Khao Soi Paste & Khao Soi Noodles Recipe
If you’ve ever craved restaurant-quality Khao Soi at home, here’s the good news—it can be made from scratch in under an hour. The magic is in the curry paste, which is surprisingly easy to make yet hard to find in stores. Add in the chewy and crispy noodles, tender chicken, and all the toppings, and you’ve got one of the most comforting bowls of Thai noodle curry out there.
Key Ingredients & How to Use Them
- Dried chilies: Soak in hot water 10–15 minutes until soft before blending into the paste. I used Guajillo chilies because it is more mild and give more volume than Thai chilies.
- Chicken drumsticks: Cook in thin coconut milk with salt and pepper until tender.
- Black cardamom: Toast until aromatic, then grind for the paste.
- Coriander seeds: Toast and grind for warm, citrusy depth. Or use coriander powder.
- Curry powder: Adds extra warmth and complexity to the paste.
- Ginger: Broil before blending; unlike most Thai curry pastes that use galangal, Khao Soi uses ginger.
- Garlic & shallots: Broil alongside ginger to bring out a caramelized sweetness.
- Turmeric: Use 1 tablespoon if fresh or 1 teaspoon if ground turmeric.
- Lemongrass: Trim and use the tender inner stalk. Chop into small pieces before processing with hand blender.
- Lime zest: Best to use Makrut lime if not possible to find, substitute with regular lime.
- Shrimp paste: For saltiness and umami at the same time. If not use, 1.5 teaspoon salt for saltiness and 1 teaspoon miso for umami.
- Coconut milk: Use thin coconut milk for simmering chicken and thick coconut milk for stir-frying paste.
- Noodles: Flat wonton noodles work best—half for chewy texture, half fried for crispy topping. If using dried noodles, you must cook in boiling water for 5 minutes. Pat some of it dried before frying for crispy noodles.
- Seasonings: Fish sauce (keep it under 2 tbsp to avoid lingering aroma), a little sugar, and chicken bouillon round out the broth.
How to Make Khao Soi Curry Paste
- Soak dried chilies in hot water for 10–15 minutes.
- Toast black cardamom and coriander seeds until fragrant, then grind into powder.
- Broil ginger, garlic, and shallots for 5 minutes.
- Blend together softened chilies, broiled aromatics, turmeric, lemongrass, lime zest, shrimp paste, toasted spices, and curry powder until smooth.
- Use about ½ cup of paste per batch.
How to Cook Chicken & Curry Paste at the Same Time
- Cook chicken drumsticks in thin coconut milk, seasoning with salt and pepper.
- While chicken simmers, toast and grind black cardamom and coriander seeds.
- Broil ginger, garlic, and shallots for 5 minutes.
- Blend all aromatics, spices, and herbs into curry paste with hand blender.
- Stir-fry ½ cup paste with ½ cup thick coconut milk until fragrant, then transfer into the chicken pot.
- Season with fish sauce, sugar, and chicken bouillon; simmer until chicken is fully cooked.
Preparing the Toppings
- Wonton Noodles: Blanch half for chewy texture; pat dry and fry the rest for crispy topping.
- Green pickled mustard: Chop finely for tangy crunch.
- Chili oil: Fry chili flakes in oil with a pinch of salt.
- Cilantro: Chop fresh leaves for herbal freshness.
- Green onions: Slice thin for mild onion flavor.
- Shallots or red onion: Chop for a sharp, crunchy bite.
- Lime wedges: Squeeze on top just before serving for brightness.
How to Store & Reheat
- Broth & chicken: Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or freeze for 2 months. Reheat gently on the stovetop.
- Noodles: Store separately; reheat chewy noodles by blanching briefly in hot water, and re-crisp fried noodles in the oven or air fryer.
- Toppings: Keep fresh herbs and chopped veggies in separate containers, adding them just before serving.
Related Recipes
- Instant Pot Khao Soi : Once you have the paste ready, you can get the soup done in 12 minutes.
- Nam Ngiao Noodle : Another Thai northern noodles that you will love.
- Mee Ka Tee: Thai/Lao curry noodle that is absolutely gluten free and more simple to put together.
Khao Soi Paste & Khao Soi Noodles Recipe
If you’ve ever craved restaurant-quality Khao Soi at home, here’s the good news—it can be made from scratch in under an hour. The magic is in the curry paste, which is surprisingly easy to make yet hard to find in stores. Add in the chewy and crispy noodles, tender chicken, and all the toppings, and you’ve got one of the most comforting bowls of Thai noodle curry out there.
Equipment
- 1 hand blender (So that you can make curry paste quickly.)
Ingredients
For Khao Soi Curry Paste (Enough for 3 -4 batches – Use 1/2 cup per batch.)
- 12 dried guajillo chilies
- 1/2 cup minced lemongrass
- 1/2 cup shallots (chopped)
- 10 cloves garlic
- 2 tsp minced ginger (The only curry paste that I use ginger instead of galangal.)
- 1 tbsp lime zest (If possible use Makrut lime zest.)
- 1 tsp turmeric powder (or 1 TBSP fresh turmeric)
- 1 1/2 tbsp shrimp paste (or 1.5 tsp salt and 1 tsp miso paste)
- 3 black cardamom
- 2 tsp coriander seeds (or use 1/2 tsp coriander powder.)
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1/4 cup water (to get the blender going if using a hand blender)
For the Chicken Curry
- 2 lb chicken drumsticks (8 drumsticks)
- 1 can coconut milk (400 mL)
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground pepper (black or white)
- 1000 mL water (or enough to cover the chicken)
- 1/2 cup Khao Soi curry paste (from the recipe above)
- 2 TBSP fish sauce
- 2 TBSP coconut sugar (or palm sugar or regular sugar)
- 1/2 TBSP chicken bouillon
- 1 lb wonton noodles
For Toppings
- 1/2 cup green pickled mustard (Rinse a few times and chop into small pieces.)
- 2 limes (slice into wedges)
- 2 TBSP chili flakes (optional)
- 2 TBSP oil (optional)
- ¼ tsp salt (optional)
- cilantro (chopped)
- green onion (chopped)
- shallot (chopped)
Instructions
Make the Khao Soi Paste and Start Cooking the Chicken
- Soak dried chilies in hot water for 10–15 minutes.
- Preserve half cup coconut milk to stir fry curry paste and pour the rest into a pot over the chicken. Add another 1000 mL water or just enough to cover the chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer chicken drumsticks in thin coconut milk over medium heat. No need to wait for the coconut milk to boil.
- Toast black cardamom and coriander seeds 3-5 minutes on medium heat. Crack the black cardamom opened and take out seeds. Grind both cardamom and coriander seeds into powder.
- Broil ginger, garlic, and shallots for 5 minutes.
- Add softened chilies, broiled aromatics, turmeric, lemongrass, lime zest, shrimp paste, curry powder, toasted spices, and a little bit of water to hand blender. Blend until smooth (about 3 minutes)
- Stir-fry ½ cup curry paste with ½ cup thick coconut milk over medium heat for 5 minutes, then transfer to chicken pot.
- Season broth with fish sauce, a little sugar, and chicken bouillon. Simmer until chicken is tender. (The total time for chicken to cook is about 40-45 minutes from start to finish.)
Prepare noodles while the chicken is still being cooked.
- For fresh noodles: Cook the noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes for chewy texture. For crispy noodles, shake some of the flour out and fry until crispy.
- For dry noodles: Cook the noodles in boiling water for 3-5 minutes for chewy texture. For crispy noodles, pat the cooked noodles to get some moisture out. Then fry until crispy.
Prepare toppings and assemble
- Prepare toppings: chop pickled mustard greens, make chili oil, slice herbs and onions, and cut lime wedges.
- To make chili oil. Simply add oil, chili flakes, and a pinch of salt to the skillet. Stir fry chili flakes until smokey and set aside.
- Assemble: Add chewy noodles to a bowl, ladle over broth and chicken, top with crispy noodles, herbs, onions, chili oil, and a squeeze of lime juice.
Video
@stickyricethaikitchen Would you mind using a few pans sometimes? I made this Khao Soi from scratch in less than an hour but you do need a few pans. Recipe on my website or comment “recipe” so that I can dm you the link to my probable recipe. You’ll love it 😊 #khaosoi#thaicooking#thaifood#homemadefood#fromscratch
♬ Sunset Reflections – Cosmo Kuma
Notes
Note :I sincerely thank you for visiting my blog and I appreciate you checking out my passion – recipes! If you enjoy these recipes, please share them, rate 5 stars and leave reviews of ones you try, as it will help the blog continue creating new recipe content. Your recommendation is the highest review I could hope for. Your support means the world to me.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
