Khao Soi Recipe (Thai Curry Noodle Soup)

After trying Khao Soi at several restaurants, I was hooked and immediately wanted to recreate that same dreamy, rich soup using my own homemade Khao Soi paste. While I’ll show you how I make it from scratch, I’ve also included substitutes to use red curry paste as a quick shortcut!

Khao Soi Paste: Homemade vs. Store-bought

There are three ways you can approach the paste for this recipe:

• Homemade Khao Soi paste: The most involved option, but gives you that distinctive, smoky, black cardamom taste I use in this recipe.
• Store-bought Khao Soi paste: A convenient option if you can find it at a Southeast Asian grocery store.
• Red curry paste: This works as a shortcut in a pinch, although the resulting flavor will be closer to a red curry than a Khao Soi. I’d recommend adding about a teaspoon of turmeric powder into the broth for a similar color.

Ingredients and Substitutions

*The Recipe Card below includes all the full measurements for these ingredients!

Khao Soi/Red curry paste: While this recipe uses a homemade Khao Soi paste, as mentioned above, using store-bought Khao soi or red curry paste is a convenient substitute when you don’t want to make your own from scratch.

Bone-in chicken: I like going for chicken thighs or legs for their tenderness and fat that give body to the broth. Feel free to substitute with other parts of the chicken, such as chicken breast or wings.

Fresh Egg Noodles: You’ll most likely find these in your local Chinese supermarket, commonly labeled as “wonton noodles”. There might be varieties in cuts, so be sure to go for the flat kind.

Coconut milk, chicken stock, fish sauce, soy sauce, palm sugar: These will provide a creamy, savory body to the broth. Palm sugar can be replaced with light brown sugar.

Pickled mustard greens, cilantro, lime, green onion, chili crisps, shallots: The garnish and toppings to give additional texture, freshness, acidity, and spice. You’ll ideally want all of these toppings for the full spread, but you can omit any to preference.

Instructions

*The Recipe Card below includes all the full detailed instructions! 

Briefly fry the egg noodles until golden and crispy. Set aside for later.

In a pot, sauté the Khao Soi paste.

Add in the chicken, coconut milk, chicken stock, soy sauce, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Let simmer.

Pour the broth over the cooked egg noodles. Top with cilantro, green onions, and the fried egg noodles. Serve immediately along with the condiments!

Cooking Tips

Watch the seasoning when using store-bought pastes: Commercial curry pastes are usually already salted, so adjust and taste as you go and avoid over salting with the soy sauce and fish sauce.

Fry the noodles in batches: Fresh egg noodles expand quickly when fried, so use a wide pan or wok and fry only a small handful at a time.

Prepare the Khao Soi in advance: You can store the soup for up to 3 to 4 days refrigerated in an airtight container. Store the broth separately from the boiled noodles, fried crispy noodles, and toppings so they don’t become soggy.

Khao Soi Recipe (Thai Curry Noodle Soup)

Recipe by Ian

4.7 from 46 votes

Course: MainCuisine: Thai

Servings

2

servings

After trying Khao Soi at several restaurants, I was hooked and immediately wanted to recreate that same dreamy, rich soup using my own homemade Khao Soi paste. While I’ll show you how I make it from scratch, I’ve also included substitutes to use red curry paste as a quick shortcut!

Cook Mode

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Ingredients

• Khao Soi Paste

• 35 dried red chilies, seeds removed

• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds

• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds

• 1/2 teaspoon whole white peppercorns

• 2 pods black cardamom (seeds only)

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil

• 6 tablespoons chopped shallots, chopped

• 8 cloves garlic, smashed

• 2 tablespoons peeled and chopped galangal

• 2 tablespoons chopped lemongrass

• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro stems

• 2 tablespoons minced fresh turmeric

• 2 teaspoons makrut/kaffir lime leaves, de-stemmed and chopped

• 2 teaspoons shrimp paste (Thai, Filipino, or Malaysian shrimp paste can work)

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• Khao Soi

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil, plus more for frying the noodles

• 3 tablespoons khao soi paste (homemade, storebought, or red curry paste -see notes)

• 1 lb bone-in chicken (drums or thighs preferred)

• 1 2/3 cups coconut milk

• 1 1/3 cups chicken stock

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce

• 1 tablespoon fish sauce

• 1 tablespoon palm sugar (may also use light brown sugar)

• 2 servings fresh egg noodles, boiled and drained

• Toppings

• 1 serving fresh egg noodles, for frying

• Cilantro leaves, chopped

• Green onions, julienned

• Lime, cut into wedges

• Shallots, chopped

• Pickled mustard greens, chopped

• Chili crisps

Directions

• Prepare the Khao Soi paste:
• Soak the dried red chilies in warm water for at least 30 minutes to soften (you can soak these while preparing the rest of your ingredients).
• In a medium, dry pan over medium heat, add in the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, white peppercorns, and black cardamom seeds. Toast, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer the toasted spices into a mortar and pestle or spice grinder and grind into a fine powder. Set aside.
• Heat the oil in the same pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, garlic, galangal, lemongrass, cilantro stems, turmeric, and lime leaves. Evenly spread the aromatics over the pan and allow to lightly char on all sides undisturbed (we’re not sautéing or cooking the aromatics here, just browning them to achieve a deeper flavor). Be careful not to burn the aromatics or your paste will become bitter. Once deeply browned, remove the aromatics from the heat and set aside.
• To a food processor, add in the soaked chilies (without the water), the toasted ground spices, charred aromatics, shrimp paste, and salt. Process the ingredients well until you achieve a fine paste consistency, adding water a teaspoon at a time as needed. Reserve the paste for cooking.
• Prepare the khao soi:
• In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon of oil over medium-high heat. Add in the Khao Soi paste from earlier and sauté for about a minute until fragrant.
• Add the chicken, coconut milk, chicken stock, soy sauce, fish sauce, and palm sugar. Mix well using a wooden spoon or spatula. Bring to a boil, then cover, and let simmer on medium-low for 45 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked.
• In the meantime, you can prepare the toppings and the egg noodles. Boil the two servings of egg noodles according to packaged instructions, then drain well, and set aside for assembly. To prepare the fried egg noodles, heat about 1 to 2 inches of oil to 350 F in a medium pot. Carefully lay the serving of egg noodles into the oil, and fry until golden and crisp on both sides. Drain the noodles and let cool on a wire rack set over a baking tray. Set aside for plating.
• When the broth is finished, taste and adjust with more fish sauce and/or sugar to preference. To serve, add a serving of the boiled egg noodles to a bowl. Ladle in a generous amount of the broth, then top with half of the crispy fried egg noodles, cilantro, green onions, lime, shallots, pickled mustard greens, and chili crisps. Repeat this step with the remaining bowl and ingredients. Serve warm.

Notes

• You can try to find Khao Soi paste in very specific Southeast Asian markets. Most online recipes may also call for red curry paste with a teaspoon of turmeric powder as a convenient substitute, but this method would essentially just create a red curry-type soup, and not authentically a Khao Soi. In a pinch though, I think it still tastes pretty good.

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