It was just sitting there, taunting me. “You can’t drink me, silly lady. I’m a sauce! Not a soup.” I don’t like to be told what to do. So I took one look at the remnants of the panang curry from our favorite thai place, told it to shut it’s stupid panang curry mouth, and drank it.
It was right. It was too rich to be drunk. But it’s flavors—oh, it’s flavors!—creamy coconut, salty chicken broth, spicy red curry; they were destined to be in sippable form. So I set out to make this classic thai dish into a soup that can be both eaten and slurped, both without judgment.
I began with the classic panang curry ingredients: carrots, scallions, lime, shallot, ginger, garlic, and mushroom. For body I added yam, two types of potato, and boneless, skinless chicken thighs to start the broth.
You’ll also need thai red curry paste (available in most grocery stores), chicken broth, and coconut milk. Not pictured but also needed: olive oil, butter, water and flour.
Begin by rinsing the chicken and patting it dry. Trim off any excess fat, check for stray bones, and then cut into 1″ pieces.
Brown the chicken in a bit of oil until no longer pink. It’s best to do this in a big pot so you can make the soup in it, too.
While the chicken is cooking, you can mince the garlic and shallot…
…peel and chop the carrot…
…and dice the potatoes (peel the yam first).
Remove the chicken from the pot, add a bit more oil, and brown the garlic and shallot.
Add the potatoes and carrot and cook until tender.
Meanwhile, chop the shallots…
…and quarter the mushrooms (I like to lop off the very end of the stems first, but it’s not completely necessary).
Remove the potatoes and carrots from the pot. Melt the butter and quickly stir in the flour to make a roux.
Whisk in the broth, coconut milk and red curry paste, scraping the bottom of the pan to release all of the browned bits.
Add the chicken, vegetables, mushrooms, and scallions. Zest and juice half of the lime into the soup.
Grate in the ginger (I like to use the microplane for this, but if you don’t have one, the thin side of a cheese grater works just fine). Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it reaches the thickness you desire.
Serve with more chopped scallions and a slice of lime if desired, and a crusty bread, pita or naan on the side for dipping. Breathe it in. Savor. And slurp away.
Panang Curry Soup printable recipe
Serve with a crusty bread, toasted pita or warmed naan for sopping up the fragrant, spicy broth.
Active time: 30 minutes Total time: 1 hour.
Serves 8
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil, divided
- 1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1″ cubes
- 1 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 small shallot
- 2 carrots
- 1 small yam
- 1 large yukon gold potato
- 1 large red potato
- 1 small bunch scallions
- 1/2 lb crimini or white mushrooms
- 1 piece ginger root, roughly the size of your finger
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1/4 cup flour
- 4 cups chicken broth or chicken stock
- 2 cans coconut milk (not light)
- 2 tbsp red curry paste (more if your like more spice)
- 1/2 c water
- 1 lime
2. Mince the garlic and shallot. Peel the carrots and cut into 1/2″ coins. Peel the yam and dice (I find a 3/4″ dice works well for soups) along with the potatoes. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pot and add the garlic. Saute for 1 minute. Add the shallot and saute for 1 minute more. Add the carrots, yam and potatoes; reduce heat to medium and cook for 7-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender. Remove from pot.
3. While the vegetables are cooking, chop the scallions and quarter the mushrooms. Peel the ginger root. Set aside.
4. In the same pot, melt the butter and quickly stir in the flour, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Whisk in the broth, coconut milk, red curry paste and water, scraping the bottom of the pan as you stir to release the browned bits. Add the chicken, carrot and potato mixture, mushrooms, and scallions (reserving a few tablespoons of scallions for serving, if desired). Zest and juice half of the lime into the soup, reserving the other half of the lime for serving. Grate the ginger into the soup. Taste for seasoning, adding more salt, curry paste or lime if needed. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer uncovered for 20 to 25 minutes, or until soup reaches the thickness you desire. Taste once again for seasoning and serve.
A new recipe! Hooray! We made your horseradish roasted sweet potatoes for Thanksgiving. Delicious!
Its been cold here in Hawaii and when I saw you posted this recipe I had to cook it!!! We loved it and we both had 3 bowls!!! its not a heavy soup so we werent that full…amazing recipe this one is a keeper!
It has inspired me to cook Tom Kah soup now 
I have the best recipe for Panang Curry paste that you buy at Uwajimaya. It is lifechanging. I got it from my friend who owns NuCulinary and has amazing cooking classes. Email if you would like the recipe.
Hi Beth,
I would love the receipe.
Thank you
Nicole
Panang Curry Chicken with Asian Pears
8 servings
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons Panang curry paste
• 2 – 2 ½ pounds chicken, well rinsed, patted dry and quartered
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 2 Asian pears or Golden Delicious apples, cored, peeled and sliced
• 2 cups coconut milk, hold back 2 tablespoons for garnish
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar or palm sugar
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• Zest of one lime
• 2 fresh red chilies, thinly sliced
• Sprig of basil, finely chopped
Curry Condiments
• 1 cup fruit chutney
• 1 cup peanuts
• 1 cup dried currants
• 1 cup coconut
1. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper
2. Heat oil in large skillet or wok. Add curry paste and sauté for about 5 minutes. Add chicken and stirfry until juices run clear, about 5-8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan, melt butter and sauté pears or apples over medium heat for 3 minutes.
4. Add coconut milk to the chicken mixture. Bring mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer, add sugar, fish sauce, fruit and lime zest.
5. Garnish with lime zest, sliced red chiles and finely chopped basil. Pass dishes of chutney, peanuts, currants, and coconut.
Sounds great, Beth! Thanks for sharing!
Beth I would love the reipe also.
Thanks,
Dana
Beth, nevermind I see it.
sounds delish! (you must have my phone bugged and know what I like to order for thai and chinese takeout… panang curry, broccoli beef, and chicken fried rice) mmm mmmm mmmm! Can’t wait to give it a try.
I am so excited to try this! I was just talking about a pangang chicken dish somebody made a long time ago. I’ve been recreating the recipe in my head for a while, but really wasn’t sure how to start. I enjoyed looking through your blog, stop by mine sometime smittenfoodie.com
Connie