How was your Christmas friends? My husband and I had a quiet day at home. I made a big pot of roast and a big salad and we watched The Hollars as we ate. I picked that movie thinking that it would be fun to see a family comedy as we ate together. Though it was listed under the genre of comedy, in my opinion it was nothing but a comedy. Yes, there were some funny moments, but it was more of a family drama.
Don’t get me wrong, it was a fantastic movie with great acting, but I spent more time crying than laughing. Have you seen it? What is your favorite movie of the year? I’d love to know.

I do not even know how to switch from a sad movie to this salmon coconut chowder. What I know is that if you are a lover of seafood and coconut flavors, you will love this chunky seafood soup. Basically, it is salmon poached in coconut milk based broth flavored with ginger, lemongrass and garlic.
I made it back in November and in the midst of all Thanksgiving and Christmas recipes, I forgot to share it. So here it is.

About This Salmon Coconut Chowder Recipe:
This recipe has 3 components.
First, make a Thai-style coconut broth. In my opinion, this broth by itself is so delicious that it could be a soup without anything added. Like I mentioned earlier It is made by mixing together vegetable (or chicken) stock with a can of full fat coconut milk and flavoring it with fresh ginger, lemongrass, shallots, and lime zest. You let that simmer for 45 minutes and then drain it. If you want to use it later, you can store it in an airtight container in the fridge up to 2 days. This is especially great, because if you get the broth ready in advance you can prepare the soup in less than half an hour.
The second part is when you actually make the soup. You start with cooking some onions along with garlic, peppers, and ginger. Then you add the broth and a can of full-fat coconut milk and let the all the flavors simmer 20 minutes or so. While that is cooking, you can cut your salmon into 1 to 1 1/2 – inch cubes and prep your broccoli.
Last but not least, you add the broccoli (which I added for some heartiness) and freshly squeezed lime juice for some tang. Once your broccoli is soft you can add in the salmon cubes in.

An Important Tip for The Best Coconut Salmon Recipe
When it comes to poaching salmon, it is imperative that the liquid is simmering at a low pace, as adding salmon at a very high temperature would ruin it and it would fall apart. Ideally, you would add all the salmon cubes together and poach them in a gentle simmering broth for only 2-3 minutes. Then you add the broccoli and let it cook just a few minutes, until they are tender. So as you can see, once your broth is ready the rest is pretty easy and quick.
In terms of garnishing, I used a healthy dose of fresh cilantro and chopped scallions and served it with wedges of fresh limes and crusty French baguette. If you are not a fan of cilantro, feel free to swap it with fresh parsley. Either way, this soup is one that will warm your heart in these freezing cold days of winter.
Other seafood recipes you might also like:
- Skinny Shrimp Scampi
- Salmon Nicoise Salad Recipe
- Tuna Melt Sandwich
- Seared Tuna Salad
- Slow Baked Salmon and Butter Beans
- Curry Tomato Soup with Shrimp
- Chickpea and Tuna Salad
- Breaded Fish Recipe
Salmon Coconut Chowder
Ingredients
For the Thai Coconut Broth:
- 5 cups of low sodium vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 can 15 oz. full fat coconut milk
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 1 shallot minced
- 2 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon lime zest
- 1 stalk lemongrass cut in chunks and bruised
- 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
For the Soup:
- 1 ½ pounds wild salmon fillet pin bones removed, cut into 1-inch cubes
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 1 red or yellow bell pepper* diced
- 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
- 3 cloves of garlic minced
- 1 can 15 oz. coconut milk
- 1 cup broccoli florets rinsed
- 2 tablespoons lime juice freshly squeezed
- ¼ teaspoon maple syrup
- 2 scallions thinly sliced
- 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro chopped – plus more as garnish
Instructions
- To make the coconut broth: Place all the broth ingredients in a medium sized saucepan. Let it come to a boil in medium high heat, and then turn it down to medium-low heat to simmer for 35-40 minutes. Strain the coconut broth and discard the solids. * Set it aside.
To make the soup:
- Season the salmon with ½ teaspoon salt. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onion and pepper, and cook, stirring regularly, until translucent, 4-5 minutes. Add in the grated ginger and garlic and cook for 45 seconds.
- Add in the reserved coconut broth along with the second can of coconut milk. Bring the mixture to a boil and then let it simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Decrease the heat to medium-low and stir in the salmon cubes**. Let is cook for 3 minutes.
- Add in the broccoli, lime juice, and maple syrup. Cook for another 3 minutes. Taste for seasoning and add in if necessary.
- Serve garnished with scallions and cilantro.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe is adapted (with changes) from Clean Soups: Simple, Nourishing Recipes for Health and Vitality cookbook.
Rob
I’ve made this THREE times and LOVE it….relatively easy. I like the heat option and have added in crushed dried hot peppers during the broth stage and jalepeno-sized red peppers during the soup stage for great results. I also added mushrooms with the broccoli.
Aysegul Sanford
This is music to my ears. The addition of mushroom sounds great. Thanks for letting me know Rob.
crystal
I am just finishing up the last bowl of this as I write. This soup is excellent. The only complaint I had is that the broccoli texture went weird after a couple days in the fridge. Next time I will use spinach instead and maybe add some crushed Thai peppers for a little heat.
Aysegul Sanford
So happy to hear that you liked it Crystal. It is a favorite in our house too. Good to know about broccoli too. I have never had to keep it in the fridge more than a day as it usually disappears right away in our house. ?
Spinach sounds like a great alternative.
Thanks for coming by and leaving a comment. Cheers!
Joseph
I think this is one of the best dishes I’ve ever made – the broth is incredible. This seemed (I mean this in the nicest way possible) like an odd dish, but an intriguing one. Very glad to’ve stumbled upon it, will definitely make it again!
Aysegul Sanford
So happy to hear that Joseph. I agree with you, this broth is really good. Lemongrass and ginger mixed in with coconut milk creates magic 🙂
Thanks so much for coming back and writing a comment. I really appreciate it.
Cheers!
Aimee
It looks amazing I love your photos xxx
Aysegul Sanford
Thank you Aimee. This note, coming from you, means so much to me. <3
Jerilyn
Just made this and it is AMAZING! I did make a few changes. Broccoli doesn’t seem very chowder-ish so I added 4 diced red skinned potatoes (which I boiled prior to adding to the soup) and two years of fresh corn, which I cut off the cob. Because we like heat I added a tablespoon of red curry paste as well. Such an incredible flavor. It was my first time cooking with lemongrass and I see I’ve been missing out. Thanks for such a superb recipe.
Aysegul Sanford
Hi Jerilyn,
I love the addition of red-skinned potatoes. I am so happy to hear that you liked it. It is a favorite in our house as well.
Thanks for coming back and leaving a review.
Cheers!