Thai Shrimp Soup is a little bit exotic, a little bit spicy, and a lot fun–with carrot strings and rice noodles to add nutrition and please the kids.
Today’s Thai Shrimp Soup (aka Thai Noodle Soup) is tasty and fun. And it’s also healthy–in part due to one of the cooking adages I live by, Add-a-Veggie!
You see, US diets are likely to be lacking in vegetables, so I often ask if there is something I can add to a dish I’m cooking. All while keeping (or improving) the character of the dish of course.
In this case I tossed in some julienned carrots. The change was especially easy since I bought them precut! When cooked in the soup, the long carrot strands become almost noodle-like. (Not that I’d ever try to fool my kids, ahem.)
Thai Shrimp Soup was the hit my Christmas Eve party, nearly a decade ago, with everyone going back for seconds. And the kids loved it for a simple lunch or dinner. But somehow it fell off the radar.
Here’s to a welcome re-discovery!
Why Add-a-Veggie?
We all know that fruits and vegetables are good for us. According to Harvard Health “compared with people who said they ate just two servings of fruits or vegetables each day, people who ate five servings per day had
- a 13% lower risk of death from any cause
- a 12% lower risk of death from heart disease or stroke
- a 10% lower risk of death from cancer
- a 35% lower risk of death from respiratory disease, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.”
I started counting my 5-a-day, when I was pregnant with my first child and my kids grew up doing it too. If you wanted a bowl of ice cream in the evening, you had to name off your 2 fruits and 3 veggies. If they were short, they knew they needed to eat a carrot before getting a treat (not that they didn’t test me sometimes).
Sadly, per the New York State Department of Health “Within NYS, the percentage of adults who consume no fruits or vegetables (emphasis mine) per day varies by county from 20.2% to 42.2%.”
And that’s because getting three vegetables daily can be a challenge. So if I can add a serving (or even a half-serving) to a recipe I do. Like adding the carrots to this soup!
Tri-color carrot matchsticks
Why You’ll Love This!
Flavorful. With a little bit of exotic, and a small kick of spice, this is a rich and tasty soup.
Easy. If you buy pre-julienned carrots, this is super easy. But even if you do your own (see Tips and FAQs below), it’s not bad.
Fun. Chicken noodle soup is well-loved (add extra carrots here too). But it can get monotonous over time. Shake things up with this fun and unique soup!
Step by Step Overview
Melt coconut oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
Stir in garlic, curry paste and ginger, and cook about 1 minute.
Gradually whisk in coconut milk and vegetable stock. Add red pepper & carrots, bring to a boil and simmer until everything is tender, about 8-10 minutes.
Add shrimp and cook until just pink. Stir in noodles (thicker rice noodles should be precooked), lime juice and cilantro.
Garnish with additional cilantro and green onion if desired for serving. Serve hot.
Tips & FAQs
If you use pre-julienned carrots, this recipe is super easy. I do occasionally find that the pre-cut can develop an “off” flavor. So I recommend rinsing first, and trying different brands if needed.
If you have a ready supply of carrots and want to cut your own, there are tools that can make this easier which I cover in my Thai Carrot Salad post.
Shrimp have been in the news lately with reports of radioactive contamination. So I recommend (as I do with all seafood) that you know your supplier. Mine come from the Gulf in summer and fall and I freeze enough to get through winter.
I have been using super fine rice noodles which cook in minutes in the soup. But for more standard rice noodles, you should probably pre-cook.
Easy Carrot Recipes
- Carrot Cake Blondies from Creative Cynchronicity
- Creamy Ginger Carrot Soup from That Recipe
- Julia Child’s Braised Carrots from Jen Around the World
- Spicy Pork and Carrot Peanut Noodles from A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
- Tadka Carrot Salad (redo) from Magical Ingredients
- Thai Shrimp Soup from Art of Natural Living
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Thai Shrimp Soup
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon coconut oil
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 onion diced
- 1 Tablespoon freshly grated ginger
- 3 Tablespoons red curry paste
- 27 ounces unsweetened coconut milk 2 13.5 ounce cans
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 red bell pepper diced
- 10 ounces carrot matchsticks 1 pkg, about 3 cups
- 1 pound shrimp peeled and deveined
- salt, pepper to taste
- 2 ounces thin rice noodles see note
- 1 lime juice only
- 0-2 Tablespoons cilantro chopped
- cilantro, green onion, paprika optional garnish
Instructions
- Melt coconut oil in a large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium high heat.
- Add garlic, onion. Cook, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in curry paste and ginger, and cook about 1 minute. Gradually whisk in coconut milk and vegetable stock. Add red pepper & carrots, bring to a boil and simmer until everything is tender, about 8-10 minutes.
- Add shrimp and cook until just pink. Stir in noodles (thicker rice noodles should be precooked), lime juice and cilantro.
- Garnish with additional cilantro and green onion if desired. Serve immediately.
Notes
Nutrition
Updated from the original published Jan 18, 2017.
