Khao Soi Recipe

Khao Soi is an iconic Thai curry noodle soup from Northern Thailand. It brings together some of the best elements of Thai cuisine in a single bowl: a spicy curry, rich coconut milk based broth, tender noodles, and tangy condiments. This Khao Soi recipe is the result of years of tasting, learning, and refining to capture the essence of this popular dish.

Khao Soi holds a special place in our family’s heart. My Thai husband grew up in Chiang Mai, where this rich and flavorful curry noodle soup is extremely popular. He enjoyed it often as a child, and over the years, he has developed strong opinions about what makes a great bowl of Khao Soi.

When we first made this Thai curry noodle soup more than a decade ago, it was a solid start, but there was room for improvement. Since then, we’ve tasted countless bowls of Khao Soi. We even spent several days last year going from restaurant to restaurant to find the Best Khao Soi in Chiang Mai.

In doing so, we've refined our preferences and learned what sets the best versions apart. This Khao Soi Recipe is the result of all that tasting, learning, and refining — a bowl of Khao Soi that recreates the best of this beloved Northern Thai dish.

What is Khao Soi?

Khao Soi is a popular curry noodle soup from Northern Thailand. It features tender egg noodles in a rich, creamy coconut milk based curry broth. Khao Soi is traditionally served with chicken or beef. A signature element of Khao Soi is the crispy fried noodles perched on top. The dish is finished with a variety of garnishes — pickled mustard greens, shallots, fresh lime, cilantro, and ground chilies fried in oil.

Often called "Chiang Mai noodle soup," Khao Soi is closely associated with Northern Thailand’s largest city. However, historical evidence suggests that it did not originate there. Instead, it is believed to have been introduced to the region by Chinese-Muslim traders traveling through Myanmar. A Burmese dish called Ohn No Khao Swe shares many similarities with Khao Soi and may, in fact, be its true predecessor.

What does Khao Soi mean in Thai?

The name "Khao Soi" has multiple possible origins. In Thai, Khao Soi means "cut rice," leading some to believe the dish was originally made with rice noodles. Others suggest that Khao is an abbreviation of Khao Salee, meaning wheat, which aligns with its use of wheat-based egg noodles. However, the most likely explanation ties the name back to its Burmese counterpart Ohn No Khao Swe, reinforcing the dish’s possible connection to Myanmar.

Why You'll Love Khao Soi

• Balanced Thai Flavors: Khao Soi brings some of the best of Thai cuisine together in one bowl. The creamy coconut curry broth is rich and flavorful, while the tender egg noodles and fall-off-the-bone chicken provide substance. The crispy fried noodles on top add crunch, and the tangy garnishes like pickled mustard greens and lime create the perfect contrast.
• Deeply Satisfying: Whether it's a chilly day or you're simply craving something warm and nourishing, Khao Soi delivers. The creamy broth, fragrant spices, and hearty noodles make it supremely satisfying.
• Easily Customizable: One of the best things about Khao Soi is how easily you can adjust it to your taste preferences. Prefer it spicier? Add extra fried chili oil. Love tangy flavors? Add more pickled mustard greens and an additional squeeze of lime.

Curry Paste Ingredients

This Khao Soi recipe begins with a pre-made Thai red curry paste for convenience. Adding fresh herbs and toasted spices transforms it into a rich and flavorful Khao Soi curry paste.

• Red Curry Paste: You can use any good quality Thai red curry paste. My favorite brand is Mae Anong. Mae Ploy and Maesri will produce good results too.
• Curry Powder: Curry powder adds its rich flavor, aroma, and yellow color to the curry paste. Any brand will work.
• Ginger and Turmeric: Fresh ginger and turmeric are peeled, sliced, and toasted before pounding into the curry paste.
• Coriander Seeds and Black Cardamom: Coriander seeds and black cardamom seeds are toasted, then pounded into the curry paste. Both of these ingredients should be available at your local Asian markets. The black cardamom in particular gives the curry paste its really unique flavor and aroma, so don't leave it out!

NOTE: Pre-made Khao Soi curry pastes do exist, but can be challenging to find outside of Thailand. If you have one, feel free to use it instead of doctoring a red curry paste!

Noodle Soup Ingredients

• Chicken Drumsticks: Khao Soi is traditionally made with either beef or chicken in Thailand. When it's made with chicken, drumsticks are most commonly used, as the bones help flavor the broth.
• Coconut Milk: Use regular, full fat, unsweetened coconut milk from a can or box.
• Chicken Broth: A Thai-style chicken broth is best, but store-bought chicken broth also works just fine in this recipe.
• Water: Water is necessary to thin out the coconut milk based broth.
• Palm Sugar: A little palm sugar balances the spicy and salty flavors of the broth.
• Thin Soy Sauce and Dark Soy Sauce: Thin soy sauce and dark soy sauce add saltiness and umami to the broth. The dark soy sauce also makes the broth a darker color. A Thai brand is preferred for the correct flavor.
• Fresh Egg Noodles: Fresh egg noodles are used in Khao Soi in two different ways. They are boiled and added to the curry broth. They are also deep fried as a crispy noodle topping. You can find them in the refrigerated section of Asian markets, labeled as egg noodles or wonton noodles.

Khao Soi Condiments

• Shallots: Shallots should be peeled and sliced thinly.
• Pickled Mustard Greens: These pickled vegetables should be rinsed (to remove a little bit of the sourness) and sliced thinly. You can find them in the refrigerated section of most Asian grocery stores.
• Limes: Lime wedges are provided for additional sour flavor.
• Fried Chilis in Oil: You can fry dried chili flakes in a little oil for a simple version of this condiment, or take it up a notch by combining the fried chilis with fried garlic and fried shallots.
• Cilantro: A sprig of cilantro often tops Khao Soi. It's an optional but nice to have addition.

How to Make Khao Soi

Make the Curry Paste:

Step 1: Break the cardamom pods to remove the seeds. Dry roast the cardamom seeds and coriander seeds until they are aromatic.

Step 2: Peel the ginger and turmeric, then slice each root into thin rounds. Dry roast these herbs until they dry out and brown slightly.

Step 3: Pound the toasted seeds in a mortar and pestle until they are finely ground. Then add the toasted herbs and pound until completely broken down.

Step 4: Add the red curry paste and pound together with the seeds and herbs until one uniform Khao Soi curry paste is formed.

Cook the Curry Broth

Step 1: Add coconut milk to a large pot and heat until it begins to develop an oily sheen. Then add the Khao Soi curry paste and fry until aromatic.

Step 2: Add the chicken drumsticks and coat in the curry paste. Allow to cook for several minutes, then add the remaining coconut milk, chicken broth, and water.

Step 3: Allow the chicken drumsticks and curry broth to simmer for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the chicken is very tender. If the broth becomes too thick, add more water as it cooks.

Step 4: Season the curry broth with palm sugar, thin soy sauce, and dark soy sauce. Taste and adjust as necessary.

Prepare the Condiments

Step 1: Boil the egg noodles according to package instructions. Coat with a little oil so they don't stick together while waiting to be added to the curry broth.

Step 2: Fry the egg noodles by adding them carefully to a pot of oil at 350^oF. They will begin to crisp up immediately. Remove once they are golden brown, and allow to drain on a paper towel.

Step 3: Make fried garlic by following the directions in the linked recipe. Make fried shallots and fried chili flakes in the same manner. Combine the fried chili flakes, shallots, and garlic together with a bit of the garlic oil.

Step 4: Rinse and chop the pickled mustard greens. Peel and slice the shallots thinly. Cut the lime into wedges.

Serve the Khao Soi

Step 1: Add the boiled noodles to a bowl. Spoon the curry broth and chicken drumstick over the noodles. Add the fried noodles on top.

Step 2: Serve with shallots, pickled mustard greens, lime, and fried chili oil for each diner to customize the bowl of Khao Soi to their individual tastes.

Expert Tips

1. Use the Correct Ingredients: Finding all the ingredients may take some effort, but each one is essential to making this Khao Soi truly great.
2. Don't Let Curry Broth Cook Too Long: There is a balance that you need to achieve between letting the chicken drumsticks become super tender and not letting the curry broth become too concentrated.
3. Prepare the Condiments in Advance: Khao Soi involves multiple steps, making it more of a weekend project than a quick weeknight meal. To save time, you can prep condiments in advance — the shallots, mustard greens, and lime wedges can be chopped and refrigerated, fried chilis in oil can be made and stored for up to a week, and even the crispy noodles can be made a day ahead.

Khao Soi Recipe FAQs

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Recipe

Khao Soi (Northern Thai Curry Noodle Soup)

Noodles and tender chicken are bathed in a rich, complex curry broth that's topped with shallots, pickled mustard greens, cilantro and fried noodles.

5 from 4 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Curry, Noodles

Cuisine: Thai

Prep Time: 1 hour hour

Cook Time: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 3 hours hours

Servings: 4

Calories: 1044kcal

Author: Rachel

Equipment

• ▢
  mortar and pestle
• ▢
  wok

Ingredients

Khao Soi Curry Paste:

• ▢ 4 Tablespoons red curry paste
• ▢ 4 Tablespoons ginger
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon turmeric
• ▢ 1 teaspoon curry powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• ▢ 2 teaspoons black cardamom seeds (approximately 5 pods)

Curry Soup:

• ▢ Khao soi curry paste
• ▢ 4 chicken drumsticks
• ▢ 2.5 cups coconut milk
• ▢ 2 cups chicken broth
• ▢ 2 cups water
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon palm sugar
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon thin soy sauce
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon dark soy sauce
• ▢ 16 ounces fresh egg noodles

Fried Chili Oil:

• ▢ ¼ cup oil
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon shallots
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon garlic
• ▢ 12 dried chilis

Accompaniments:

• ▢ ¼ cup shallots finely sliced
• ▢ ¼ cup pickled mustard greens sliced
• ▢ 1-2 limes sliced
• ▢ Fried Chili Oil
• ▢ A few stalks cilantro

Instructions

To Make Your Khao Soi Curry Paste:

• Use a kitchen mallet to break open the black cardamom pods. Extract the black cardamom seeds. Place the black cardamom seeds and coriander seeds together in a pan and heat over medium heat until they are toasted and aromatic.
• Peel and slice the ginger and turmeric. Place in a pan and heat over medium heat until they are toasted and develop a slight char.
• Place the toasted seeds in your mortar and pestle and pound until they are finely ground. Add the toasted ginger and turmeric and pound until a fine paste is formed. Add the red curry paste and pound everything together until the curry paste is smooth.

To Make the Curry Soup:

• Open a can of coconut milk and gently scoop the top layer of cream (~½ cup) into a large wok. Heat over medium high heat until you start to see an oily sheen.
• Add the khao soi curry paste and stir into the coconut cream. Cook until the curry paste has completely absorbed the coconut milk and is aromatic. Then add the chicken drumsticks and coat them in the curry paste.
• Add the rest of the coconut milk, chicken broth, and water. Allow the curry broth to simmer for roughly 45 minutes to 1 hour, uncovered, until the chicken is cooked through.¹
• Once the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender, season the curry soup with palm sugar, thin soy sauce, and dark soy sauce.

To Make the Fried Chili Oil:

• Follow these directions to make fried garlic. Remove from the oil, then use the same method to make fried shallots (be aware that the shallots take longer to fry than the garlic). Remove the fried shallots from the oil.
• Add dried chilis to the hot oil and allow to fry until they are dark red. (This will occur quickly, be prepared to remove them almost immediately).
• Pound the fried garlic, fried shallots, and fried chilis together in the mortar and pestle. Add back 2 Tablespoons of the frying oil to form the fried chili oil.

To Serve the Khao Soi:

• Boil 12 ounces of egg noodles until they are al dente, following package instructions.
• Fry the remaining 4 ounces of egg noodles in oil until golden brown.
• Place the boiled noodles in the bottom of the bowl and scoop a chicken drumstick and the curry soup over the top. Top with a handful of fried noodles.
• Serve with shallots, pickled mustard greens, lime slices, fried chili oil, and a stalk of cilantro. Enjoy!

Notes

1. The curry broth will condense down and become rich during the time that it simmers.  You may need to add 1-2 more cups of water if it becomes too thick while cooking.

Nutrition

Calories: 1044kcal | Carbohydrates: 100g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 58g | Saturated Fat: 32g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 167mg | Sodium: 1104mg | Potassium: 1086mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 2899IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 139mg | Iron: 10mg

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