Khao soi
A dish associated above all with Chiang Mai, in which the same noodle appears twice: boiled in the bottom of the bowl and fried crisp on top. That is not decoration but the whole idea — soft against crunchy in every spoonful. In this home version the base is red curry paste enriched with turmeric and curry powder, fried in thick coconut cream until the oil splits out.
Your own work in that: 10 min.
- Noodles 15 min
- Curry paste 10 min
- Curry 30 min
- Serving 10 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneFry some of the noodles crisp
Set aside a handful of dry noodles and fry them in oil at 180°C, 30 seconds a batch, until they puff and turn golden. Drain on paper. Including heating the oil, this takes about 15 minutes in all. Store the fried noodles separately — in the soup they soften within a minute.
Ingredients: 400 g egg noodles · 300 ml oil
Thirty seconds — the noodles puff instantly.Separate the coconut cream
Open the tins of coconut milk without shaking them and spoon off the thick cream from the top. That is what the paste fries in: it is fat, not water, and only fat draws the aroma out of the paste.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp red curry paste · 1 tsp turmeric · 1 tbsp curry powder · 800 ml coconut milk · 700 g chicken thighs · 400 ml chicken stock · 3 tbsp fish sauce · 2 tsp palm sugar · 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Fry the paste in coconut cream
Heat the coconut cream for 2 minutes and fry the curry paste with the turmeric and curry powder for 8 minutes, until the oil splits into orange pools. This is the key to depth — paste stirred straight into diluted milk tastes shallow and raw.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp red curry paste · 1 tsp turmeric · 1 tbsp curry powder · 800 ml coconut milk · 700 g chicken thighs · 400 ml chicken stock · 3 tbsp fish sauce · 2 tsp palm sugar · 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Orange pools of oil — the signal the paste is ready.Simmer the chicken in the curry
Add the chicken pieces and turn them in the paste, pour in the remaining coconut milk and the stock, bring to the boil, then simmer 25 minutes over low heat. Thighs, not breast: over this cooking time breast would come out dry and stringy.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp red curry paste · 1 tsp turmeric · 1 tbsp curry powder · 800 ml coconut milk · 700 g chicken thighs · 400 ml chicken stock · 3 tbsp fish sauce · 2 tsp palm sugar · 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Season with fish sauce and palm sugar
Season with fish sauce, palm sugar and dark soy, then taste and balance. Khao soi should be salty, sweet and rich at once — if one of the three stands out, add a little of the other two.
Ingredients: 3 tbsp red curry paste · 1 tsp turmeric · 1 tbsp curry powder · 800 ml coconut milk · 700 g chicken thighs · 400 ml chicken stock · 3 tbsp fish sauce · 2 tsp palm sugar · 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
Boil the remaining noodles
Cook the rest of the noodles a minute short of the packet time, drain and divide between bowls. Short, because the hot curry finishes them in the bowl — fully cooked they fall apart as you eat.
Ingredients: 400 g egg noodles · 300 ml oil
Build the bowls and serve with garnishes
Ladle the hot curry over the noodles, set a nest of fried noodles on top and scatter with coriander. Serve the pickled greens, shallots, lime and chilli oil in separate dishes — everyone adds their own.
Ingredients: 100 g pickled mustard greens · 3 pcs shallots · 2 pcs limes · 1 bunch coriander · 3 tbsp chilli oil
Four dishes alongside — part of the dish, not decoration.
Before you start
The pickled greens matter
Their sour-salty edge cuts the richness of the coconut exactly as a pickled cucumber cuts pork fat. Buy them at an Asian grocer as pickled mustard greens. At a pinch: sauerkraut, squeezed dry and chopped.
Beef and vegetarian versions
In northern Thailand khao soi is also made with beef braised for 90 minutes. A meatless version works with tofu and mushrooms — then add a spoonful of miso in place of the fish sauce to keep the depth, and check the curry paste label, as it usually contains shrimp paste.
Curry apart, noodles fresh
The curry sauce alone keeps three days in the fridge and freezes well. Always boil the noodles fresh before serving, and keep the fried ones in a paper bag — in a sealed box they soften from their own moisture.
