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Kao Soi Curry Paste พริกแกงข้าวซอย
Ingredients
- 10 large dried chilies, seeds removed, cut into 1" chunks, and soaked in water to re-hydrate
- 1 tsp coarse sea salt
- Ginger, peeled and sliced into rounds, 10 pieces
- Fresh turmeric, peeled and sliced into rounds, 8 pieces
- ½ cup chopped shallots
- 1.5 Tbsp coriander seeds, toasted
- 3 pods black cardamom, seeds removed from pods and toasted
Instructions
Char the ginger, shallots and turmeric slightly by searing, broiling or grilling. Set aside.
Grind the toasted black cardamom seeds and coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle, remove and set aside.
Drain the dried chilies well and pound together with the salt in the mortar and pestle. Add the ginger, shallots, and turmeric, and the dry spices. Pound to a fine paste.
Hendrik
Shortcut: don't rehydrate the chilis. And remove the seeds, cut them into 1 cm bits and toast them with the cardamom. Let everything cool a little, then grind into flakes. Add those later to the mortar when you do the ginger, garlic and turmeric.
Still wondering though how many servings this amount of paste is good for (as someone asked in May). Anyway, it tastes wonderful and the freezing works out perfectly.
★★★★★
Tiffany Atchison-McFarland
This recipe is hands down the best! Our family can’t get enough and we don’t bother ordering this at Thai restaurants anymore because this is so so much better!
Flash
Sawadee Khap,
I have a question about this recipe. This recipe is so close to what I considered the best Khao Soi in Thailand. And I have eaten it all over Northern Thailand. I lived in Chiang Rai for 3 years and this is very close to the Khao Soi stand a 5 minute walk from where I lived. I am afraid to admit that I ate there almost every day.
My question is that you say that you are making two batches of paste so that I can freeze 1/2 and eat it sometime later.
In your next video you cook 1/2 of the paste and add 10 chicken drumettes. How many servings is this? Also, are you using all longer Thai chilies that resemble the smaller ones when they are growing but are not nearly as spicy? I have been able to find what I believe are the dried longer ones here. I would rather use all Thai chilis if that is the correct way to cook this. The smaller Bird's Eye chilies would have me in distress in 30 seconds. I am sorry that I don't know the name for the longer ones. But they are not that much larger, just longer, but much less spicy. I believe that they are the ones that you are using in your video, but it is difficult to tell. I am serving quests this dish and I just want to be sure of the portions and I don't want to kill them with the wrong Thai chilies. So 1/2 paste and noodles and soup and 10 drumettes will serve how many? Thank you so much for the recipe. It is a dream come true and takes me back to Chiang Rai. I have only made it once and I had to substitute different chilies.
Bo
I just made this recipe and was amazed by it. I was introduced to kao soi while working in Thailand and was happy to find a local place in SoCal that had it. I have always wanted to make it and, quite honestly, this is better than what I can find here in SoCal! I was daunted by the black cardamom (I cook all Asian dishes) given its menthol/smokey smell, but it REALLY mellows after you fry it in the coconut milk.
Can you freeze this paste? I've read that freezing onions (shallots) will cause them to be bitter when thawed. I am thinking of making the paste sans shallots, freezing, then when I use it thaw then add and blend the shallots into the paste.
★★★★★
Bo
OMG. I skipped right over the comment about freezing it. Doh! Time to make a large batch.
Robert Purvis
Hi,
I’m very excited to try this recipe but I’m not sure what kind of dried chili’s to use. In my experience “Thai” Chili’s are much smaller than those. I love those Thai chilis so I don’t mind using them but I don’t want to be using the wrong ingredients.
Pailin Chongchitnant
Hi! In Thailand we use large dried chilies to make curry paste because they add a lot of colour and flavour without too much heat. If you use only small ones, it might be too spicy (unless you really like spicy!). You can use puya or guajillo peppers instead for mild ones.
Robert Purvis
Thank you so much! I appreciate the response and advice. Can’t wait to make my own
Jirae
Thank you for this recipe! It's delicious. Cooking the soup is quick enough. But making the paste takes effort. I plan on having this more regularly. Can I make a large batch of the paste and store it in the freezer? If so, how long can it be stored?
Pailin Chongchitnant
Yup! I can be frozen for up to 6 months!
Jirae
Perfect! Thank you 🙂
Jo
Is it possible to substitute with turmeric powder? If so, how much?
Pailin Chongchitnant
I'd start with 2 teaspoons, and you can always add more if you think it needs it.
Swan
awesome; thank you so much ❤️
★★★★★
Stephen Chan
I love curry, so Kao Soi naturally becomes one of my favourite Thai noodle soups. I've made this to treat friends and got all the compliments. A bit of work, but all worth it.
★★★★★
Stephen Chan
And FYR if you try looking for the black cardamom in Chinese grocery store, the name “Cao Guo” in Chinese characters is “草果”
★★★★★