Thai Red Curry Vegetable Soup
This Thai Curry Vegetable Soup is packed with vegetables, spicy Thai flavor, and creamy coconut milk. Ready in about 30 minutes!Step-by-step photos can be seen below the recipe card.
Servings: 4 (about 2 cups each)
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp neutral cooking oil $0.17 *
- 2 cloves garlic minced (1 Tbsp) $0.12
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger peeled and grated, $0.05
- 3 Tbsp Thai red curry paste $1.49 **
- 1 small sweet potato peeled and 1-inch cubed (about 1 lb.) $0.91
- 2 baby bok choy chopped into 1-inch strips (a little less than 1 lb.) $1.56
- 4 cups vegetable or chicken broth 32 oz. $0.47
- 3.5 oz. uncooked rice vermicelli noodles $0.36 ***
- 1 13oz. can full fat coconut milk $2.98
- 1/2 Tbsp fish sauce $0.16 ****
- 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar $0.03
GARNISHES (optional)
- 1/2 red onion thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup) $0.32
- 1 lime $0.25
- 1 handful fresh cilantro chopped, $0.28
- Sriracha to taste, $0.15
Instructions
- Prepare the vegetables for the soup and garnishes first, if you haven't already. Mince the garlic and grate the ginger using a small-holed cheese grater. Peel and dice the sweet potato into one-inch cubes. Wash the bok choy well, then chop into one-inch strips, separating the fibrous stalks from the delicate green ends. Thinly slice the red onion and roughly chop the cilantro.
- Add the cooking oil to a large soup pot along with the minced garlic, grated ginger, and Thai red curry paste. Sauté the garlic, ginger, and curry paste over medium heat for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the diced sweet potato and chopped bok choy stalks to the pot (save the leafy green ends for later) along with the chicken or vegetable broth. Bring the pot to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to low and let simmer for 5-7 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are tender.
- While the soup is simmering, bring a small pot of water to a boil for the vermicelli. Once boiling, add the vermicelli and boil for 2-3 minutes, or just until tender. Drain the rice noodles in a colander and set aside.
- Once the sweet potatoes are tender, add the coconut milk, fish sauce, and brown sugar to the soup. Stir, taste, and adjust the fish sauce or brown sugar if needed. Finally, add the bok choy greens and let them wilt in the hot soup.
- To serve, divide the rice vermicelli among four bowls. Ladle the soup and vegetables over the noodles, then top with red onion, cilantro, a wedge or two of lime, and a drizzle of sriracha.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
*Use any neutral (low flavor) cooking oil, like vegetable, corn, canola, sunflower, grapeseed, or peanut.
**The spiciness of this soup depends on the brand of Thai red curry paste used. You can also use Thai green curry paste (just note that green Thai curry paste can be quite a bit spicier). Make sure to use Thai curry paste not the curry powder that is used to make Indian cuisine.
***You can skip the noodles all together if you want, or use a brick of cheap-o ramen if that's what you have. It's still going to taste amazing.
****Fish sauce adds a subtle umami flavor and a bit of saltiness. If you can't get fish sauce or want this dish to be vegetarian, you can leave it out. Also, if you skip the fish sauce, you can probably also skip the brown sugar.
Nutrition
Serving: 1Serving | Calories: 306kcal | Carbohydrates: 52g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Sodium: 1198mg | Fiber: 6g