If you love Thai flavours in soups, take a look at our Thai Noodle Soup.
Thai Chicken Soup
I believe chicken soup and cold weather come hand in hand for many of us. There is something so comforting and satisfying about slurping delicious and warm liquids on chilly days. I am a fan of classic chicken soup recipes like this Chicken and Dumpling Soup I grew up on but once in a while I love to spice things up. By which I mean, I love adding new flavours to the tried and true classics. Chicken and rice soup is probably something you remember eating as a child. I know I do but I wanted to breathe a new life into the old favourite.
Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
In order to reinvent it, I added Thai flavours to the usual ingredients you’d find in a chicken and rice soup like onions, celery, chicken stock, etc. The first thing I changed is I replaced white rice with wild rice simply because I love the flavour and texture so much! I wasn’t sure about the specifics but one thing I knew for certain, my chicken and wild rice soup needed to be made in a slow cooker as wild rice takes ages to cook! To infuse this soup with Thai flavours I added a few spoonfuls of Thai red curry paste, fish sauce, lime juice and palm sugar. These ingredients deliver the usual 4 main flavours of the Thai cuisine. Sweet, salty, spicy and sour. I don’t love all things that come from a slow cooker but soups and stews are definitely those things that taste better if cooked low and slow. Also, who is NOT a fan of a “throw everything in, walk away and come hours later to a cooked meal” method?! Easy and convenient.
Recipe Tips
Here are my suggestions for making this soup taste extra delicious.
Dice the vegetables in equally sized pieces, so they cook at the same speed. Feel free to use white rice instead of wild rice and spinach instead of kale if that is your preference. Add sliced mushrooms and kale one hour before the soup is done. They don’t benefit from hours in the slow cooker. Serve the soup with a slice of lime, sprinkled with chopped peanuts and fresh cilantro for authentic Thai flavours.
This soup is a variation on my regular Thai curry recipe minus coconut milk as I wasn’t sure how it would do in a slow cooker. I also wanted to keep this soup quite lean. If you prefer a creamy texture, stir in a can of coconut milk at the end and heat until it warmed through. More Thai Recipes to Explore:
Vegetarian Thai Green Curry Thai Green Papaya Salad (Som Tam) Thai Roasted Squash and Sweet Potato Soup Instant Pot Chicken with Thai Glaze
This recipe was originally published in 02/2017. Updated and republished in 01.2021
