Cook With Us Week #27- Khao Soi (Northern Thai Noodle Soup)

For me, the most comforting meals are noodle soups. I remember as a child, my parents would take me to noodle shops for a quick lunch. There is nothing better than a steaming bowl of noodles sitting in the most flavorful broth. Many of these shops would have their stocks cooking slowly for hours, extracting all the flavors from the bones. When my husband first travelled to Asia with me, I introduced him to a variety of noodle soups and he was simply amazed by how delicious and rich the broth tasted. The one that was the most memorable for him was Khao Soi. It's a Northern Thai curry noodle dish. It's a spicy curry coconut based chicken or beef broth served with fresh and fried yellow noodles. When I saw this week's theme @cookwithus, I thought I would surprise him with his favorite dish.

Khao Soi Gai

serves 2

• 2 tbsp yellow curry paste or to taste
• 3 large shallots, sliced thinly
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp dry yellow curry powder
• 1 tsp shrimp paste
• fish sauce to taste
• 1 14oz can coconut milk
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 2 chicken legs
• 1 bag fresh Chinese yellow noodles
• 6 pieces wonton wrappers
• canola oil

I rarely make my own curry paste because when I am in Thailand, I always purchase fresh curry paste and freeze it. If you want to make your own curry paste, here is a recipe.

Add some canola oil into a hot sauté pan. Add in the sliced shallots, curry paste, turmeric, curry powder, and lemongrass. To get the most flavor out of the lemongrass, whack the lemongrass against your cutting board or use the handle of your chef's knife to bruise the lemongrass. This will release the flavors of the lemongrass into your soup base.
Cook until the shallots are translucent. Pour in the coconut milk and bring to a boil. Add in the chicken stock, chicken legs, kaffir lime leaves, shrimp paste and cilantro. Let the chicken simmer until tender. This will take approximately 40 minutes. Add the fish sauce to taste.

I like to leave my khao soi base overnight in the refrigerator so the chicken can soak in all the flavor and I can skim some of the fat from the top of the broth.

Since I can't find fresh Khao Soi noodles in NY, the closest thing is fresh Chinese wonton noodle. Cook the noodles in boiling water until tender. Drain the noodles and set aside. For the fried noodles, I like to use wonton wrappers, slice them into strips and fry them in hot oil.

It's time to assemble the dish. Mound some noodles into the bowl, chicken leg, fried wonton strips and some fresh chopped cilantro. Traditionally Khao Soi is served with some fresh shallots, lime and pickled mustard greens on the side.

Top with coconut curry broth. The broth is the best part!

This is one flavor bomb. It's sweet, spicy and salty. The fresh noodles are slightly chewy and the fried wonton strips add crunch. The broth is highly aromatic and the pickled mustard greens add a bit of tanginess which helps to cut the richness of the coconut milk. Thanks @offoodandart, @chefsteve, and @pandamama for another great theme. A big thank you @curie and @sneaky-ninja for the support.