I was at my local, neighbourhood coffee shop recently and enjoyed a bowl of a soup that was called “Wicked Thai”. I enjoyed it so much that I came home and started looking for a recipe on the internet. I quickly discovered that Campbell’s™ had produced a similar soup at one point (and maybe still does). That didn’t help me much though, since I wasn’t really interested in buying a can, even if I could find it. I was still determined to try to recreate it at home so I started experimenting.
I cooked it up tonight and while it wasn’t identical to the coffee shop version, it was really darned good, so I thought I’d share it here. If you happen to have left-over chicken and cooked rice, this soup could be made lickety-split! If not, it’s still an easy soup to cook up for when the days start getting cooler.
This soup doesn’t have a super thick broth, but it does have a wonderful, creamy texture that is full of Thai flavour. It has all the comfort of classic chicken and rice soup with a new, tasty twist. Of course, if you prefer it thicker, just mix a bit more cornstarch with water, add to the soup and heat to thicken more. I also learned that I prefer my mushrooms well cooked and browned before adding the broth, so I’ve reflected that in the recipe below by cooking the mushrooms separately first. If you don’t have similar mushroom issues, feel free to just cook them along with the onions and peppers.
Wicked Thai Chicken Soup
Summary: This soup has all the comfort of chicken and rice soup with a Thai twist with coconut milk and Thai curry spice.
Ingredients
- 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup finely chopped onion
- 1/2 a red bell pepper, diced
- 1 1/2 cups sliced mushrooms (a standard size tray package)
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 chicken breasts, cut into small dice
- 2 Tbsp. Gourmet Garden™ Lemon Grass herb paste (the stuff in the tube or the real thing, if you can find it)
- 1 tsp. fish sauce
- 1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup half and half (10%) cream
- 1/2 cup coconut milk
- 2 tsp. red curry paste
- 1 1/2 tsp. Sambal Oelek chili paste (or Sriracha, as an alternative but you may need less)
- 2-3 Tbsp. tomato paste (to taste)
- 1 Tbsp. cornstarch
- 2 cups cooked rice (long grain white or brown rice or try a mix of long grain with wild rice for some added texture)
- Fresh cilantro, parsley or basil leaves shredded for garnish
Instructions
- Cook rice and set aside (or use left-over cooked rice).
- Heat large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat and add 1 Tbsp. oil. When hot, add mushrooms and cook until golden and tender. Remove to a plate. In same pot, add remaining 1 Tbsp. oil and heat. Add onion, red pepper, and saute just until softened. Return mushrooms to pot. Add broth and chicken and heat through. Add lemon grass paste, fish sauce and Worcestershire sauce and simmer 5 minutes. Add cream and coconut milk, turn heat to low, then cover and simmer 2 minutes.
- In a small bowl, add curry paste, Sambal Oelek, tomato paste, 2 Tbsp. water and cornstarch and mix until incorporated. Stir into soup until combined and heat until soup simmers, thickens very slightly and has a velvety appearance. Add cooked rice, cover and simmer 5 minutes. Taste and season with salt and pepper, to taste. (You can also add more curry paste, tomato paste and/or Sambal Oelek to taste at this point, as well).
- Pour soup into bowls and garnish with cilantro, parsley or basil leaves and serve with additional Sambal Oelek for those who prefer a hotter soup.
Prep time: 20 min | Cook time: 30 min | Total time: 50 min
Number of servings (yield): 4
My husband had The Campbells version at a restaurant not long ago and has been on the HUNT for a can of it. I decided to give him a surprise and made this, and OMG! I can’t believe how close it turned out. I wasn’t able to get the lemon grass paste here or anything lemon grass for that matter, instead I substituted (not much compares to it) with lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon, and ground ginger to it. When I hit the city next I will def look for the paste or order it online. I also had to use Sriracha instead of the S.O.
Still turned out awesome tho!! Thanks for sharing your secret!
Best soup ever!
I have made this three times now. Delicious!!
Glad you enjoyed it, Jason!
Is it as good if I don’t use the fish sauce??
I think it would be still very tasty without the fish sauce. Might want to add a pinch more salt.
With 4 cups stock and all other ingredients it seems like this would make more than 4 bowls of soup? Might seem like dumb question, but to serve 20 does that mean I would literally 5 times the recipe? Like 6 litres of ingredients?
I guess it would depend on how big a bowl of soup you’re serving up. For soup for 20 (not a huge bowl), I would probably triple the recipe.
Yep, tripled. Worked well. Still say serves 6-8 might be better, but I guess if it’s your main instead of first course would be huge bowl.
Thanks for the update. Good to know. I almost always make soup for dinner and have a husband with a healthy appetite, so, that’s where the 4 comes from in my household :)
Made this soup for a dinner party. EVERYONE wanted the recipe!
Fantastic soup! I’m craving some right now!
So glad you all enjoyed it, Miranda. My favourite soup!
I am SO excited to make this. I actually keep track of when my local shops serve it so I can enjoy a bowl. So yum. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Love the recipe and can’t wait to try it. Thank you for sharing it with everybody. Now I can make it myself and not have to buy it.
Josie Drage
Just made this soup and it was literally the best soup I have ever made! I would definitely have ordered this at a restaurant…the only thing I changed was I left out the chicken and added some cooked shrimp at the end. And I ended up using about 4 tablespoons of the red curry paste. This soup was amazinggggg it is now on my repertoire!
Yes, shrimp on this soup sounds delicious. So glad you enjoyed it!
This has been one of my favourite soups since trying it at a local cafe. This recipe is exactly the same and has become a family favourite. Thanks so much for sharing, it’s a keeper at our house for sure.
You’re welcome, Ruth. So glad everyone at your house is enjoying it. One of my favourites, for sure!
This must be the recipe I’ve been looking for since having it at
the take-out counter at Loblaw’s. It’s is the best soup I’ve ever had. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Awesome recipe! I’ve had the Campbell’s food service version many times (it’s one of my faves). When I found your recipe I was a tad skeptical… Seriously, how close could this taste when the recipe looked so easy? I figured I had nothing to lose (I had all the ingredients on hand) so gave it a shot. Wow! Speechless. This is THE recipe for THE Wicked Thai soup that all the little cafes and pubs serve!! I made a few edits based on my tastes ~ I used straw mushrooms (a full can, rinsed and chopped) instead of regular fresh mushrooms, added julienned bamboo shoots and used a full can of coconut milk (omitted the cream). Deeeeeelicious! Thanks for sharing :)
Thanks Jenn. Glad you enjoyed it!
I recently had a bowl of “Wicked Thai Soup” at the hospital cafeteria while waiting for my daughter to be out of surgery. The lady behind the counter said “It will warm you from the inside out!”
It was -29 Celsius so I figured that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
Mmmmmm… delicious.
So I went home and googled wicked thai soup. Your page was the first one up, the picture looked like what I had eaten days before. So I went into town and bought all the ingredients I did not have.
Today I made the soup. It was great, but everyone in the house agreed it needed more heat so as the recipe suggested I added about 2-3 more tablespoons of the chili paste and another teaspoon of the curry paste. It was fantastic. Oh I also added an extra half tablespoon of the lemongrass paste, because I am a lemongrass fan.
All of it works so well together, even my son’s girlfriend ate it and she has very particular tastes.
Amazing recipe and easy to adapt to your tastes!
Thanks for providing another soup weather standby.
:)Tara
Wow, you do like it hot! Glad you enjoyed it and I agree, it’s a great soup to tweak to your tastes. Keep warm.
This looks amazing! Thanks so much!!
it tastes great but your instructions do not say where to put thw half and half cream
Sorry, it goes in with the coconut milk. I’ve edited the instructions to clarify. Thanks for letting me know.
I just made this and followed exactly. Mine wasn’t as spicy as it is when I get it from the grocery deli. And when I went back for a second bowl the rice soaked up all the liquid and was mushy. What did I do wrong? Still very good! But I now have a flavoured rice dish and not soup lol
Hi Carly, To up the spice, simply increase the amount of Sambal Oelek. As for the rice, did you add cooked and cooled rice at the end or did you cook the rice in the soup?
I cooked the rice and set it aside and added at the end when it said to. I’m gonna try
Again today since I still have enough ingredients.
Let me know how it goes. Any soup with rice will soak up some of the liquid as it sits. I usually just thin with a bit more chicken stock or milk.
Just made it and turned out much better, added more of the sambal stuff
And only used a cup of rice and didn’t cook it before hand. Tastes great!
Doubled it…made a few adjustments…ate it…died & went to Heaven! Fantastic recipe, thanks for sharing!:o)
Hah! You had me going there for a minute. I thought you were my first food blog casualty ;) Glad you enjoyed it.
My husband and I got hooked on a Thai soup served up on Mt. Seymour Ski hill. Though I knew from a friend, who cooked there, it wasn’t homemade I was determined to replicate it. I found your recipe and I am ever thankful as it pretty spot on to Seymour’s. I do however, lower the carbs by substituting grated cauliflower in lieu of rice. So one still has the texture but an added green veggie.
I love your variation, Tana! Glad you enjoyed it.
This soup was amazing !! My daughter and I loved it !! Definately a KEEPER !
Glad you both enjoyed it, Michelle. Still one of my favourite soups!
Amazing soup, truly enjoying it, but you need to add lime leaves to make it authentic and just that much tastier!!
I agree, Jenn. If you can get lime leaves, they would be a great addition. Unfortunately, I have never seen them in my (small town) grocery store, so it’s never an option for me.
I know what soup you are talking about! A Sobey’s near where I used to work had ‘Wicked Thai’ soup too and I could never get enough of it. http://www.servicesalimentairescampbell.ca/details.aspx?Code=104
I’ve often dreamed of making it myself but could never find a recipe that came anywhere close. I can’t wait to give this one a go!
Yep. That’s probably it. When I first ate it, I thought the coffee shop made it themselves. Should have realized :)
LOL, well then I need to look at all your other recipes :) because this soup was a huge hit.
The other site that I saw this recipe at attributed it to a recipe book called Food & Whine. If all the recipes in it are this good, I want the book :)
Hi Toni. This site used to be called “Food and Whine”. I changed the name recently, because I’m really not much of a whiner after all :)
The Campbell’s Wicked Thai soup is only availabe for food service (not retail). It’s a restaurant product, but oh so awesome! I love it too and look forward to making this recipe.
thank you for posting! i went out for dinner last night and the soup of the night was wicked thai chicken…AMAZING!!! so yep, i came home and googled it too…brought me here!!! thanks again! can’t wait to try it!!!
Enjoy Kaley!
So do u just put the chicken in it raw or brown it first? Im just about to make it. i absolutly love this soup!
Hi Jessica, Hope I’m not too late. The raw chicken gets put in (and cooked) with the broth (fourth line of second paragraph). Hope you enjoy the soup!
I also tried this soup (although the Campbell’s version) at a local shop. I had to find the recipe. I was sooo glad when it tasted just like the one I had in the store! Thanks so much. Soooo delicious.
Glad you enjoyed it, Nicole. Thanks for your comment.
Well girl…….I did use quinoa…and also used gourmet dried wild mushrooms…yummy yummy
This is a keeper…merci again Jen….you rock….
Nice! Glad you enjoyed it. I’ve made it with wild rice before and it was yummy. Would be nice with the wild mushrooms, too.
I know am going to love this soup…merci for posting it…could quinoa been used instead of rice…or both mixed?
We are relocating to Bracebridge….m happy to find your sight.
Merci encore…
Sure you could use quinoa, Suzanne. Let me know how it is if you try it. Keep in touch since we’re practically neighbours now. (I’ll tell you where to find the cafe that has the inspiration soup on the menu!)
Hi Tracey, I have frozen it but I can’t say it was entirely successful. The problem was really with the rice. It became mushy and almost dissolved into the soup when I re-heated it. The flavours were still nice but the texture and certainly the appearance suffered.
If you absolutely need to freeze, I’d do so before adding the rice and then add the rice when re-heating after freezing.
Can this soup be frozen?
In my experience, there won’t be any left to freeze ;)
Would it be ok – if I re-posted this recipe on my blog, and linked to you?
Matt
Happy to hear everyone enjoyed it, Michelle. (Always a bonus when the kids like it, I know :)
I made this soup for my mom and Aunt yesterday for lunch…..it was amazing! Everyone loved it even the kids !! Thanks for the great receipe
You’re welcome, Himashi. Glad you enjoyed it.
Just made this. It tasted great! Thanks for posting the recipe :)
You’re welcome, Trisha and Tamera. Glad you enjoyed it!
This is the best soup I have ever made. I too had a soup similar to this from a local coffee shop and googled it when I got home. I am so glad you posted this recipe. I too regretted not making double. It dod not last long and I am debating making another pot of soup so I can take some to work tomorrow.
Thanks again :)
Have tried to duplicate a soup like this we enjoy up at our local ski hill and have not had a lot of luck until I found your recipe … this recipe is spot on!! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Matt. Glad you enjoyed it!
Made this today. Regret not making double, as there are no left overs left. Thanks so much for posting this.
did you first enjoy this soup in port hope? if so, i do get it at a little coffee shop there and am now excited to try to make it myself.
thank you so much. I made this soup tonight form your blog, and it was mighty!
So glad you all are enjoying it. I’m looking forward to making this lots now that soup season is back :)
Just made it…delicious! I used 1 1/2 cups of coconut milk and eliminated the cream and it was perfect!
I had this soup at a local sports bar and it was love at first site. Its amazing! I believe the one I tried has cheese as well. Thanks for the recipe!!!
Hi,
I think I may know what coffee shop you are referring too. I love this recipe and having it home-made makes it so much more worth it.
It sounds just like a soup I buy for lunch at my local SuperValu! It is so good. Can’t wait to make it at home.
this is the soup I always order when I go out for lunch, this recipe is identical to the resturant. Thank you so much. I’m freezing it in serving size, so I can have it any time :)
Sounds nice, Marcel. Glad you enjoyed it.
I tried this soup but changed the 10% cream to 15% and put a bit more coconut milk. The result was amazingly good.
The restaurant at the Novotel in Ottawa has a very similar soup and I just love both.
You’re welcome, Sarah. Glad you enjoyed it. It’s one of my favourites!
My sister and I made this soup for dinner tonight. We couldn’t believe how quick it was to make and yet how flavorful it was. Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it, Anon!
I am a tried and true soup lover and this soup tops my list as my all time favorite,the flavours are so fabulous! Will be making this over and over again!
Cheers.
I also had this a my local coffee shop (I wonder if it’s the same one…), as did my mom and my sister. We all loved this soup, thank-you so much for the recipe!
Weird- I too discovered this soup in a local deli, came home, googled it and found your recipe…it is FREEZING here in Vancouver right now and this hit the spot. Thanks!!
Thanks Shauna. Enjoy the soup!
Thank-you so much for posting this. Like you, I enjoyed a cup of this soup in a local cafe; I was happy when I just Googled “Wicked Thai Soup” and found your site. I will defiantly be “favorite-ing” your website! Thanks again!
So glad you enjoyed it Amanda and you’re very welcome :)
Omg! I was addicted to this soup when zerhz made it and this tastes exactly the same! Thank you so much you saved me so much money and this soup is just amazing!! Thank you thank you. :)
I love it it is so delicious and it’s the best soup in the world. Once I tried it in the longos supermarket and i fell in love.
I love this time of year- it’s the perfect soup weather! I recently made tortellini sausage soup, but your soup looks WAY better!
Thanks Erin!
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing. :)
Thanks Ninette! Your Thai Shrimp look delish, too :)
Looks delish!
I really enjoyed it, Paula. Thanks for stopping in.
this soup must be delicious!
have a nice time!
Paula
I’m just enjoying a bowl for lunch right now, tigerfish and it’s still wicked :) Hope you get a chance to make it.
It’s wicked but I am game for it :)
It’s worth trying, Debby. It’s a soup lovers soup :)
I love soup and I love Asian cuisine so this recipe looks like one I’ll definitively try , thanks for the recipe :)
I hope you enjoy it, Nerd Girl. Unfortunately, the cooler weather has already arrived here but at least it’s soup weather!
That looks tasty! I cannot wait to try it – I love soup and am looking forward to cooler weather so pots simmering on the stove become a regularity once again.