Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken Cilantro Meatballs

This Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken Cilantro Meatballs is a delicious, easy and unique dinner entree that's bursting with fabulous flavor.

People often ask how or where I find inspiration for new recipes. The answer is here, there and everywhere. I'm intrigued by cookbooks, restaurants, dinners with friends... sometimes it's simply a trip to the grocery store and noticing something seasonal that's newly arrived. In the case of this Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken Cilantro Meatballs, it was an email from the NY Times that came through my inbox recently.

They were featuring an Asian-inspired dish called "Thai Rice Soup with Pork Cilantro Meatballs". It sounded delicious but after reading through the recipe, I decided to go in another direction. The inspiration had begun and I started pulling out ingredients from the fridge and pantry. The result is nothing like the Times recipe but nevertheless, quite delicious!

Meatball love

It seems that everyone loves meatballs and we have lots of them here at the Café to love. In fact, you could take a culinary trip to Hawaii, Italy, Korea, Vietnam or Greece just with our meatball recipes! There's even a crazy (but amazingly delicious) rendition with a strawberry jam and balsamic vinegar glaze.

This time our meatball adventure is taking us to Thailand with these fabulous chicken (or turkey) meatballs served in a wonderful coconut milk broth. The meatball and soup ingredients include lots of Thai-inspired ingredients like fresh ginger, lemongrass, curry powder and red curry paste. Fragrant jasmine rice and the classic Thai herb trinity, basil, mint and cilantro pair deliciously with the flavorful meatballs and broth.

Since meatballs made from ground chicken can look a little anemic, even after being baked, I like to employ a little "magic" trick for a pretty presentation. After the meat mixture is portioned out, rolled into balls and arranged on a sheet pan, I simply brush them with a mixture of olive oil and mild paprika. The oil/paprika mixture doesn't change the flavor but keeps the meatballs moist and gives them a nice golden hue.

Make ahead!

I love that this is a make-ahead meal that makes busy weeknights and entertaining more fun and relaxed. The meatballs can be prepped and refrigerated or even baked in advance and then rewarmed. The sauce/soup also can be prepared ahead of time then refrigerated and warmed again just before serving.

If you make this dish right before serving plan on about an hour from start to finish. Make the meatballs first then, while the oven finishes up the work and emits amazing aromas, the silky smooth sauce will come together quickly.

Since both the meatballs and the soup call for fresh ginger and lemongrass, it's more expedient to chop it all at the same time. Or, to save even more time, pick up some ginger paste and lemongrass paste (see more about this below in the Café Tips) next time you shop and all you'll need to do is pull the tubes out of the refrigerator and squeeze out the fragrant condiments.

So take the ho-hum out of your weekly menu with this delicious Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken Cilantro Meatballs! It's one of those meals everyone will enjoy and you might just feel like you've taken an exotic trip to the Far East without having to leave your cozy little kitchen!

Cafe Tips for making this Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken Cilantro Meatballs

• To save time, I like to use tender young carrots for this recipe. Fresh carrots with the green tops intact work well as do baby carrots. I like to slice the carrots on a diagonal for a pretty presentation.
• The meatball ingredients for this recipe include ¾ cup of panko crumbs. Panko crumbs are Japanese-style bread crumbs. They are lighter, crisper, and airier than regular bread crumbs and are great for meatballs. You can find panko at most larger grocery stores in the same area as regular bread crumbs. Sometimes they're also stocked in the Asian section of the international aisle.
• This recipe calls for finely chopped fresh ginger and finely chopped fresh lemongrass. I always keep tubes of ginger and lemongrass paste in my refrigerator or freezer. These handy tubes of bright, fresh flavor can be found in the produce section of many larger grocery stores. Once opened, they're good for up to four weeks in the refrigerator and indefinitely in the freezer. They've saved me many trips to the grocery store!
• Coconut milk is available in "light" and "full-fat" options. I often use the "light" variety in many recipes to save calories, but I recommend the full-fat for this Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken Cilantro Meatballs as it imparts great flavor.
• This recipe calls for red curry paste. Red curry paste is a versatile combination of herbs and spices. It can vary in heat intensity so it's best to start with less and add more, to taste. I've tried lots of red curry pastes but have found the Thai Kitchen brand to be delicious and not overly spicey. Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste is available at most larger grocery stores in the Asian area. You can also find it online. Red curry paste should be stored in the refrigerator once opened but will keep well for several months.
• I like to use a small retractable ice cream scooper to make consistent-sized meatballs.
• Ground chicken (and turkey) can be difficult to form into nice-looking meatballs as its consistency is looser. If you lightly wet your hands, it helps to roll the meat mixture into the balls (just a few drops of water).

• This recipe calls for basil, mint and cilantro for garnishing. The combination of the three herbs is delicious but feel free to use just basil or cilantro if you don't have access to a lot of fresh herbs.

Thought for the day:

For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son,
that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

What we're listening to for inspiration:

Love Came Down

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Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken Cilantro Meatballs

This Thai Coconut Soup with Chicken Cilantro Meatballs is a delicious, easy and unique dinner entree that's bursting with fabulous flavor.

Author: Chris Scheuer

Course: Main

Cuisine: Asian-fusion, Thai-inspired

Keyword: Chicken Cilantro Meatballs, Thai Coconut Soup

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Total Time: 1 hr

Servings: 6

Calories: 320 kcal

Ingredients

For the meatballs:

• 1 pound ground chicken (you could also use ground turkey)
• ½ cup medium red bell pepper finely chopped finely diced (about ½ of a medium-size bell pepper)
• 6 medium green onions halved, if large and very thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped or grated fresh ginger or ginger paste
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped lemongrass or lemongrass paste
• ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
• ¾ cup panko crumbs
• 1 large egg
• 2 medium cloves garlic finely minced
• 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1½ tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon paprika

For the soup:

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoon finely minced fresh ginger or ginger paste, (or ginger paste)
• 1 tablespoon finely minced lemongrass (or lemongrass paste)
• 1-2 tablespoon red curry paste more to taste
• 4 medium cloves garlic finely minced
• 1 ½ tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon mild curry powder
• 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
• 12 ounces carrots (thinly sliced)
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 15-ounce can full fat coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• cooked jasmine rice

For the garnish:

• cilantro mint and/or fresh basil leaves, lime wedges, chopped peanuts for garnish
• salted peanuts chopped or halved

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the meatballs:

1. Heat the oven to 350˚F. Line a sheet pan with foil for easy clean-up and spray it generously with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

2. Combine ground chicken, bell pepper, green onion, ginger, lemongrass, cilantro, panko crumbs, egg, garlic, and salt in a medium-large bowl. Mix with a sturdy spatula, wooded spoon or your hands until well-combined. Scoop up mixture into small portions, about 1½-2 tablespoons each. With slightly damp hands, roll the portions into round meatballs and arrange on the prepared pan.

3. Combine the olive oil and paprika in a small bowl and stir to combine. Brush the oil over the meatballs then bake for 15-12 minutes or until the meatballs are firm to the touch and take on a nice golden hue.

For the sauce/soup:

1. Heat large Dutch oven or heavy-duty soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter and olive oil and swirl the pan until melted and bubbly. Add the ginger, lemongrass, red curry paste, garlic, brown sugar and curry powder. Stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until nice and fragrant.
2. Add the chicken broth, sliced carrots and salt. Bring to a boil and cook, uncovered for 10-15 minutes until the carrots are tender (the time will depend on how thick you cut the carrots). Add the coconut milk and stir to combine.
3. Combine the cornstarch and cold water in a small bowl and stir until nice and smooth. Add the cornstarch mixture to the sauce and return to a boil. Cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring frequently. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
4. Serve in bowls with a scoop of rice and the meatballs. Garnish with fresh cilantro, basil and mint and chopped or halved peanuts.

Calories 320kcal

Fat 17g

Saturated fat 5g

Trans fat 0.1g

Polyunsaturated fat 3g

Monounsaturated fat 9g

Cholesterol 97mg

Sodium 1307mg

Potassium 921mg

Carbohydrates 23g

Fiber 3g

Sugar 8g

Protein 21g

Vitamin A 10737%

Vitamin C 23%

Calcium 80%

Iron 3%