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Curry Noodle Soup ข้าวซอย (kao soi)
- Yield: 3-4 servings
Ingredients
- ½ recipe of the kao soi curry paste
- 1 cup coconut milk
- 1 lb chicken drummettes
- 2.5 - 3 cups water
- 2.5 Tbsp soy sauce
- 2.5 tsp sugar
- Flat egg noodles (also known as wonton noodles)
- Thin egg noodles for deep frying (optional, you could just deep fry the leftover flat egg noodles)
- Chopped cilantro and/or green onions for garnish, optional
Condiments
- Lime
- Shallots, chopped
- Sour pickled mustard greens, chopped
- Fried chili flakes
Instructions
To fry chili flakes:
Saute the chili flakes over medium low heat in some vegetable oil, there should be plenty of oil for the chilies to cook in, so if it looks dry, add more oil until it looks thoroughly wet. Keep stirring until you can smell smokiness from the chilies and the chilies start to darken. When finished, transfer into a small bowl immediately.
Make the soup:
In a pot, add a little bit of vegetable oil and saute the curry paste over medium high heat for about 30 seconds. Add ½ cup of the coconut milk and cook, stirring constantly, until the coconut milk dries up and the paste becomes thick. For certain types of coconut milk, the coconut oil should also start to separate from the paste at this point. Add the chicken and toss to coat in the curry paste. Add the remaining coconut milk, water, and most of the seasoning, reserving some for final adjustment. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and let the chicken braise for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is fork tender. Once the chicken is done, taste and adjust seasoning, adding more water if necessary.
Make crispy noodles:
You can use the flat noodles for this if there is extra, otherwise thin egg noodles look best when fried. Cut the noodles a few times so they are not too long. Heat about 1" of oil in a wide pot or wok. When the oil is at 350F, add just a small amount of the noodles as they will expand significantly. Press the noodles down slightly as they fry. Once the bubbling starts to subside, flip the noodles over. Once the bubbling stops, remove the noodles immediately and let drain on paper towel.
When ready to serve:
Blanch the noodles in boiling water for about 1 minute or until the noodles are cooked through. Drain well and transfer into a bowl. Pour the soup over the noodles. Serve with a slice of lime, shallots, pickled mustard greens, and fried chilies. You can also sprinkle some chopped cilantro and/or green onions for extra garnish.
Kathy Johnson
I have to try this. I lived in Chiang Mai for a year in 1974 with my folks and one of the best khao soi shops was just down the road from our house. I remember being told that the king used to stop there when he was at the winter palace. But I've never learned to make this dish. I don't remember the pickled vegetables but there were chilies on the tables & the crispy noodles on top and I couldn't imagine adding in more heat. Lol
I don't have access to an Asian market for fresh noodles so I'll have to try this with rice noodles. I do know the rice vermicelli of up like: crazy. But my recollection is the soft noodles were rice but the crispy ones more like puffy thin chow mein or wheat noodles. But then again it was a long time ago when I ate it.
Maryam
Hi beautiful lady, whenever I follow your recipe and make Kai soi. Me and my family enjoys very much. It has such a umami flavour, yum. I am grateful for you for uploading this beautiful recipe. Keep doing great work beautiful.
Satyavati
What can I do for the broth to make it vegetarian?
Jennie Birzins
Pai. I lived in Samui for 5 years and a friend from Chiang Mai introduced me to Khao soi. I live in Mexico now and there is no good Thai food. Anyway, I made your recipe (with a couple little tweeks) and it was amazing. I also made my egg noodles from scratch and followed it up with homemade mango ice cream. Yum. Thanks. Love your shows.
Eva
Made this tonight and it was fantastic! I did the paste yesterday (straightforward and simple, though it made me wish for a larger mortar and pestle!). I substituted rice noodles as that’s what I had—now I know that’s how this dish was originally made—and they were perfect, both in the soup and fried on top. I used the legs from a whole chicken rather than wings. I’m delighted with how this turned out and I’m really looking forward to the leftovers. Thanks, Pailin!
★★★★★
An
Can’t wait to try this recipe. Have you tried the Indian / Burmese version too? It’s delicious and quite different.
★★★★★
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.
★★★★★