There are some recipes that are best when made with coconut milk, and this is one of them. Coconut milk creates a creamy, tangy, slurp-worthy soup. If there were one coconut milk-based broth or soup I would recommend for anyone new to cooking with coconut milk, this is it.

Don't be intimated by the more exotic ingredients. Most of them can be substituted with alternatives, and you can source things like kaffir lime leaves from online and local specialty markets.

The authentic version of this soup is fairly sparse in vegetables, and it's usually made with chicken. No problem, though. You can easily add on some of your favorite veggies, like spinach and broccoli, and make it plant based using tofu as a protein. To make it vegetarian, add a batch of these sesame egg bites, from my Pho recipe.

I use gluten-free tamari to make this plant-based or vegetarian, or you can use fish sauce instead of tamari. If you're avoiding tamari, add extra salt.

This soup comes together quickly, so I use a stockpot, however you can also use an Instant Pot and I added the instructions in the recipe notes. Enjoy!