Khao soi is an iconic dish of Northern Thailand. Egg noodles served in an aromatic curry broth, topped with crispy noodles. The heart of the dish is in the curry paste, and unfortunately, you can't buy khao soi curry paste at the store! The good news is it's relatively easy to make at home, and you can make a big batch of it and freeze!
VIDEO TUTORIAL: How to Make Khao Soi Curry Paste
All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video below to ensure success, especially if it's your first time! If you enjoy the show, please consider subscribing to my YouTube channel. Thank you!
Ingredients
Here are all the ingredients you'll need to make this recipe. For amounts, check out the full recipe card below.
- Dried chilies. Khao soi is not typically very spicy, so I stick with milder dried chilies such as guajillo or puya. If using spicier chilies, remove the seeds and pith to reduce the heat. If pounding everything by hand, you need to cut the cut the chilies into 1-inch chunks and soak them for an hour to rehydrate, or you can keep them dry and grind in a coffee/spice grinder.
- Coarse salt, if pounding curry paste by hand. If using a coffee grinder any kind of salt will do.
- Ginger, sliced into rounds
- Fresh turmeric, sliced into rounds, or sub ground turmeric
- Shallots, chopped
- Coriander seeds
- Black cardamom, this is the spice that will make this curry truly unique. It is not used in all variations of khao soi, but I think it does make it stand out from other kinds of Thai curries. Black cardamom (tsaoko) has an aroma that reminds me of leather and tobacco, and nothing else tastes quite like it. You can find it at Chinese or Indian stores. If you can't find it, substitute green cardamom, which isn't similar, but it'll still taste good.
How to Make Khao Soi Curry Paste
Here are all the steps to make this recipe. If this is your first time, I highly recommend watching the video tutorial to ensure success.
- Remove the seeds from the black cardamom pods and place the seeds into a medium dry skillet. Add the coriander seeds and toast over high heat, moving them constantly, until the coriander seeds darken slightly. Set aside.
- In the same skillet over high heat, place the ginger, shallots and turmeric slices down and let them sear until they're slightly charred. Then flip and char the other side and remove from the pan. You can further chop the ginger pieces to make them a little easier to grind in the mortar and pestle.
- If using a coffee grinder for the dry ingredients, grind the toasted black cardamom and coriander seeds into a powder, remove and set aside. Grind the dried chilies into a powder. Then, in a mortar and pestle, pound the ginger, shallots, and turmeric into a fine paste, then add the dry spices and pound to a fine paste.
- If using a mortar and pestle for the dry ingredients, grind the black cardamom and coriander into a powder, remove them, then add the rehydrated chilies and the coarse salt and grind until the chilies are fine. Add the ginger, shallots, and turmeric and pound into a fine paste. Add the dry spices and pound to mix.
Khao Soi Curry Paste Recipe
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: enough for 6 servings
Description
The heart of khao soi is in the curry paste. Here's a recipe you can make at home that you can also make in a large batch and freeze! This recipe makes enough for 2 batches of the khao soi recipe.
Ingredients
- 20 g (0.75 oz) mild dried chilies such as guajillo or puya. (see note)
- 1 tsp (5 ml) coarse salt
- 10 thin slices ginger
- 8 thin slices turmeric, or ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ½ cup (120 ml) chopped shallots
- 1.5 (22 ml) tablespoon coriander seeds
- 3 pods black cardamom
Instructions
- Remove the seeds from the black cardamom pods and place the seeds into a medium dry skillet, discarding the pods. Add the coriander seeds and toast over high heat, moving them constantly, until the coriander seeds darken slightly. Set aside.
- In the same skillet over high heat, place the ginger, shallots and turmeric slices down and let them sear until they're slightly charred. Then flip and char the other side and remove from the pan. You can further chop the ginger pieces to make them a little easier to grind in the mortar and pestle.
- If using a coffee grinder for the dry ingredients, grind the toasted black cardamom and coriander seeds into a powder, remove and set aside. Grind the dried chilies into a powder. Then, in a mortar and pestle, pound the ginger, shallots, and turmeric into a fine paste, then add the dry spices and pound to a fine paste.
- If using a mortar and pestle for the dry ingredients, grind the black cardamom and coriander into a powder, remove them, then add the rehydrated chilies and the coarse salt and grind until the chilies are fine. Add the ginger, shallots, and turmeric and pound into a fine paste. Add the dry spices and pound to mix.
Notes
If using a mortar and pestle for dry ingredients, you'll need to cut the dried chilies into 1" chunks, and soaked in water for an hour to fully rehydrate. If using a coffee grinder you can simply cut them into chunks but leave them dry.
Anja
Worked out pretty well! First time I made the paste in a mortar, second time I cheated with the small mill, which is part of the accessories of my blender and used the mortar only for the dry ingredients. Worked very good! And since I couldn't get the "right" noodles, I made them by myself as well. So it was a really homemade khao soi!
★★★★★
Erik OBanion
What size is your mortar and pestle and how many cups does it hold?
Pailin Chongchitnant
It's 8 inch in external diameter, 3 cup capacity.
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
Mrs E
I am getting ready to make this. I notice some recipes call for garlic and lemongrass, have you ever aded these ingredients? Is there a reasonwhy they are not part of your recipe. Thanks for your input. Also, why do you discard cardamom pod versus grinding the pod also?
Pailin Chongchitnant
There are many ways to make this paste (as with all dishes) so this is the mix of herbs and spices that I learned and liked but I did not "intentionally omit" garlic and lemongrass, if that makes sense. You can add them if you want!
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”
★★★★★