Those kiddos of mine, who will happily eat salmon patties by the dozen (almost) and not bat an eye at the flavor factor of Bethany’s Instant Pot chipotle beef barbacoa, tend to groan in dismay when I say it’s stir fry night.
There’s something about a pile of veggies on their plates that doesn’t make them happy, I guess! (Although parents of only little ones, have hope! My 11yo now adores stir fry and the 8yo has also come around, so keep serving those vegetables and eventually you’ll win them over.)
When it’s soup night, I get a few less groans because there are some soups they love – cheeseburger soup and cream of potato come to mind.
When I found the recipe that inspired this Thai chicken stir fry soup in an eBook from Nourishing Days, I knew it was one I wanted to try but would have to heavily adapt it.
RELATED: How to Make Any Recipe for Soup in the Instant Pot.
How to Get Your Chicken Stir Fry in a Bowl
The original had fish sauce (just not going there) and no veggies, but I could tell it had potential to have great Asian flavor and be QUICK, which is kind of my first, second and third priority right now when it comes to meal planning (after the obvious “is it real food?” question is out of the way).
Speaking of meal planning, y’all know that’s totally essential to not going over budget on groceries, avoiding cheat nights because you don’t know what to cook, AND generally reducing your stress at mealtimes? I re-learn that lesson every couple weeks when I make a meal NON-planning error. Bites me every time!
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Better Coconut Milk Options
In adapting the recipe, I also know that canned coconut milk can get a little expensive, so whenever I can, I replace with whole milk or chicken stock plus a few tablespoons of coconut cream concentrate , which is much less expensive. You can also find it at Thrive Market (called “coconut manna” there) or Amazon (often found under “coconut butter”).
Sheesh! You practically need a vocabulary guide just to make a recipe!
The lowdown is that 1 teaspoon of coconut cream (or butter or whatever) plus a cup of water equals a cup of coconut milk for a fraction of the cost, and you have far fewer cans to recycle but with all the health benefits of coconut, so it’s a win for everyone! I usually use a generous scoop so probably more like a tablespoon, because I want it to be truly creamy. Another soup you’ll see this in is the very warming and delicious Turmeric Chicken Soup with Cabbage and Coconut.
Thai Chicken Stir Fry Soup Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: soup
- Cuisine: Asian
Ingredients
- 3 Tbs. coconut oil (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!)
- 2 medium onions, diced
- 4 c. chicken stock
- 2 c. cooked, shredded chicken
- 2 Tbs. soy sauce
- 3 Tbs. fresh lime juice (or bottled)
- 4 Tbs. coconut cream concentrate (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!) + 3 c. milk (or additional chicken broth for dairy-free) OR 2 cans coconut milk
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp.red pepper flakes (cut in half for young children)
- 2 tsp. dried cilantro (or 1/4 c. fresh cilantro)
- 1/2 pound frozen broccoli
- 1/2 pound frozen green beans
Instructions
- For best results, remove the frozen vegetables from the freezer to thaw a bit so that you can chop them up into smaller, bite-sized pieces.
- Melt coconut oil in a large pot. Saute onions until translucent, 5-10 minutes.
- Pour in chicken stock, chicken, soy sauce, lime juice, coconut cream (use the code STEWARDSHIP for 10% off at that site!), additional liquid (broth or milk), and all seasonings.
- Bring to a boil while you chop the frozen veggies. Add them into the pot and reduce heat to a simmer for about 5-10 minutes or until everything is heated through.
Notes
Serve with toppings:
* fresh cilantro
* squeeze of lime juice
* crushed red pepper flakes
If you really like the rice part of stir fry, add a ball of cooked rice – you don’t even have to heat it up if the soup is served steaming hot!
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Find this recipe on Plan to Eat HERE and automatically put it into your recipe box!
My kids hate soup. Poop.
Pile of veggies n rice floats their boat. Weird kids I know.
I blitz shredded coconut in water in the blender, freshly made coconut milk, yay.
I just made this for lunch after church. I didn’t save any of the chicken from when I made broth, so I doubled the veggies, and put out chopped ham and a can of salmon for people to choose to add to their bowls. It was a hit! ( I did omit the salt and halved the cilantro) PS Don’t be afraid of fish sauce, Trader Joe’s carries Red Boat which doesn’t have the nasties that the cheap kinds have. I discovered it because my daughter can’t have soy, and a little bit goes a long way to boosting Unami 🙂
My stars didn’t come through in my first post
Sweet, thanks Serena!! That’s great to know about fish sauce and umami – I just didn’t know where to start or what to look out for so I always skipped it. 😉
Try fish sauce, it does not make the dish taste fishy. It works the same as adding a couple of anchovies.
Thanks Audrey! I just haven’t purchased any yet. 😉 I do have some dried anchovies though, but I bet hubby would not like that… -Katie
So question, I can really use a couple tablespoons of this instead of a can of coconut milk in my curry? If that works I’m going for it!
Hi Judith,
I just went and checked my jar, and on the old ones it used to say to use 1 tsp. or Tbs. in 8 oz. of water as a sub for coconut milk – they removed that now but it’s what I’ve always done for soups and stir fry sauces, and it definitely adds creaminess. I use way more than a teaspoon, just sort of chip some out of the jar (it’s very hard in the winter) and dump it in the pot. 🙂
It’s a huge cost savings though. Here’s how it’s described on the Tropical Traditions website to help understand why it can be a substitute:
“Commercial coconut milks and creams are generally sold in cans, or sometimes boxes and tetra packs. The main ingredient in these products is water. If the fat content is 17%, it is called “coconut milk.” If the fat content is 24%, it is called “coconut cream.” But most of what you are purchasing is water. Coconut Cream Concentrate, on the other hand, has NO water, and is pure coconut. Unlike the commercial varieties, it also contains ALL the fiber of the coconut. Pure, dried coconut contains more fiber per gram than even oat bran! This fiber has been stripped out of commercial coconut milks and coconut creams. Also, almost all commercial coconut milks and creams have additives to prevent the water from separating from the coconut oil, and also have sulfites added to keep it white longer. Sometimes these additives are so small, that the FDA does not require them to list them on their labels as ingredients. Coconut Cream Concentrate, however, contains NO additives and NO preservatives at all: it is 100% natural coconut made from Philippine coconuts grown without pesticides or fertilizers.”
Also I noticed they’re on sale THIS WEEK which is awesome!! But only through tonight so I hope you get this in time! Hope that helps — Katie
Thanks! I added a twin pack to my amazon subscribe and save list. I’m really excited about this because we make a lot of curry here.