Thai Red Curry Chicken Soup (Instant Pot)

Thai Red Curry Chicken Soup

Skip the takeout and whip up this comforting Thai Red Curry Chicken Soup in under 30 minutes. The flavourful coconut milk based broth, loaded with spices and fresh aromatics, will surely to make this a regular on your weeknight dinner table. 

Love this recipe and Thai food in general? Be sure to check out these other Thai recipes from the blog: slow cooked Massaman style Beef Coconut Curry or Classic Thai Chicken Satay. 

This soup is so crave worthy and delicious, I’m excited to share the recipe with you today! Packed full of wonderful Thai flavours; the creamy coconut based broth with lemongrass, ginger/galangal, garlic, chilis, fish sauce, and spices warms you from head to toe. The recipe is super versatile and pressure cooking it in the Instant Pot makes it quicker than ordering takeout!

Red Curry Chicken Soup Recipe Inspiration

I always love it when a recipe is inspired by someone in my family. This Thai soup happens to be one of my sister’s favourite quick dinners after a busy day of work. I’m not sure where she got her recipe from but once she made it for the rest of us, we were all hooked!  

What is in Thai Red Curry Soup?

Thai Red Curry Paste is an easy, flavourful way of injecting a lot of flavour into this soup without a lot of fuss. You can buy this handy paste in most Asian grocery stores or any big box grocery store. The paste consists of a powerful combination of spices (coriander, cumin, black pepper), shrimp paste, and aromatics like red chili peppers, lemongrass, garlic, lime leaves, and galangal. 

The soup’s rich broth is a wonderful combination of the paste, coconut milk, and chicken stock. Now that we have the basics, let’s talk veggies. Every great soup begins with the basics: onions and celery. From there, check out the colourful pop of red and sweetness that the red bell peppers and tomatoes bring to the soup. Did I mention how versatile this soup is? Go ahead and leave either or both out if you prefer. 

One ingredient that you may have noticed missing from this soup is noodles. There are no rules when it comes to the additions of this soup but I really do enjoy adding stringy enoki mushrooms in place of noodles.

If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you’ll know that I have nothing against noodles, but I do love the interesting texture the enoki mushrooms add to the soup. 

This soup is so versatile, it can be made with chicken (as I have done), shrimp and even entirely vegan. My sister suggests frying the shrimp separately, then adding them in when the soup is finished. 

How to Make Vegan Thai Red Curry Soup

This soup is so versatile, it’s adjustable to any dietary preference. It’s naturally dairy and gluten free if you stick to rice, rice noodles, or enoki. Additionally, it can easily be a great vegan option. If you would like to make it vegan, I suggest sourcing a red curry paste (or making your own) that does not contain shrimp paste. Next, switch the chicken stock for a good quality vegetable stock. Finally, adding puffy fried tofu cubes would complete the soup perfectly. 

Helpful Hints for the Best Thai Red Curry Chicken Soup

As with most curries, begin by sautéing the curry paste in a bit of oil in the Instant Pot. Add the onions and celery in, then the ‘cream; portion of the canned coconut milks. If you’re wondering, it’s the solidified portion at the top of the can when you open it.

Stir to let paste fully incorporate into the cream then add the rest of the coconut milk, the stock, and the chicken. Cover and cook under high pressure for ten minutes then quickly release the pressure.

Remove the lid, then add the sliced red peppers, rice, and enoki mushrooms and allow to sit before serving. Garnish with fresh cilantro, peanuts or anything else you wish.