This Thai corn chowder is made with a creamy coconut red curry base, sweet summer corn, peppers and potatoes! A delicious soup that's vegan, gluten-free, and hearty enough to make a meal of!
This is the summer soup. I see a lot of corn chowder recipes circulating during the summer, and even have a bunch of my own, including my classic vegan corn chowder, southwest corn chowder and red lentil corn chowder.
I love fresh summer corn, but I always think of corn chowder as being wintry. It is soup after all, and it's thick and rich and creamy. This Thai corn chowder is perfect for summer though. It gets just a bit of richness from coconut milk, which is beautifully complimented by fresh garden herbs and the flavor of some flaming hot Thai red curry paste.
If you're like me and enjoy a good bowl of soup year round, I highly encourage you to give this one a try while it's warm out and fresh produce items like corn and peppers are at their peak!
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegetable oil. Use any neutral high heat oil that you like to cook with. Melted coconut oil, avocado oil, corn oil and canola oil will all work!
- Shallot. Red onion can be substituted if that's what you have on hand.
- Red bell pepper.
- Red curry paste. Check the ingredients when you buy this, as many brands aren't vegan. Thai Kitchen and Maesri are the two vegan brands I see in supermarkets most often. Thai Kitchen is super mild, whereas Maesri is quite spicy. I sometimes like to use a mix of the two for moderate heat.
- Vegetable broth.
- Coconut milk. The recipe calls for full-fat coconut milk, for maximum creaminess and depth of flavor. You can swap it out for light coconut milk if you're concerned with the fat content.
- Corn. Ideally you'll want to use fresh, sweet summer corn for this recipe. If that's not available, you can use frozen corn.
- Potato. The recipe calls for a russet potato, but a couple of red or golden potatoes will work just fine if that's what you've got.
- Lime juice. You absolutely want to use freshly squeezed juice here. Bottled juice just doesn't have the same flavor.
- Salt.
- Fresh cilantro.
- Fresh basil. Use Thai basil or holy basil if either is available. If not, stick with good old trusty Italian basil.
How It's Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
First, cut your corn from the cob. Hold a corn cob upright in a large bowl, then run a chef's knife down the cob to cut the kernels from it. Be careful so as not to slip!
Heat the oil in a large pot, then add diced shallot and bell pepper. Sweat the vegetables for a few minutes, until they start to soften.
Stir in the curry paste and cook it briefly with the shallot and pepper. Keep stirring the whole time to prevent it from burning.
Tip: Use less curry paste for milder flavor, or more for more intense flavor and heat. Not sure how much to go with? Start with less. You can add more after adding the coconut milk and broth, then giving the soup a taste-test.
Stir in the coconut milk, broth, corn and diced potato. Raise the heat and bring the mixture to a boil.
Lower the heat and let the soup simmer until the potato is tender. It should be easily pierced with a fork when it's done.
Tip: If you're using frozen corn, wait until the soup is almost done simmering to add it. Frozen corn is partially cooked.
Take the pot off of heat. Stir in some lime juice, salt, chopped fresh cilantro and basil.
Your Thai corn chowder is ready to enjoy. Ladle it into bowls and dig in!
Meal Prep Tips
- The bell pepper and shallot can be diced in advance and stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1 to 2 days.
- The corn can be cut from the cob and stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 1 to 2 days.
- The potato can be cut in advance, but in order to prevent it from turning brown it will need to be stored submerged in water in an airtight container. Keep it in the fridge for up to 24 hours before making the soup.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover red curry corn chowder can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days. Reheat it in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stove, adding a splash of water if it has thickened up too much.
More Thai-Inspired Soups
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📖 Recipe
Thai Corn Chowder
Ingredients
For the Corn Chowder
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ½ cup diced shallot (about 1 medium or 2 small shallots)
- 1 medium red bell pepper, diced
- 2 tablespoons vegan red curry paste, plus more to taste (up to 5 tablespoons)
- 3 cups vegetable broth
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 ml) can full-fat coconut milk
- 4 cups fresh corn kernels (about 4-5 ears of corn, Note 1)
- 1 medium russet potato, scrubbed and diced (½ inch)
- 2 tablespoons lime juice
- Salt, to taste
- 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped, plus more for serving if desired
- 2 tablespoons Fresh basil, chopped, plus more for serving if desire
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the shallot and bell pepper. Sweat the vegetables for about 5 minutes, until the pepper starts to become tender and the shallot is soft and transclucent.
- Stir in the curry paste (Note 2). Sauté the curry paste with the shallot and pepper for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until it becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, coconut milk, corn and potato. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Lower the heat and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potato is tender.
- Remove the pot from heat. Stir in the lime juice and season the soup with salt to taste. Stir in the cilantro and basil.
- Ladle into bowls and optionally top with additional basil and cilantro. Serve.
Notes
- Frozen corn can be substituted when fresh isn't in season. Thaw it first and wait until the potato is tender before adding it to the soup. Only let it simmer for a minute or two.
- If you're not sure how much to use, start with 2 tablespoons, then give the soup a taste-test after adding the broth and coconut milk. Add more if needed.
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This was so good! I used a can of diced tomatoes since I didn't have a fresh pepper-yum!
Delicious!! I use 2-3 leeks & carrots from the garden to up the veg power. Served with a little leftover rice scooped in to make it more hearty. Will definitely make this again.
Made this last night. My friend and I thought it was fantastic. Made no changes except added about another tsp of red curry paste. I use Maeseri brand. This is now on my rotation list. Thinking of making it again in a few days to add to my freezer for a winter meal. What a treat on a nice cold night.
This was amazing!! I don't often repeat a recipe but I'm about to make this for the third time! So delicious and easy!!
This looks soooooooooo yummy. I guess summer's almost over now.... but maybe this will stand in as an awesome early autumn soup? Although it looks like it would be perfect all year round....
This would definitley be nice in the cooler months! You could use frozen corn any time fresh isn't available. :)
I made this last week and it was fantastic. I added some frozen spinach because spinach. The flecks of green in a bowl of red and yellow was just beautiful. And the leftovers a couple of days later were even better.
Awesome! I was thinking this would be a good one for experimenting with different veggie additions. Spinach sounds like an excellent idea - thanks Carla!
Alyssa - This looks fantastic! I've been thinking about making a corn chowder for the past few weeks. I'm off to the Farmers' Market in a bit and you've given me the inspiration! And the coconut milk & thai curry paste - brilliant! You rock!
Awesome! Thanks so much, Matt! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. :)