Thai Coconut Soup with Potstickers
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Thai coconut soup is deliciously flavorful & easy to make in just 29 minutes! In this recipe, I added chicken potstickers for a fun twist on classic Tom Kha soup!
I’m all about combining two things I love into one dish!
Thai peanut sauce and roasted sweet potatoes, tomato basil bruschetta and grilled chicken, and now Thai coconut soup and potstickers!
Whenever we go out for dinner, there’s an 8 out of 10 chance I’m going to try to convince Kurt to go to Koon Thai. It’s my favorite Thai restaurant and one of my overall favorite restaurants in San Diego!
They make the most delicious pan fried roti bread, curries and noodle dishes. They also make the best Tom Kha soup I’ve ever had! After our last visit, I decided it was time to try making my own Tom Kha soup at home.
What is Tom Kha soup?
Tom Kha soup is a Thai coconut soup. It’s made with coconut milk, lemongrass, Thai chili peppers, cilantro, mushrooms, fish sauce and lime juice. While it’s typically made with chicken, you can also find versions with shrimp, pork or tofu.
What is the difference between Tom Kha and Tom Yum Soup?
Tom Yum Soup is made with a base of boiled meat, such as shrimp or pork, water and herbs. It is sour and spicy in flavor. Tom Kha Soup is made with a coconut milk base and is more sweet and spicy in flavor, than sour.
How do you make Thai Coconut Soup?
Thai coconut soup is just another name for Tom Kha soup. It’s made by boiling garlic, ginger, fresh lemongrass, lime zest, red curry paste and chicken broth together in a large pot.
A slotted spoon is then used to remove the ginger, garlic and lemongrass from the soup. At that time fish sauce, coconut milk, onions and shittake mushrooms are added to the soup. In this version, I also added frozen potstickers at this time.
The soup then simmers for 10 minutes. Next, lime juice and cilantro are added and the soup is ready to be served!
All ingredients for this Thai Coconut Soup recipe should easily be found at major grocery stores. Amazon also carries Thai pantry staples, like red curry paste and fish sauce and coconut milk.
How to reheat Thai Coconut Soup
The soup is easy to reheat. Unfortunately the potstickers will not have the best texture after being refrigerated in the soup and reheated the next day.
If you plan to eat half of the soup one day and reheat the other half of the soup, only add half of the potstickers to the soup when you first make it. Eat the soup with the potstickers added, then place the remainder of the soup in the refrigerator.
To reheat the soup, place it in a pot on the stove over medium high heat. Once the soup begins to simmer, add the remainder of the frozen potstickers and cook for 8-10 minutes.
To reheat in a microwave, cook the potstickers in the microwave first. Add the frozen potstickers, 6-8 at a time with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water in a microwave-safe dish. Cover and microwave on high for 2 minutes.
Remove the potstickers from the microwave. Place the soup in the microwave for 2 minutes. Remove from the microwave and add the cooked potstickers.
Easy as that, you can have two delicious meals with no mushy potstickers!
Is is gluten free?
Without the added potstickers, Thai coconut soup is gluten free. Always be sure to check the labels to make sure the fish sauce and red curry paste are gluten free.
Thai Kitchen coconut milk is gluten free. All coconut milk is naturally gluten free and dairy free. No matter the brand of canned coconut milk you purchase, you won’t need to worry if it’s gluten free.
If you’re making this soup gluten-free, you can add sliced chicken breast or rice noodles instead of potstickers. Add chicken at the same time you would add the potstickers. The boiling soup will cook the chicken.
If adding rice noodles, wait 4 minutes after adding the shiitake mushrooms to the soup. Add the rice noodles and allow them to cook in the soup for 4-6 minutes.
Looking for more Thai restaurant favorites to try at home? Check out these popular recipes!
- Vegetarian Pad Thai – one of my go-to recipes! It’s made in just 15 minutes for a really delicious and really easy dinner!
- Pressure Cooker Thai Peanut Chicken Noodles – bust out the Instant Pot to make this delicious noodle dish in no time!
- Thai Green Avocado Curry – this vegan curry recipe is creamy and delicious!
- Red Curry Shrimp – this red curry sauce is so flavorful and the entire meal is made in just 20 minutes!
Don’t forget to pin this Thai Coconut Soup for later! When you make it, be sure to share a pic on Instagram and tag me @WhitneyBond or use the hashtag #WBRecipes!
Made it and loved it? Rate the recipe 5 stars below! ↓
Thai Coconut Potsticker Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1" piece fresh ginger, peeled
- 2 stalks lemongrass, cut into 3 inch sections
- 1 tsp lime zest
- 2 tbsp red curry paste
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 3 13.5 oz cans coconut milk
- 1 cup onion, large dice
- ½ lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, sliced
- 1 lb frozen chicken potstickers
- 2 tbsp fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup fresh chopped cilantro
Optional Garnishes
- thai chili peppers, thinly sliced
- fresh cilantro leaves
- scallions, sliced
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Add the garlic, ginger, lemongrass, lime zest, red curry paste and chicken broth to a large pot on the stove over high heat, bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- Use a slotted spoon to remove the ginger, garlic cloves and lemongrass from the soup.
- Add the fish sauce, coconut milk, onions, shittake mushrooms and frozen potstickers.
- Cook for 8-10 minutes.
- Stir in the lime juice and cilantro. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- To make this recipe gluten free, omit the potstickers. Sliced chicken breast or rice noodles can be added instead. If adding chicken, add it at the same time you would the potstickers. If adding rice noodles, add them 4 minutes after adding the shiitake mushrooms. Allow them to cook in the soup for 4-6 minutes.
- To make this recipe vegetarian, replace the chicken potstickers with vegetarian potstickers and omit the fish sauce. Replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth. Make sure the red curry paste used is vegetarian.
Nutrition Facts
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24 Comments on “Thai Coconut Soup with Potstickers”
We made this for dinner tonight and it was so comforting. I did deviate just a hair with adding some rice noodles I had leftover, and subbed baby bellas for the shiitake. I live a good ways from a market that carries them. Ultimately, my family didn’t love the texture of the pot stickers in the soup. They loved the broth though and were dunking naan in it to clean out their bowls. We thought we would make it again without the pot stickers, add some shredded chicken to make up for the protein lost with the pot stickers, and serve it over a big scoop of basmati rice.
Thank you for the inspiration to make this yummy dish!
I love crispy potstickers and make my own. I am going to try this and keep potstickers on the side til serving time! I made hot and sour soup tonight with shrimp. Anxious to try this one too!! YUM!
Is this dish 907 calories per serving?!
Hi Molly, yes that is the correct amount per serving. Coconut milk is high in calories, but you can use 3 cans of lite coconut milk instead and it will reduce the calories to 532 per serving.
That’s a great tip! Thanks. I can’t wait to try it.
Of course, thanks for reaching out! Enjoy the soup!! 🙂
We loved this soup!!! So fast and easy to make. I added chili paste to mine for a little kick! Much enjoyed! Thank you!
Yay! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Christina, thanks so much for sharing!
Love this! I used pork potstickers and added some chopped fresh spinach at the end.
This sounds really yummy! Can I use Bibigo beef bulgogi mandu potstickers instead of chicken? I’m eager to try this.
Hi Ada, yes, you can definitely use any brand/type of frozen potstickers in this recipe!
Delicious! I made the recipe without the coconut milk all together (thought I had some but didn’t, oops). I also did not have lemongrass so I used lemon zest instead. I added some additional grated ginger just because I love the flavor of ginger. Would also be great with asian style noodles in place of the pot stickers.
Love to hear that you made it your own and enjoyed it Amanda, thanks so much for sharing! I’ve made it with rice noodles also and it is delicious!
Is it 907 kcal for one serving?
Hi Kelly, yes that is for one serving, but the majority of the calories come from the coconut milk. You can use lite coconut milk instead and that will reduce the calories by almost 60%. The total calories per serving would be 531 when using lite coconut milk vs. full fat coconut milk.
Trying this tonight. Super excited and my kitchen smells absolutely amazing!
Awesome Jakey! What did you think of the final result?
Thank you so much for your help! I can’t wait to try it!
Hi Whitney,
Thank you so much for your response. That’s a wonderful idea. Ideally, I would like to pack this meal for lunch at work (I have a microwave there). Is there any way that I’d be able to pack this for work? Thanks so much.
Hi Angelique, what I’d do in that case is to make the soup without the potstickers. Frozen potstickers can be cooked in a microwave 6-8 at a time with 1/4 to 1/3 cup of water covered in a microwave-safe dish. Microwave the potstickers on high for 2 minutes, then microwave the soup separately, then add the potstickers to the soup. Enjoy and let me know what you think!
Can this dish be consumed as leftovers the next day or will the dumplings get all mushy? Thanks.
Hi Angelique, the potstickers are not the best reheated the next day. What I’d do is make the soup and add half of the potstickers or as many as you think you’ll eat the first time around. When you reheat the soup on the stove the next day, add the rest of the frozen potstickers, that way, you can still get two meals out of the soup, but you’re not stuck with mushy potstickers!
Hope this helps! Let me know if you have any other questions!
This had all the flavors a Thai soup should! Super delicious and pretty darn easy!
Thank you!
Love to hear that Tania! Thanks for sharing!