cathy, as long as you freeze the soup separate from the rice, you should be good :)
Maria J says
This was delicious! Subbed some sauteed ground turkey instead of the chicken and used 1 TB more of fish sauce. Everyone loved it and had seconds. Glad I made a double batch!! Thanks Jennifer. :)
Jennifer says
Thanks Maria! So glad you enjoyed it :)
linda says
This soup looks, and sounds amazing!!! Approximately how much chicken (by oz or grams) did you use, I have thighs in the fridge, and I'm dieing to make this soup!!
Jennifer says
Hi Linda! Somewhere around 10-oz is probably good. Doesn't need to be exact. Just depends on how much chicken you want in your soup :)
Chris Scheuer says
This sounds and looks wickedly delicious!
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Chris :)
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
So up my alley Jennifer! We enjoy soup a few times a week for dinner during the fall and winter months, and we love this one! I've made this one before and it got rave reviews!
sue | the view from great island says
This is so up my alley, I love all those powerful Thai flavors! I have a little section of my fridge devoted to my Thai sauces, so I'm set to make this soup, and it's just the perfect warmup for a chilly fall day :)
Jennifer says
Thanks Sue and yes, I keep my fridge well stocked too, as Thai is one of my favourites, too!
Dawn - Girl Heart Food says
I just love the name of this soup, Jennifer! And anything with that chili paste gets my attention (love the spice). It's cold and raining here today so this would be perfect :)
Jennifer says
Thanks Dawn! If you like Thai red curry, you will love this soup, for sure :)
Tricia @ Saving Room for Dessert says
Another outstanding soup recipe Jennifer - so pretty and no doubt delicious. It's getting cold now and soup is all I want to eat. Bet the flavor is wonderful!
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Tricia :) We saw our first snow flakes falling from the sky for a few minutes yesterday. Definitely soup season here!
nancy says
Jennifer--you were kind enough to help me with the brand of curry pastes you use and I am so grateful. This recipe calls for fish sauce. Is there a particular one you use that you can recommend for me. Thanks.
Jennifer says
I had to go and check my cupboard, but I find that my fish sauce currently is Thai Kitchen brand as well. I don't really have any brand loyalty when it comes to fish sauce. I live in a small town, so I go with what's on the shelf and around here, that's almost always Thai Kitchen. Again, you might have more options if you are close to an Asian grocer. You will only use a bit at a time, so it will last a while :)
Ken says
Made this tonight for my wife and I.
Added a green pepper as well as red - just because I wanted to use it up. And also sautéed the chicken with a TSP of sesame oil and a TSP of honey and salt and pepper to impart it some flavour. Delicious.
Jennifer says
Sounds perfect Ken and so glad you enjoyed this soup! Thanks :)
Nick says
Thanks for a great recipe Jennifer - made it verbatim except added a tiny bit of sugar to taste at the very end.
Jennifer says
Thanks Nick and glad you enjoyed this! One of my favourite soups :)
Irene (former Ontarian, now PEI says
Considering winter has had a variety of weather, soup can be any time. Even though my palate takes a few minutes to adjust to the "heat", I like dishes with interesting taste. And your soup did not disappoint. It was easy to prepare and very tasty. Chose to add the rice to the bottom of the bowl rather than adding it to the soup.
Jennifer says
Thanks Irene and glad you enjoyed it. I make it with the rice in the bowl, too, since I like left-overs :)
Karen (Back Road Journal) says
I've just moved to Florida from New England so with weather is still hot but I don't care…I'm making your soup. It sounds great.
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Karen. Enjoy! :)
Cathleen @ A Taste Of Madness says
It is not quite soup weather here, but that is not stopping me from making all the soup recipes ;) This looks so tasty!
Jennifer says
Thanks Cathleen :)
Stephanie @ The Glamorous Gourmet says
This is totally my kind of soup and even though it's still 105 degrees down here in South Florida I'm still moving ahead with soup season darn it! Thanks for sharing this delicious recipe ~ Cheers:)
Jennifer says
Thanks Stephanie. It's worth cranking up the AC for :)
Sherry B says
Hi. I do not comment on sites but I have to say thank you for the wicked Thai soup recipe. I used to buy this at Loblaws takeout for lunch. Also was able to buy it-from Sysco in large bag from a friend that worked at Sysco(Peterborough). Also my daughter had asked me to make Chelsea buns just like the ones we used to get from Hyserts in Bancroft. I made these and she and everyone else loved them. Fond memories. Am making them tomorrow as I am going to visit her. Enjoy your blog.
Jennifer says
You are most welcome Sherry. Enjoy the soup :) And thanks for commenting!
Laura (Tutti Dolci) says
I love these Thai flavors, the perfect soup for chilly fall nights!
Jennifer says
Thanks Laura :)
Liz @ Floating Kitchen says
It wasn't soup weather here until about 3 days ago. And now - BOOM! Chilly air is here! As much as I miss summer, I'm loving the change in the air. And I'm so happy for soup season - probably my favorite thing to make!
Jennifer says
Same Liz. We live on soup!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
Wow Jennifer, I can tell this soup is going to be a fall/winter favorite at our house! Spicy and flavorful, just the way I like it!
Jennifer says
Thanks Mary Ann. I think you will love this one :)
Tricia @ Saving room for dessert says
This soup looks packed with flavor. I am with you Jennifer - I love this time of year and soups are some of my favorite fall meals. Give me a chunk of bread and a bowl of hot soup - heavenly!
Jennifer says
Thanks Tricia. And yes .. must have bread! :)
Mrs H says
Had this in a local cafe last week and came home and found your recipe on my favourite food blog. Yours is so yummy! It has been raining here for 2 days solid so this was perfect for our supper this evening. Keep them coming.... ;)
Jennifer says
So glad to hear! Thanks :)