I firmly believe that Khao Soi should be ranked as one of the world's great dishes. You can call it a curry or you can call it a noodle soup and it is both of those with more on top, literally on top! A broth of aromatic curry paste and orange-tinged coconut milk with tender chicken falling apart for you, boiled noodles lurking underneath and becoming coated with fragrant oil as they break the surface. Crispy noodles on top you can manipulate and dunk into the sauce. And then as if that wasn't enough you get to add accompaniments of your choice, raw shallots, pickled cucumbers or mustard greens, peanuts, and halved hard-boiled eggs are just some of the additions that can embellish this dish. And let's not forget the chilli oil paste that enables diners to spice the dish, or not, to their heart's content. Beyond question, most at home in Chiang Mai, this is a dish that has been travelling the trade routes from southern China through Laos and Myanmar for centuries. These days many travellers spend a considerable portion of their time in Chiang Mai checking out the various eating places famed for this dish; it's that good. The recipe might look long but more than anything that is because I am covering it in detail, the longest and hardest part by far has already been done for you in the making of the curry paste. Apart from that, it's a little preparation and a short cooking time. A spectacular dish to serve to guests with almost everything capable of being prepared a day or so before, in fact as with most curries it will taste even better if cooked the day before. Let's go!
The images below show the ingredients and how I prepped them, this should make 4 servings. Note, I use fresh egg tagliatelle or linguini as they work better than the egg noodles available in the UK.
Ingredients.
1 Packet My Thai Curry Yellow Curry Paste 1 can of Coconut Milk, check the link for info. 1 Kg chicken drumsticks or boneless thighs if you prefer. 1 packet Fresh Egg Tagliatelle or Linguini. 3-4 Pickled Cucumbers 1 tbsp Thai Fish Sauce 1 tbsp Sugar 2 medium Red Onion 2 Garlic cloves 1 Lime Cooking oil for frying 400ml water. Optional Coriander, Spring Onion for garnish. Chilli oil (I used Chiu Chow Chilli Oil from Sainsbury’s.) This is pretty hot so can be omitted if you prefer a less spicy eating experience.
Prepped Ingredients.
Slice the chicken drumsticks through to the bone.
Marinate the chicken with all of the contents of the Yellow Curry paste pouch, working it well into the chicken. Leave it to marinate in the fridge overnight if at all possible.
The fried noodles or tagliatelle can be fried the day before and reserved. Use half the packet (250g) and save the remainder for boiling later. Add enough cooking oil to a wok or deep pan to cover the noodles when you add them. Heat to around 150°C. Add the noodles or tagliatelle in batches for no more than 90 seconds and drain on kitchen paper. You are aiming for a crisp, golden brown, bubbly noodle as in the image below.
Sauté the garlic, onions or shallots, in a little oil for two or three minutes and then remove.
Add the marinated chicken to the pan and then cook for around 10 minutes over medium heat, turning occasionally until the chicken is nicely browned.
Return the onions to the pan and add the coconut milk.
Stir, and add the water, the fish sauce, and sugar, and stir again.
Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for around 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the noodles or tagliatelle that are to be boiled to a pan of boiling water and cook them according to the packet instructions, normally around 2 to 3 minutes, drain, and reserve.
Almost there. An authentic Khao Soi should always have a layer of oil floating on the top ready to coat the noodles as they emerge from the broth!
You're done! Now watch the video below to see how to put this together. I have a confession to make, I broke the noodles into small pieces at the end to make for easier filming. It had been a long day and there was a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc in the fridge that was calling my name ever louder and I could take no more. If I was serving this to my guests I would certainly leave the noodles intact as in the picture both for the visual effect and to let them have the pleasure of working out how to go about eating them. The truth is that this can be a somewhat messy eating experience even for Thais, remember I said it was a great dish, not an elegant one but just total yumminess! Enjoy:-)
I sometimes think of Khao Soi as the great Thai food secret. It is a soup, a noodle dish, and a curry all rolled into one. Recently voted the world's number one soup by a leading recipe website and revered by some of the best Thai food writers and food critics on the planet and yet it's anonymous. I blame overseas Thai restaurants for this, so many of them so set in their ways of what they think westerners like to eat. Well, here's the chance to change that. If the recipe looks long that's because I'm covering it in detail because it's certainly worth cooking, also it can be cooked the day before and tastes even better.
Marinate the chicken with all the contents of the Yellow Curry paste pouch,
working it well into the chicken. Leave it to marinate in the fridge overnight if
possible.
The fried noodles or tagliatelle can be fried the day before and reserved.
Use half the packet (250g) and save the remainder for boiling later. Add enough
cooking oil to a wok or deep pan to cover the noodles when you add them. Heat
to around 150°C. Add the noodles or tagliatelle in batches for no more than 90
seconds and drain on kitchen paper. You are aiming for a crisp, golden brown, bubbly
noodle as in the image below.
Sauté the garlic, onions or shallots, in a little oil for two or three
minutes and then remove.
Add the marinated chicken to the pan and then cook for around 10 minutes
over medium heat, turning occasionally until the chicken is nicely browned.
Return the onions to the pan and add the coconut milk.
Stir, and add the water, the fish sauce, and sugar, and stir again.
Cover the pan and simmer over low heat for around 25 minutes.
Meanwhile, add the noodles or tagliatelle that are to be boiled to a pan of
boiling water and cook them according to the packet instructions, normally
around 2 to 3 minutes, drain, and reserve.
Almost there. An authentic Khao Soi should always have a layer of oil
floating on the top ready to coat the noodles as they emerge from the broth!
Recipe Note
Chilli oil (I used Chiu Chow Chilli Oil from Sainsbury’s.) This is pretty hot so can be omitted if you prefer a less spicy eating experience.
Don't forget the accompaniments and there is so much variety can add, raw shallots, pickled cucumbers or mustard greens, peanuts, and halved hard-boiled eggs to name just some!
Can’t wait to try this one, one of my favourite dishes from Thailand. And thanks for the tagliatelle tip – it’s endlessly frustrating to have such bad noodles in the UK
This is a totally delicious way to serve roast chicken as well as being very simple to prepare. Cooking a whole chicken this way is practised in various forms throughout Asia, sometimes pot roasted, sometimes over hot coals and with many different curry pastes. Often cooked in the home, rather than restaurants, which is probably the reason why many Westerners are not familiar with the dish. Well, now is the time to change that and I promise you that you won't regret it!
This is a dish that is incredibly easy and quick to prepare. If you have a bag of frozen seafood in the freezer and the whole dish can come together in the time it takes to cook the rice. Talking of rice, I find myself increasingly turning to black rice
This is as fiery as it gets for a Thai curry, it is way more spicy than most people can handle. It is also one of the simplest Thai curries to prepare, Jungle curries, or more accurately, forest curries, were traditionally made with whatever was to hand so your choice of meats and vegetables comes down to whatever you wish to put in it.
Purchased 4 pouches, but have only used one so far, the Southern Thai Green Curry. Great paste, with easy to use instructions. Flavours work very well. Heat level just right for me as I love spicy, hot food. I am very much looking forward to trying the other 3 packets purchased. Definitely will recommend to friends
This paste was great, I paired it with the lamb shank recipe on the my Thai curry website and it was absolutely perfect. The recipe was easy to follow, the paste delivered that beautiful flavour that a massaman curry gives you. An absolute winner
First time using these curry pastes and certainly not the last! So far I’ve tried the Massamam and the Thai yellow curry. Followed recipe for the whole roast Massamam chicken and added red pepper, onion and broccoli. I used prawns for the yellow curry, adding onion, potato, yellow and green pepper plus chopped coriander at the end.
Loved both of them and will definitely use again, so glad I’ve found these!
I have tried crying tiger paste to make a laab Kai . Perfect and brought the dish together well. Looking forward to trying the green curry paste . My new supplier of Thai pastes 😊
Paul
July 08, 2022
Can’t wait to try this one, one of my favourite dishes from Thailand. And thanks for the tagliatelle tip – it’s endlessly frustrating to have such bad noodles in the UK