CHIANG MAI NOODLES (KHAO SOI)

"Khao Soi" is a Thai speciality from the Chiang Mai area in the northwestern part of Thailand. This noodle curry shows how the Muslim Chin Haw traders from Yunnan (in southern China) had a big influence on the people in the Golden Triangle. Traditionally, it was always made with chicken or beef, but nowadays, the non-Muslims also use pork meat...

As with most if not all Thai recipes (I'm an addict you see...), this dish is magnificently tasty as the combination of different spices and herbs are perfectly blended together in order to offer a well-balanced bouquet of stunning aromas: "Khao Soi" associates various different flavors together: sweet and sour, round and spicy, strong and delicate...

"Khao Soi" is not a difficult dish to prepare, but it's making does require a certain patience as there are various things to do before you can actually put everything together in the bowl. But taking the time to cook such a dish is very rewarding as the result will blow you off your feet!

Those "Chiang Mai Noodles" are absolutely de-li-cious and really to die for; a real treat for your palate! So, why not cook Thai food at home instead of going out to eat such a meal?!?... Bring the restaurant to you and be the chef, you'll not regret it one second!!!

This recipe is a medley of all the ones I had taken from the net; I have taken the best part of each in order to come up with this one...

Serves 2-3 people

Ingredients:
2 Tbs Oil and more for the noodles
300g Chicken breast, chopped
400ml Coconut milk
240-360ml (1 -1 1/2 Cup) Chicken stock
2 Cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tbs Home made or bought Thai red curry paste
1 1/2 Tsp Curry powder
1/2 Tsp Turmeric powder
1/2 Tsp Palm sugar
Fish sauce, to taste (enough to make it salty to taste)
Garnishes:
200g Flat or round egg noodles
1 Green/spring onion, thinly chopped
2 Shallots, very thinly sliced
Fresh coriander, chopped
Fried shallot flakes
Dried chilly flakes (optional)
1 Lime (or more), cut into 4 wedges

Method:
1. In a heavy pan, heat 1 Tbs oil, add the garlic. Saute until golden brown.
2. Add the curry paste, curry powder and turmeric powder and stir continuously for 1 minute, until fragrant.
3. Pour in 200ml of the coconut milk and let gently simmer until the oil starts to show.
4. Add another 100ml of the coconut milk and proceed as before.
5. Add the chopped chicken, the chicken stock and the leftover coconut milk. Stir.
6. Let it all gently simmer for 2 minutes.
7. Add the required fish sauce and brown sugar.
8. Over low heat, continue simmering (gentle boil) for about 10-15 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil.
10. Drop the noodles into the boiling water and cook until ready (see the explanations on the packet).
11. Pour the noodles into a colander and rinse with cold water. Drain well.
12. Pat dry 1/4 of the noodles.

13. Pour oil into a pan (2 inches/5cm deep) and heat until hot enough to fry the noodles.
14. Add the noodles and fry until crisp.
15. Remove from the pan onto absorbant paper and drain well.
16. Place a quantity of wet noddles in the bowl, pour over the chicken curry, add a quantity of fried noodles and top with the green onions, shallots, coriander, fried shallot, chilly flakes and place a wedge of lime on top of each serving (which you will squeeze yourself)
17. Serve hot...

Remarks:
When frying the curry paste, don't kill it by burning it. Just fry over low heat to release the fragrances.
If the broth is salty, be very careful when adding the fish sauce.
When simmering, do it over low heat otherwise the coconut milk might curdle!
Use Thai "bah-mee" egg noodles, Chinese mien, or any kind of Asian egg noodle.
While frying the noodles, try to seperate the strands with the help of chopsticks so that they don't all stick together.
I recommend that you make your own "Red Curry" paste (recipes: 1, 2 & 3).
According to the fact that "Khao Soi" is quite spicy, I recommend you to have enough lime wedges to tame the heat of this dish!...

Serving suggestions:
If you enjoy a bit of alcohol, eat this dish accompanied by a very fresh bootle of Singha beer, otherwise just let your tastebuds do their work without the help of anything else... But, when eating hot food, it's best to avoid drinking as it makes it all the worse!!!

(Bah-Mee -Pic by www.royalthai-cuisine.com)
(Doi Suthep Temple -Pic Lionel Clavien www.trekearth.com)