Khao soi
ข้าวซอย
Northern Thai curry noodles — coconut broth, boiled noodles, fried noodles on top, pickle on the side.
Recipe by I Want Some Food · Reviewed by the editorial kitchen. Native name preserved: ข้าวซอย.
0 people cooked this in the public kitchen yet. Kitchen-tested by I Want Some Food. Not a purchased rating.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 35 min
- Rest
- None
- Total
- 55 min
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Spice
- Medium heat
- Cost
- Weeknight budget$8–16 USD · indicative, not a store price
About
Khao soi is Chiang Mai's bowl: egg noodles in a coconut-curry broth that should be savoury and a little bitter from roasted chilli, not a sweet yellow soup. Crispy noodles on top, pickled mustard greens, shallot, lime. Chicken is the usual. This is not a green curry poured on pasta. A sweet coconut soup with yellow powder is the usual counterfeit. Bloom the paste in coconut cream until the oil smells cooked, then add liquid. If it tastes flat, you need salt, lime, and the pickle, not more sugar. Boil the boiled noodles separately so they do not drink the broth into sludge. Fry a handful until crisp and keep them dry until serving. Chicken on the bone flavours the pot better than naked breast. Taste for bitterness from the roasted chilli; that note is wanted, not a fault to drown in coconut.
Ingredients
- Wheat noodles, fresh egg noodles if you can300 g
- Chicken, thigh, bone-in if possible500 g
- Coconut milk400 ml
- Garlic4 clove
- Ginger, or galangal15 g
- Turmeric4.9 ml
- Fish sauce30 ml
- Lime2
- Neutral oil44 ml
Scaling multiplies the written quantities. Baking still prefers a scale.
Steps
Step 1
Blend shallot, garlic, ginger, turmeric and chilli with a little oil to a paste. Fry in coconut cream until it splits and smells roasted, 5 minutes.
8 minStep 2
Add remaining coconut, chicken and water to cover. Simmer 25 minutes. Fish sauce. Taste: savoury, a little sweet, chilli in the back.
25 minStep 3
Boil most of the noodles. Fry a handful in oil until crisp. Bowls: noodles, broth, chicken, crisp noodles, shallot, lime.
Adapt this recipe
The canonical recipe stays intact. Personal versions are labelled. Serving changes are maths, not AI.
Adaptations · 0 / 15 used. Resets 10 October.
Substitutions
Egg noodles → Wheat noodles
Less spring. Still a curry bowl.
Tips
- A spoon of store red curry paste is a Chiang Mai-adjacent shortcut. Fry it hard.
- Pickled mustard greens are the correct sour, not more lime alone.
History & culture
Northern Thai and Shan/Burmese-related. A lunch bowl. The pickle is part of the recipe. Chiang Mai still eats this as a wet lunch with a side of argument about whose shop. The condiment plate is not optional theatre — pickled greens and shallot change every spoon. Muslim restaurants and northern Thai shops both live in the same conversation. Homes in other countries chase the coconut and forget the pickle, which is how it becomes a generic laksa cousin. Keep the garnishes loud. The bowl is a set of contrasts.
Muslim and Burmese trading-route cooking that Chiang Mai made a signature. The coconut version is the one that travelled. Noodle-and-curry bowls moved with traders between what we now call Myanmar, southern China, and northern Thailand. Chiang Mai's coconut-milk bowl is the recipe tourists learned to ask for by name. That naming is recent in global terms. Dried spices, coconut milk as a can, and egg noodles as a factory product all shaped the bowl you can cook on a weeknight. The older cooking was slower and more local. Your kitchen is allowed to use the can.
Regional variation
Provenance: Editorial adaptation.
Questions about this recipe
Answers taken from this dish's times, amounts, swaps and tips — not a chatbot.
How long does Khao soi take?
55 min all in — 20 min prep, 35 min cook. Cook and rest follow the method. Leftover storage and optional extra waits are not included.
How many does it serve?
The recipe is written for 3 bowls. Scale the ingredient list on the page if you are cooking for a different number.
How hard is it?
Medium.
How spicy is it?
Medium heat.
What allergens should I watch?
This recipe is labelled for Wheat, Fish. Labels are informational — check the packets in your kitchen. This is not medical advice.
Does it fit a diet?
The published recipe is labelled Dairy-free, Nut-free.
What does it cost to cook?
Weeknight budget — about $8–16 USD, as a grocery budget for this recipe, not a restaurant price.
What equipment do I need?
Saucepan, Wok.
How much salt do I put in?
This recipe does not list salt as its own ingredient. Saltiness comes from Fish sauce — 2 tbsp. Taste at the end rather than adding a number we did not write.
How much fish sauce?
2 tbsp of Fish sauce.
What can I use instead?
Egg noodles → Wheat noodles. Less spring. Still a curry bowl.
Any tips from this recipe?
A spoon of store red curry paste is a Chiang Mai-adjacent shortcut. Fry it hard. Pickled mustard greens are the correct sour, not more lime alone.
Can I use an air fryer?
This method is not written for an air fryer. The core technique on the page still applies.
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