Coconut Curry Thai Meatball Soup
An homage to delicious Thai-style meatballs (which are often added to noodle soups), this quick-fix take of mine simmers store-bought meatballs in a super tasty broth that infuses them with classic Thai flavors. Garlic, fish sauce, ginger, scallion, soy, and coconut milk all sing together perfectly in this cozy, warming soup.
- Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
Units
Scale
- 12 store-bought raw homestyle meatballs (see note)
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 2 scallions, whites and green finely chopped and separated
- 8–ounces sliced mushrooms (any kind you like)
- 2 celery stalks, thinly sliced
- 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
- 1.5 tablespoons minced pickled jalapeno
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2.5 teaspoons ginger paste (or 2.5 teaspoons grated fresh ginger)
- 4 garlic cloves, grated or minced
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 3 teaspoons fish sauce
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 4-ounce jar Thai-style green (or red) curry paste
- 15-ounce can coconut milk (full fat)
- 32-ounce box chicken stock
- 8 to 9 ounce package rice noodles
SERVING SUGGESTIONS: fresh cilantro, chopped scallion greens, chopped honey roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Put the meatballs on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake until deeply browned and just about cooked through (about 17 to 18 minutes, depending on size).
- Meanwhile, add 2 tablespoons oil to a large, deep pot set over medium heat. Add the scallion whites, mushrooms, carrots, and jalapeno to the pan and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until everything is tender; about 6 to 8 minutes.
- Add the garlic and ginger, along with the sugar, fish sauce, soy sauce, curry paste, and coconut milk. Stir to mix and to caramelize the paste a bit; about 2 minutes. Add the stock and stir to mix. Taste and season as you like.
- Add the mostly baked meatballs to the soup and cover (we don’t want it to reduce). Simmer gently over low heat while you boil the rice noodles according to package instructions. Drain them and divide between serving bowls. Top with meatballs and several ladles of the flavorful broth and veggies. The noodles will drink up the broth as they sit (not really a bad thing), so enjoy right away, topped with your preferred fixins (cilantro, chopped scallion greens, honey roasted peanuts, etc.)
Notes
Re: meatballs … if all you can find are Italian style, it’s fine. Those will work – it will still be tasty. Just know that fennel is typically not an ingredient in Thai meatballs, so this is now a fusion dish. “Thai-talian” we’ll call it. Delicious all the same.