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Spicy Thai-Style Shrimp Soup

By America's Test Kitchen

Published on April 14, 2021

Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Spicy Thai-Style Shrimp Soup

Ingredients

5¼ cups chicken broth 1 (½-inch) piece ginger, cut in half and smashed2 tablespoons fish sauce 2 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed with skins on4–6 cilantro stems, including roots, plus ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro1 teaspoon sugar 1–2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-thick rings2 tomatoes, cored and chopped coarse8 ounces cremini, oyster, or white mushrooms, stemmed and quartered if small or cut into sixths if large8 ounces medium shrimp (41 to 50 per pound), peeled and deveined3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)

Before You Begin

For a spicier soup, use the larger amount of chiles.

Instructions

  1.  Bring broth, ginger, fish sauce, garlic, cilantro stems, sugar, half of jalapeños, and one-quarter of tomatoes to simmer in Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook for 20 minutes. Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer set over large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
  2.  Return broth to now-empty pot and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Stir in mushrooms and remaining chiles and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook for 1 minute. Off heat, stir in lime juice. Divide remaining tomato and chopped cilantro among individual bowls and ladle soup over top. Serve.
Spicy Thai-Style Shrimp Soup
Photography by Daniel J. van Ackere. Styling by Isabelle English.

Spicy Thai-Style Shrimp Soup

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By America's Test Kitchen
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Yield

Serves 4 to 6

Ingredients

5¼ cups chicken broth
1 (½-inch) piece ginger, cut in half and smashed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed with skins on
4–6 cilantro stems, including roots, plus ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon sugar
1–2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-thick rings
2 tomatoes, cored and chopped coarse
8 ounces cremini, oyster, or white mushrooms, stemmed and quartered if small or cut into sixths if large
8 ounces medium shrimp (41 to 50 per pound), peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)

Ingredients

5¼ cups chicken broth
1 (½-inch) piece ginger, cut in half and smashed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed with skins on
4–6 cilantro stems, including roots, plus ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon sugar
1–2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-thick rings
2 tomatoes, cored and chopped coarse
8 ounces cremini, oyster, or white mushrooms, stemmed and quartered if small or cut into sixths if large
8 ounces medium shrimp (41 to 50 per pound), peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)

Ingredients

5¼ cups chicken broth
1 (½-inch) piece ginger, cut in half and smashed
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 large garlic cloves, lightly crushed with skins on
4–6 cilantro stems, including roots, plus ¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon sugar
1–2 jalapeño chiles, stemmed and sliced crosswise into ¼-inch-thick rings
2 tomatoes, cored and chopped coarse
8 ounces cremini, oyster, or white mushrooms, stemmed and quartered if small or cut into sixths if large
8 ounces medium shrimp (41 to 50 per pound), peeled and deveined
3 tablespoons lime juice (2 limes)

Why This Recipe Works

We substituted jalapeño peppers for traditional Thai chiles, while fish sauce provided the saltiness. The soup's sourness authentically comes from a combination of lemon grass and makrut lime leaves, which we replaced with lime juice added to the soup at the last minute. Plain white sugar, a substitute for palm sugar, helped balance the powerful flavors. Cooking the shrimp in the hot broth for just a minute ensured they turned out tender.

Before You Begin

For a spicier soup, use the larger amount of chiles.

Instructions

  1.  Bring broth, ginger, fish sauce, garlic, cilantro stems, sugar, half of jalapeños, and one-quarter of tomatoes to simmer in Dutch oven over medium-high heat and cook for 20 minutes. Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer set over large bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
  2.  Return broth to now-empty pot and bring to simmer over medium-high heat. Stir in mushrooms and remaining chiles and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in shrimp and cook for 1 minute. Off heat, stir in lime juice. Divide remaining tomato and chopped cilantro among individual bowls and ladle soup over top. Serve.

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