Despite what is pushed as a singular Thai identity, Thailand is full of diversity, which becomes even more pronounced when looking at the various regional dishes.
One dish that is specific to Northern Thailand is ข้าวซอย (khao soi), which is like a noodle-soup with curried broth that also includes coconut milk and is topped with deep fried egg noodles. Khao soi is similar to a dish that is featured in the cuisine of the Shan people of Burma and is also eaten in Northern Laos. Khao soi literally means “cut rice,” referring to the way the noodles are prepared – by steaming a large sheet of rice noodle and then cutting with scissors.
This dish is not typically served at Thai restaurants outside of Thailand, so if you are looking for a flavor of Thailand that you may have never had before, click inside for a recipe.
Ingredients (serves 10)
- 1.5 kg of khao soi noodles
- 10 chicken legs
- 3 packets of curry powder (called pong ga-lii in Thai)
- 1/4 c. oil
- 5 large spoonfuls of spicy curry chili paste (known in Thailand as naam prik geng pet)
- 1 carton of coconut milk
- 5 T of sugar
- 3 cubes of chicken broth
- 2 T shrimp paste (optional)
- a dash of MSG (optional)
- crushed red pepper, small red onions and lime for serving
Instructions
- Deep fry .5 kg of khao soi noodles to crispiness. Set aside.
- Rinse the remaining 1 kg of noodles well, making clean, cool, wet and separate.
- Boil the cleaned noodles for a couple minutes until tender, then rinse and cool.
- Cut deep slits in the chicken legs and cover with the curry powder.
- In a pot on the stove, add the oil and spicy curry chili paste and moisten with coconut milk.
- Add the chicken legs and curry powder and coconut milk to moisten.
- Add the sugar, chicken broth, shrimp paste and MSG. Mix well to turn the paste into a soup.
- Add coconut milk until soup-consistency and the color is a brownish-orange.
- Bring to a boil and boil until chicken is thoroughly cooked.
Serving
Keep fried noodles, boiled noodles and soup separate. First add the boiled noodles to the bowl, then add the soup and one chicken leg. Add red onions, chili powder, lime and coconut milk to taste. Finally, top with fried noodles.