Khao Soi

Pailin Chongchitnant’s khao soi is a Northern Thai coconut curry noodle dish with chicken drumsticks. Her recipe uses a homemade paste and combines boiled egg noodles with a crisp fried-noodle topping.

The paste starts with toasted black-cardamom seeds and coriander seeds. Ginger, fresh turmeric and shallots are charred separately, then pounded with ground dried chilli, the toasted spices and coarse salt.

Part of the coconut milk reduces with the paste before the remaining milk, water, soy sauces, palm sugar and drumsticks are added. The chicken simmers gently until fork-tender, with fish sauce available for the final seasoning adjustment.

A small portion of the same noodle batch is fried until golden and crisp, then drained. The remaining noodles are boiled and, for multiple servings, tossed with a little oil before being divided among bowls.

Chicken and curry broth are ladled over the noodles, followed by the crunchy topping and optional herbs. Lime, red onion, pickled mustard greens and optional fried chilli flakes are served with the bowls, with an optional coconut-milk drizzle.