Thai Coconut Chicken Soup with lemongrass, ginger, onion, garlic and corn. This creamy coconut milk soup is loaded with flavor, easy to make, and is so nourishing!
Until this point, I had relied on Thai restaurants for the soup, thinking there was no way I’d be able to fashion up something half as delicious.
It is one of those dishes I sidled around like a kid with gum on her shoe. I gave it the one eyebrow up, turned the other direction, and let it be. Now that I’ve done made the thing, I’ll be doing so time and again.
What is Lemongrass?:
Lemongrass is a grass that looks like a stalk, and originates from Asian countries, Africa, and Australia. When cooked, lemongrass gives a sort of lime flavor. It is zesty with very unique flavor! Lemongrass is commonly used in Asian cuisine, particularly creamy coconut milk soup recipes.
This Thai Coconut Chicken Soup Recipe is loaded with flavor due to the combination of lemongrass, onion, garlic, and ginger. It is so nice and creamy and filling, yet healthful!
At first glance, lemongrass seems strange…like a house with no door. How do you get into it? Do you break a window and hope there’s no security system or rabid dog inside?
Once you peel the outer layers off, take a nice smash at it, and cut it into pieces, lemongrass becomes more familiar, and less like a menacing extraterrestrial. And it makes Thai dishes delicious.
This is a great recipe to change up the normal cold-day chicken noodle soup repertoire. It’s all Thai’d up and full of flavor.
Here’s how we make it!
How to Make Thai Coconut Chicken Soup:
Chop the ends off of the lemongrass, and peel the outer layers. Smash the stalks and using only the bottom 1/3 of the stalk, cut strips.
Add oil to a large saucepan or stock pot and add the lemongrass, onion, garlic, ginger, corn, and peppers. Sauté until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken and cook just until browned, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Add the fish sauce, curry powder, chicken stock, lime juice, and coconut milk. Cover the pot and bring to a gentle boil.
Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 25 to 40 minutes. Serve in heaping bowls and enjoy!
More Thai Soup Recipes:
- Vegetable Coconut Curry Soup
- Green Curry Thai Noodle Soup
- Thai Coconut Soup with Vegetables
- Thai Tom Kha Gai
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Thai Coconut Chicken Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon avocado oil or olive oil
- 3 stalks lemongrass*
- 1/2 cup yellow onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tbsp fresh ginger peeled and grated
- 2 ears corn kernels removed
- 2 red mini sweet peppers chopped, or ½ a red bell pepper
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts chopped
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoons yellow curry powder
- 1 quart low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 limes juiced
- 1 cup full-fat canned coconut milk
Instructions
- Chop the ends off of the lemongrass, and peel the outer layers. Smash the stalks and using only the bottom 1/3 of the stalk, cut strips.
- Add oil to a large saucepan or stock pot and add the lemongrass, onion, garlic, ginger, corn, and peppers. Sauté until softened and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
- Add the chicken and cook just until browned, about 1 to 2 minutes.
- Add the fish sauce, curry powder, chicken stock, lime juice, and coconut milk. Cover the pot and bring to a gentle boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 25 to 40 minutes.
- When ready to serve, remove the harder pieces of lemongrass.
- Serve with chopped cilantro
Notes
Nutrition
Ah this looks great, I love Tom Kha Gai!! Usually in Thailand they put tomatoes and mushrooms in it too. I’ve also ordered spicy versions of this soup before which was really good
Yaaaas so happy you’re a fellow Tom Kha Gai lover! xoxo Cheers!
This is totally my kind of soup. Love these flavors!
Ack, no BBQ while you were in North Carolina?! You need to go back. And take me with you. We should take a big container of this yumtastic soup to go with us, too.
I’m slightly upset you went to the South and didn’t have our food. But, you’re cute and I like you, so all is forgiven. Dinner at my house will fix this 🙂
Oh Julia, this soup! I’ve been Thai crazy lately and this is definitely calling my name. What a comforting, big bowl of love! Looks deeeelish.
Thai food is my favorite, and this soup is perfect now that it’s getting colder. Since I like my Thai food a little spicier, what would you recommend I add to give it a little more kick?
Ohhhh wow. This is just LOVELY. I’ve never tried lemongrass….totally a house with no doors. I may just be that weirdo that makes this with tofu instead of chicken. I freaking love Thai food!
Lemongrass always used to intimidate me because once, in culinary school, I made a soup with lemongrass and never removed the hard woody parts and got marked down for it. Lol for some reason that scared me away for ages, and it was only in the last few years I started cooking with it again! I agree, it can be a bit intimidating at first, but its such an awesome flavor enhancer.
Now you’re reading my mind! This soup has been on my mind for weeks! Such amazing flavors happening here! Also, loving your curls!!!!!
not even any sweet tea? Haha! Welcome home. This soup sounds fantastic!
Congrats to Sandi!! How fun!
Love the soup! I am always game for a little Thai comfort food!
Our problem in this neck-of-the-woods is that we don’t have things like lemongrass. It’s absurd that the grocery stores here are so lame. And this looks so good, too! When you visit Stephie, have her make you her biscuits. You won’t give a care if you ever go back to NC to get a biscuit. By the way, you have to have a strong stomach for the barbecue because it has so much fat in it. There. I said it. I’ll probably get NC barbecue-lovers writing hate comments. I love it–it just doesn’t love me. Discovered that when I was prego with my girl-o. Have a fabulous week, my dear.
I feel lucky to have a grocery store nearby with a really decent produce selection, but I haven’t always had that luxury, so I totally get the frustration. One fun fact, is you can buy lemongrass paste (which I’ve done quite a bit over the years), and I believe a lot of grocery stores carry it…it’s in the produce section next to the other pastes (basil paste, garlic paste, cilantro paste, etc.).
NC barbecue is definitely different than BBQ out here on the West side. I tend to do myself in when it comes to Carolina bbq, cause my belly’s not used to it either…oh the pains we take to consume tasty food….. 😉
Oh! I’ll have to check out the paste section. Yeah, our groceries suck. You know it’s bad when one of the best stocked stores is Super Wal Mart. Ugh.