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Home ยป Firefly Grill Recipes

Tested Thai Red Curry in an Hour

Published: Feb 4, 2019 ยท Modified: Jan 30, 2024 by Madalaine ยท This post may contain affiliate links ยท

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Thai Red Curry Soup is a vegetarian (dairy-free & gluten-free too!) dish that has a deep heat that warms you up (without setting your brain on fire), soothing hints of coconut, and meaty bits of shiitake mushrooms. This soup is bursting with amazing Asian flavors. It's easy to make and on the table in about an hour.

red curry soup in black bowl with white rice surrounded by cilantro, lemongrass, lime and red pepper

Red Thai Curry Ingredients

Red curry soup ingredients laid out

That way you've got something warm and tasty to dip into all weekend long.  Plus, it just gets better and better over the weekend.  Another good aspect of this dish is that it's both dairy-free and gluten-free.

red curry soup in white bowl
Same Thai Red Curry Soup as at the top of the post but without rice & toppings. This is a lighter shade of yellow because it only simmered for 20 minutes. It gets deeper and darker the longer it simmers.

How to Make Thai Red Curry Soup

Although I am not an affiliate with this company, I use and recommend Thai Kitchen products.ย  I like their coconut milk, curries, and fish sauce.ย  If you don't have access to an Asian grocery store, most run-of-the-mill stores carry this brand.

Ingredients

  • 1 stick unsalted butter (substitute ยผ cup olive oil to make 100% dairy-free)
  • 4 cups onions, diced
  • 1 cup finely chopped fresh lemongrass, white part only
  • 2 pounds shiitake mushrooms, sliced
  • 4 tablespoons Thai red curry paste
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoons mirin
  • 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
  • ยผ cup brown sugar
  • 8 (14 oz) cans full-fat coconut milk, unsweetened
  • 1 tablespoon salt
  • 1 - 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (add 3 kaffir lime leaves if available)
  • ยฝ cup fresh cilantro (garnish)
  • 1 cup red bell pepper, julienned (garnish)
  • ยฝ cup green onions (garnish)

Instructions

This soup has a relatively short cooking time (20 minutes) but you can simmer it longer for deeper flavors.

  1. In a large soup pot, over medium heat cook 4 cups diced onion and 8 oz. chopped lemongrass* with 4 tablespoons butter until soft and translucent.
  2. Add another 4 tablespoons of butter and 2 pounds of sliced shiitake mushrooms.  Cook until mushrooms release their liquid about 10 minutes.
  3. Stir in 4 tablespoons red curry paste, 2 tablespoons curry powder, and 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat for 3 minutes.
  4. Pour 3 tablespoons fish sauce and 3 tablespoons Mirin over vegetables, and deglaze the bottom of the pan.
  5. Stir in the brown sugar and add 8 (12 oz) cans of full-fat unsweetened coconut milk, add to the soup pot, stir well and simmer for 20 minutes.
  6. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons salt and stir well.
  7. Taste the soup and add more curry powder, salt, or pepper flakes to suit your taste.
  8. Finish the pot with fresh lime juice and lime leaves (if available).
  9. Ladle over jasmine rice and garnish each serving with chopped cilantro, julienned red bell pepper, and sliced green onion.
Red Curry Soup step by step process photos
1) Finished bowl of Red Curry Soup 2) Soup pot with lemongrass and onion ready to sweat 3) Cooking the shiitakes 4) Adding the red curry paste 5) Pouring in the fish sauce over the red curry paste and curry powder 6) pouring in coconut milk

A Note about Fish Sauce...

If you've never used fish sauce, don't worry it's pretty easy to find.  What you need to know about the fish sauce is this: a little goes a long way on its own and it smells horrible... I mean it.  Don't smell it, but it really adds amazing flavor!

Hard-to-Find Items

Depending on where you live, these key ingredients may or may not be challenging to find.  Mirin, for instance, is an Asian slightly sweet tangy rice wine that can be found near where you would find soy sauce, in an international section, or near the vinegar.

If you live in my neck of the woods, rural central Illinois, head to a larger city (Indy, Champaign, or St. Louis) to find it on a shelf, or ... Amazon is only a click away!

*Cooking with Lemongrass

When cooking with fresh lemongrass, use the white part near the root.  Discard the green leaf part.  Pound the whites with a mallet or frying pan and chop them into small pieces.

After you cook it with the onions, taste them.  If they're not soft and they're like eating wood chips, DON'T PANIC!   After adding the coconut milk, simmer the soup for at least an hour, strain the soup, then add the mushrooms.

If you use dried lemongrass from the get-go, tie it into a cheesecloth "purse" with kitchen twine.  You'll get all the flavor this way without having to strain the soup.

squeezing lime into red curry soup

If you enjoy Asian flavors (Thai in particular), I would highly recommend finding a spot in your yard, garden, or patio and plant it.  It's super easy to grow and it's best to cook with fresh tender lemongrass.  You can find little starters at most garden centers where fresh herbs are sold.

Thai Red Curry Soup Variations

If you've been hanging out with me here at Lakeside Table for any length of time, you know my absolute favorite recipes of all time are ones that can be eaten several different ways like Pork Chili Verde. 

Red Thai Curry Soup is just like that one!  Here are some ways that you can cook this dish once and have several different meals ready to go.

  1. Lower Fat Thai Red Curry Soup - Substitute 72 ounces (6 cans) of coconut milk for vegetable or chicken broth.
  2. Red Curry Chicken and Rice - Cooked chicken thighs or chicken breasts, chopped. Add ยฝ cup of chicken to 1 cup of soup and pour over a generous helping of basmati or jasmine rice.
  3. Add-ins - not only is chicken a tasty addition but so are scallops, shrimp, any firm white fish like cod or halibut, pork, and beef.
  4. Veggie add-ins - soften diced carrots with the onions or simmer peas and broccoli for the last ยฝ hour before serving.
  5. Noodle bowl - serve over Thai rice noodles
  6. Other toppings - Bean sprouts, toasted shaved garlic, ginger (grated)
  7. Turn up the flame! - add even more heat by adding chili peppers of your choice
  8. Substitute the red curry paste for green curry paste
red curry soup in white bowl on a black napkin with shiitake mushrooms and stalks of lemongrass

Does Red Curry Soup Freeze Well?

Yes!  In the refrigerator, it will keep for 5-6 days.  Or you can freeze it in Tupperware, a freezer bag, or vacuum seal it and it will keep for up to 3-4 months. 

Make sure it is room temperature or cool before freezing.  Putting hot items in the freezer can lower your freezer's temperature into a danger zone that will spoil all of its contents.

Always label everything that goes in the freezer.

vacuum sealed bag of red curry soup coming out of freezer
A vacuum-sealed bag of frozen red curry soup with rice. Perfect for a quick weeknight meal!

What to Serve with Red Curry Soup

Normally I might offer up some ideas for side dishes, but this is really a meal all on its own.  But if you decide to serve it with sides try it with Turmeric Honey Glazed Carrots and maybe some buttered peas. 

Since Red Curry can be spicy, the sweetness of the carrots and peas will balance out the meal nicely.  The same goes for what to drink with it too:  a sweetened tea, lemonade, or a crisp white wine like a Trefethen dry riesling.

red curry soup in black bowl with white rice surrounded by cilantro, lemongrass, lime and red pepper

Inspired by...

This is one of my family's favorite Thai food recipes that was given to me by Chef Niall owner and head chef of the Effingham, IL Firefly Grill. If you're even in the neighborhood stop in! We'd love to see you!

Chef Niall and Kristie travel extensively to seek out authentic international flavors and bring them back to us. The Firefly Grill's menus reflect their journeys so we get to experience these parts of those cultures too. Thank you so much, Niall, for sharing this with us!

5 from 4 votes
Print

Thai Red Curry Soup

Red Thai Curry Soup - this is a warm and tasty soup to dip into all weekend long.ย It's easy and fast to make with exotic spicy Thai flavors. YUM! | www.lakesidetable.com

Course Main Course, main dish, Soup
Cuisine Asian
Keyword coconut, easy, easy soup recipe, keto, low carb, vegetarian
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings 16 cups
Calories 302 kcal
Author Madalaine

Ingredients

  • 1 stick unsalted butter halved
  • 4 cups onions diced
  • 1 cup finely chopped fresh lemongrass* white part only
  • 2 pounds shiitake mushrooms sliced
  • 4 tablespoons red curry paste
  • 2 tablespoons curry powder
  • 3 tablespoons fish sauce
  • 3 tablespoons mirin
  • 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
  • 8 13.6 oz. cans coconut milk full fat, unsweetened
  • 1 tablespoon salt

Instructions

  1. Sweat onions and lemongrass in ยฝ stick (4 tablespoons) butter in a large soup pot over medium low heat.

  2. Add other ยฝ stick of butter and sliced shiitake mushrooms.  Cook until mushrooms release their liquid, about 10 minutes.

  3. Stir in red curry paste, curry powder, salt and chili flakes and cook for 3 minutes.

  4. Pour in fish sauce and mirin.  Use a wooden spoon to make sure nothing is sticking to the bottom of the pot.

  5. Stir in entire contents of the cans of coconut milk.  Simmer for 30 minutes.

  6. Taste and add additional curry powder, salt or pepper flakes if needed.

Recipe Notes

ย 

*Cooking with Lemongrass:ย  Use the white part near the root.ย  Discard the green leaf part.ย  Pound the whites with a mallet or frying pan and chop into small pieces.ย  After you cook it with the onions, taste them.ย  If they're not soft and they're like eating wood chips, DON'T PANIC!ย  ย After adding the coconut milk, simmer the soup for at least an hour, strain the soup, then add the mushrooms.ย  If you use dried lemongrass from the get go, tie it into a cheese cloth "purse" with kitchen twine.ย  You'll get all the flavor this way without having to strain the soup.

Variations:

  1. Red Curry Chicken and Rice - add ยฝ cup cooked chicken to 1 cup soup and pour over a generous helping of rice.
  2. Add ins - not only is chicken a tasty addition, but so are scallops, shrimp, any firm white fish like cod or halibut, pork and beef.
  3. Veggie add ins - soften diced carrots with the onions or simmer peas and broccoli for the last ยฝ hour before serving.
  4. Vegetarian - serve soup over soba or rice noodles.
  5. Toppings - cilantro, lime, red bell peppers, bean sprouts and/or scallions.
Nutrition Facts
Thai Red Curry Soup
Amount Per Serving (0.75 cup)
Calories 302 Calories from Fat 274
% Daily Value*
Fat 30.4g47%
Saturated Fat 26g163%
Sodium 390mg17%
Carbohydrates 9.7g3%
Fiber 3g13%
Protein 4g8%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
pinterest graphic of red curry soup over rice in a black bowl

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Comments

  1. Cynthia says

    December 31, 2019 at 12:59 pm

    Tons of flavor in this recipe!

  2. Surya says

    June 19, 2020 at 5:32 am

    5 stars
    Looks so delicious!

  3. Holly says

    May 01, 2022 at 8:20 pm

    5 stars
    Hi, is that a typo? 8 (eight) 12oz cans of coconut milk?? Iโ€™ve never seen 12 ounce cans anywhere but Iโ€™m just double checking to make sure you need eight which would be 96 ounces. Is this accurate?

    Also do you know of a good solid replacement for lemon grass unfortunately we live on a small island in South Carolina and I donโ€™t have the ability to get lemongrass here. I know itโ€™s delicious so I wish we did. Thanks in advance!

    ps - your failproof poached eggs and hollandaise are absolute Lifesavers and won me over!!!

    • Madalaine says

      May 02, 2022 at 1:25 pm

      Hi Holly, Thank you so much for catching that. Yes, it was a typo and I just corrected it in my recipe. This recipe makes A LOT! Lol which is nice because it freezes really well and you can cut the recipe in 1/2 easily. For ease of writing, I call for 8 (14 oz) cans which are technically 13.66, so we'll round it up to a total of 112 ounces.

      This is a very rich dish with loads of fat in it. I haven't made it with 1/2 chicken stock and 1/2 coconut milk, as a lower fat option, but I might give that a go this summer.

      Oh girl! I feel you!!! I live in a VERY small town too (central/southern Illinois) and have never seen fresh lemongrass here. Last year and this year, I found a small plant at our local garden nursery. It did very well in my garden last year. Unfortunately, I had to wait until late summer for it to be big enough to use. Honestly, I'm not a huge fan of dried lemongrass.

      I do like Gourmet Garden's lemongrass paste! Start by adding 2 tablespoons. Stir, simmer for 5 minutes, and then taste. Keep adding 1 tablespoon until you get the flavor you love. ILast time I used it, I ended up adding 1/4 cup of it (or 3 tablespoons). I hope this helps!

      And I soooooo happy you enjoyed the failproof poached eggs and hollandaise! Yayyy!!! โค๏ธ

  4. Amia says

    February 04, 2025 at 12:38 pm

    5 stars
    This Thai red curry looks absolutely flavorful! I love how rich and aromatic the coconut milk and curry paste come together, and the balance of heat and sweetness must be incredible. Itโ€™s the kind of dish that feels comforting yet exotic, with so many options for customizationโ€”whether you prefer chicken, tofu, or a mix of veggies. Thanks for sharing this recipe; Iโ€™m definitely adding it to my must-try list!

    • Madalaine says

      February 23, 2025 at 8:51 pm

      Thank you! I love how versatile it is, too!

5 from 4 votes (1 rating without comment)
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Welcome!

Hi Iโ€™m Madalaine and I love helping people have FUN in their kitchen. You'll find lots of easy-to-follow gluten-free recipes and tons of tips I learned in culinary school.ย  Most of my recipes are French-inspired butย allย of my recipes are family favorites.

Be sure to check out my cookbook Lakeside Table SAUCES ๐Ÿ‘‡๐Ÿผ. 

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