Crab Coconut Thai Soup

5 from 9 votes

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This Crab Coconut Thai Soup is made in 30 minutes and packed with crab, shrimp and a big and bold broth made from coconut, peanut butter and fish sauce.

Crab Coconut Thai Soup1


Crab Coconut Thai Soup

This is a post from a while back when I first started this site so be gentle on the photos, but I thought it warranted a second look!

The other day I was in the mood for some soothing and flavorful soup because to me soup feeds the soul. I decided while at the market the seafood was too good to pass up and went for a Thai themed soup I love to make.

The crab and shrimp was just put out and looked great. I grabbed a couple crab legs, some medium sized shrimp and hit up the fresh vegetables and herbs. They had some lemon grass, amazing basil and jalapeños.

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When I got home I broke out the large soup pot and poured in some homemade chicken stock. Over medium heat I started the stock simmering and washed the lemon grass.

To get the most flavor out of them I used the side of my knife and smashed the bulb end of each and cracked it open. Trimming the tops off I cut each in half and dropped them in the simmering chicken stock.

Slice the ends off the jalapeño pepper, slice it down the middle lengthwise and drop it in the stock as well.

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After the lemon grass and jalapeño simmered in the chicken stock for 15 minutes, pull them out and discard. Add the peanut butter, coconut milk, fish sauce and Sambal Oelek Chili Paste and using a whisk to stir to mix completely.

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Wash and slice the water chestnuts in half and do a quick chop on the basil and set aside. Next up, I cracked the crab legs open and removed the beautiful, sweet crab meat and set aside. Doing a quick chop for bite size pieces and washed the shrimp that was already cleaned and deveined. Add the seafood and water chestnuts to the pot and cook on low for another 5 minutes until heated through and serve topped with basil.

The sweet crab goes perfectly with the flavorful broth. The coconut milk mixed with the peanut butter and spicy chili paste is so good. I keep taking spoonful after spoonful.

The nuance that the fish sauce gives with this is amazing. All topped with the fresh chopped basil and slight crunch of the water chestnuts and shrimp makes this a great, light and healthy meal. Enjoy!

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crab coconut soup with chopped basil

Crab Coconut Thai Soup

5 from 9 votes
This Crab Coconut Thai Soup uses sweet crab and shrimp in a flavorful broth of coconut milk mixed with the peanut butter and spicy chili paste. So good!
Servings: 2 servings
Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 20 minutes
Total: 30 minutes

Ingredients 

  • 2 large crab legs
  • 1 lb medium shrimp
  • 3 cups chicken stock
  • 4 stalks lemon grass (See Note1)
  • 1 jalapeño pepper
  • 14 oz can coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter
  • 3 tbsp Sambal Oelek Chili Paste
  • 2 tsp fish sauce (See Note 2)
  • 1 can sliced water chestnuts drained
  • 4 leaves large basil

Instructions 

  • Heat 3 cups of chicken stock in a stock pot over medium heat.
  • With the side of your knife smash the bulb ends of the lemon grass. Trim the top ends off and chop each stalk in half. (See Note 1). Trim the stem off the jalapeño and slice lengthwise down the middle. Add to the simmering stock for 15 minutes. Remove and discard.
  • Next add the coconut milk, chunky peanut butter, Sambal Oelek Chili Paste and fish sauce. Stir to incorporate.
  • Crack the crab legs open and remove the crab meat. Do a quick chop for bite size pieces and set aside.
  • Wash the shrimp that was already cleaned and deveined. Add the seafood and water chestnuts to the pot and cook on low for another 5 minutes until heated through and serve topped with basil.

Video

Notes

  1. Feel free to substitute 1 tablespoon lemon grass paste if fresh lemon grass is not available.
  2. Please note that fish sauce does have a high sodium content for those watching their intake, but the nuanced flavor is amazing.
 
 

Nutrition

Calories: 658kcal | Carbohydrates: 52.5g | Protein: 54.8g | Fat: 26.9g | Saturated Fat: 7.9g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5.7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 11.2g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 317mg | Fiber: 5.7g | Sugar: 13.8g

The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Course: Soup
Cuisine: Thai
Have You Made This Recipe? Let Me Know on InstagramTag @keviniscooking or tag me #keviniscooking!

Kevin

Whether in the kitchen or on the grill, you’ll find me cooking American favorites with a love for BBQ, Mexican and Tex Mex. I’m passionate about making tasty food because life’s too short to be bland!

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44 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Incredible taste! Full of flavour! It could have been a little thicker -perhaps adding flour or something to thicken it up. But I followed the recipe to a T and it came out BEAUTIFUL! It tasted great even if I had to load the rice with the curry 🙂 I added extra crab meat though 🙂

    1. So happy to read this, Monica! In the future, if you’d like the soup a bit thicker, you could make a cornstarch slurry (2 tbsp cold water and 2 tbsp cornstarch, mixed together) and stir it into the soup for a couple of minutes at the end of the cooking time.

  2. 5 stars
    LOVED it! I added Corn as I didn’t have Water Chestnuts. I also added Konjac noodles as I thought it needed more substance but I like thick soups. I’m adding this as one of my regulars.

  3. 5 stars
    My wife and I had this for dinner last night and it was outstanding. Nice amount of spice although I may kick it up a notch next time around. Tonight will be Mango Sriracha Chicken Thighs. I love finding simple yet flavorful recipes like these. Thanks!

    1. I try to keep the heat to what I feel most would like in the recipes, but I’m like you and tend to kick it up more. So happy you found my site and are enjoying the recipes. Appreciate you coming back and commenting Steve. Cheers!

      1. Yes, she and Keith are both great. Love to visit with them when they come visit Keith’s father.

  4. 5 stars
    This soup was phenomenal! I regularly make a (Ghanaian) peanut soup with chicken– its one of my favorite foods– but I’ve never thought to meld peanut flavor and coconut milk. Genius! I really don’t like water chestnuts, so I substituted sweet corn for crunch. Really delicious, and of course, even better the days after!

  5. 5 stars
    This soup was phenomenal! I regularly make a (Ghanaian) peanut soup with chicken– its one of my favorite foods– but I’ve never thought to meld peanut and coconut milk. Genius! I really don’t like water chestnuts, so I substituted sweet corn corn crunch. Really delicious, and of course, even better the day after after!

  6. My husband and I both loved this. It was a bit spicy for our preference, next time I’d only do 2T of the chili paste. Added an extra cup of chicken broth. Looking forward to making this again! I especially love how light and healthy it was, without tasting like “diet/healthy” food… definitely full of flavor.

    1. Doesn’t it just have so many delicate levels of flavor? It’s a house fav, too! Thanks Liz. 🙂

  7. 5 stars
    I came across this website by accident and when I saw the soup I knew I had to try it out. It exceeded my expectations!!!! Since I have allergies I have to omit a few things and I usually find myself over compensating for those missing ingredients. But this recipe had so much flavor there was no need to add anything extra. Thanks for the share.

  8. Thanx for this I will try it out tonite with a different type of crabs ( blue swimmers) which are popular and easy to catch here in australia! Perhaps I’ll cook the crabs first in chilli lemon grass and oil and then remove it and make a soup out of it

    Ciao

  9. 5 stars
    It’s only breakfast-time but you’ve got me craving this soup! I am crazy for crab legs any which way I can have them! This soup looks so silky and divine! I’ll take the entire pot, please!

    1. Sorry for the late reply Annie as I’ve been gone the last 2 weeks in India, but am back sifting emails, checking out everyones posts I missed and replying here. Thanks for the kind words. One can’t go wrong with coconut milk, peanut butter and crab! 🙂