What is khao soi? Well, there are actually three types of khao soi in Southeast Asia - in Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. They are similar but have their own variations, but of course, we are going to talk about the khao soi from Thailand! Thai khao soi is commonly found in Northern Thailand and is a rich and comforting coconut curry noodle soup topped with several herbs.
Chiang Mai is one of the Northern cities that celebrates this dish from every corner. The soup is mild, coconut flavoured and not particularly spicy, although you can add more chillies for extra spice to satisfy your taste buds. You can make a homemade Khao soi by blending red chilli, galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, turmeric, cumin, pepper, garlic and shallots together. But if you just want to get straight to it, our Thai Yellow Curry Paste makes an excellent base, all you need to add is the cumin!
In the bowl itself, springy soft Chinese egg noodles hide in the full-flavoured soup and the crispy noodles on top add an extra layer of textural interest. What I love about Khao Soi are all the various toppings you can add such as pickled mustard greens, sliced shallots, fresh coriander, bean sprouts, lime and Nam prik pao (Thai sweet and spicy chilli dip)!
How to Make Khao Soi Gai
Firstly, heat oil in a pot over medium-high heat in preparation for deep frying the noodles. In a separate pot, heat a little vegetable oil and stir-fry the curry paste for 2 minutes. Next, add in a couple of tablespoons of the thick layer of coconut milk with cumin and palm sugar, blend well until sugar has dissolved. Add in the chicken drumsticks and gently coat in paste before adding the remaining coconut milk, chicken/vegetable stock and fish sauce.
Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to low, simmer chicken for 15-20 minutes. In the meantime, you can prepare any extra toppings and noodles. The oil in the large pan should be hot enough to deep fry some noodles. Gather 4 small portions of fresh noodles and gently place into the hot oil - you can do this one at a time, so that they don’t get tangled with each other. When they’ve turned golden brown and crisp, they’re done!
In a separate pot, boil water and place the remaining noodles in and cook as instructed on packaging. Lastly, cut any herbs for topping such as shallots/spring onions and coriander leaves. I also like to have bean sprouts as additional topping, with pickled mustard greens, a slice of fresh lime and spicy Thai chilli oil.
Once, everything is cooked and chopped, it’s now time to serve up. Divide the noodles among 4 bowls and pour broth over and place a chicken drumstick to one side of the bowl. Garnish with the herbs you prepared before, sliced shallots, lime wedges, pickled mustard greens, coriander, fried noodles and Thai chili oil. Enjoy!!
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Khao Soi Gai
Northern Thai curried chicken noodle soup!
- Oil for deep frying
- 500 g Chinese Egg noodles (For soup and fried garnish)
- 500 g Chicken Drumsticks
- 400 ml Coconut Milk
- 300 ml Stock (Chicken or Vegetable)
- 1 tbsp Mae Jum Thai Yellow Curry Paste
- 1 tsp Cumin powder
- 3 tbsp Fish Sauce
- 1 tbsp Palm Sugar
Toppings
- Pickled Mustard Greens
- Bean Sprouts
- Shallots
- Fresh coriander
- Chilli Oil
- Lime
In a pot heat a large amount of oil over medium-high heat in preparation for deep frying the noodles. In a separate pot, heat a little vegetable oil and stir-fry the curry paste for 2 minutes.
Add in a couple of tablespoons of the thick layer of coconut milk with cumin powder and palm sugar, blend well until sugar has dissolved.
Gently place chicken drumsticks in the pot and coat with paste before adding the remaining coconut milk, chicken/vegetable stock and fish sauce. Bring to a light boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes
Boil a pot of water, and cook noodles according to package instructions. Drain and set aside ready for serving.
Gather 4 small portions of fresh noodles and gently place them into the hot oil one at a time. Fry until golden brown, take out and rest of tissue part. Repeat 4 times.
Prepare your chosen toppings. Thinly slice shallots, rinse fresh coriander leaves and bean sprouts. Portion out pickled mustard greens. Once the chicken is cooked, taste the broth and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve up noodles into bowl, pour curried broth on top, place chicken drumstick to one side and prepared toppings to the other. Finish with a slice of lime, a spoon of chilli oil and garnished with fried noodle crisp. Enjoy!
