Rezept

Khao Soi: Northern Thai noodle soup with chicken

Khao Soi combines soft and fried egg noodles in a coconut curry broth, a legacy of the trade routes from Yunnan. With chicken, shallots, and lime, it becomes Northern Thailand’s most famous noodle soup.

3 Min. Lesezeit

Khao Soi: Nordthailändische Nudelsuppe mit Poulet

Khao Soi is a dish of trade routes, known in Thai as พริกแกงข้าวซอย. Chinese-Muslim traders from Yunnan, known in Thailand as "Chin Haw," brought it to the north via caravan routes. Related dishes still exist today in Myanmar and Laos, each with its own unique twist.

In Chiang Mai, it took on its current form: a coconut curry broth over soft egg noodles, with the same noodles fried to serve as a topping. This dual noodle texture—soft and crispy in the same bowl—is the hallmark of the dish and the reason it differs from any other noodle soup.

Curry powder, coriander root, and mace are already in the paste, along with onion, garlic, chili, and cumin. All that remains is what cannot be preserved: chicken, egg noodles, coconut milk, and the garnishes for serving.

  • 4servings
  • 35 min.preparation
  • 3/5on the THAANI scale

Shopping list

What else you need

  • 1 jar THAANI Khao Soi curry paste (3 tbsp for this recipe)
  • 500 g chicken thighs, in pieces
  • 400 ml full-fat coconut milk
  • 300 ml chicken broth
  • 400 g fresh or dried egg noodles
  • Oil for deep-frying a small portion of noodles
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce
  • 1 tsp palm sugar
  • 1 red shallot, in fine rings
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges, and fresh coriander

Preparation

  1. Prepare the noodles. Cook the egg noodles according to the package instructions; deep-fry a small portion of them separately to use as a topping.
  2. Sauté the paste. Sauté the curry paste with 1 tbsp of oil in a pot over medium heat for two minutes until it becomes very fragrant and darkens.
  3. Add the chicken. Add the chicken pieces and sear them on all sides until the surface is no longer raw.
  4. Add the broth. Pour in the coconut milk and chicken broth, bring to a boil, and simmer for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.
  5. Season. Stir in the fish sauce and palm sugar, taste, and adjust if necessary.
  6. Serve. Place soft noodles into bowls, add the broth with chicken, and garnish with fried noodles, shallot rings, coriander, and lime wedges.
Khao Soi thrives on two noodle textures in the same bowl. Without the fried portion, half of the dish is missing.

Variations and tips

  • Vegetarian version: use firm tofu instead of chicken and vegetable broth instead of chicken broth.
  • With beef instead of chicken: extend the cooking time accordingly until tender.
  • For a milder taste, reduce the amount of paste to 2 tbsp and balance it out with a little more broth.
  • Pickled mustard greens (Pak Gaad Dong) provide the perfect acidity to balance the creamy broth.

Once opened, the paste will keep in the refrigerator at +2 to +6 °C; it is best covered with a thin layer of oil. The broth itself can be made ahead of time, but add the noodles and topping just before serving; otherwise, the soft noodles will become sticky in the refrigerator. One jar makes around 10 portions of soup, which is good for two and a half times this recipe.