Description
A warming bowl that blends spicy Thai red curry with silky coconut milk and plump dumplings. Quick to pull together, this one-pot soup delivers big flavor with minimal fuss — perfect for a chilly weeknight.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 tablespoon neutral oil (canola or avocado)
- 1 tablespoon Thai red curry paste
- 1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 1 (13.5 oz) can full-fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce (or soy sauce for a vegetarian version)
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 2 teaspoons lime juice
- 8–10 frozen dumplings or potstickers
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms (shiitake or cremini)
- 1 cup baby spinach or chopped bok choy
Optional finishers
- Thinly sliced red chili
- Fresh cilantro leaves
- Thai basil
- Sliced green onions
Instructions
- Warm the oil in your pot over medium heat. Add the red curry paste, grated ginger, and minced garlic; stir constantly for about 1–2 minutes until the mixture smells fragrant.
- Pour in the stock, then add the coconut milk. Stir to combine and bring everything to a gentle simmer.
- Season the broth with fish sauce (or soy), sugar, and lime juice. Taste and tweak — you want a nice balance of salty, sweet, and tangy.
- Carefully add the frozen dumplings to the simmering liquid. Let them cook for roughly 6–8 minutes or follow the package timing until they’re heated through and tender.
- Toss in the mushrooms and greens during the final 2 minutes so they wilt but keep some texture.
- Ladle into bowls and top with your choice of chili, cilantro, Thai basil, or green onions. Serve right away.
Notes
- Quick tips
- Use full-fat coconut milk for a rich, creamy broth — it makes a big difference.
- Simmer gently after adding coconut milk; avoid a hard boil to prevent separation.
- If you want more substance, add rice noodles or cubes of firm tofu. FYI: tortellini works if you prefer a different dumpling vibe.
- Make-ahead & storage
- For leftovers, keep the broth and dumplings in separate containers when possible — this preserves dumpling texture.
- Refrigerate up to 3 days. Reheat on the stove with a splash of stock to loosen the broth.
- The broth freezes well (without dumplings) for future quick meals.
- Variations
- Swap in green curry paste for a herbier, slightly hotter profile.
- Convert to vegetarian by using vegetable stock, soy sauce, and veggie dumplings.
- Use the slow cooker or Ninja Foodi by sautéing aromatics first, then finishing with dumplings added near the end.