Naw, it ain’t that spicy really.
Chicken Khao Soi
Otherwise known as….Spicy Thai Noodle soup. This cover shot from Bon Appetit magazine has been mocking us since March when it came out. It’s just been sitting there…on the coffee table…waiting. And then Chez Venza finally came around and showed it who was boss!
It looks daunting, but it’s just a Thai curry broth with chicken and ramen noodles. And you can throw whatever toppings you want to make it pretty (and of course delicious). Check out how we did it!
We started by making a red curry paste. First step is to soak some guajillo chilles in hot water for 30 minutes (essentially….chili tea. But don’t drink this when you have a cold!) Or do. Whatever, I’m not your mom.
Then the chilies go into a food processer with shallots, garlic, ginger, cilantro, coriander, tumeric, and curry powder.
After some quick blending, you get a nice, earthy paste. The paste goes into a large pot with some oil to toast the spices and cook the shallot, garlic, and ginger. Now that’s a hot mess! No… you are!
Next we added 2 cans of coconut milk and 2 cups of chicken broth.
Now it’s looking like a curry! Once we got it boiling, we dropped in some boneless chicken thighs.
The chicken thighs are braised in the liquid for about 25 minutes, and then we pulled them out. Now let me tell you…chicken thighs are the way to go. They came out tender and juicy. None of this dried, tough, boring white meat. Too often I get overcooked chicken from restaurants. This was way better! It was so easy to shred the chicken with 2 forks.
Next we added some fish sauce to the curry. Fish sauce is a strange but fascinating condiment. It’s best not to ask what goes in it. Just know that it tastes amazing when mixed into other things. Don’t be afraid, just do it! Also, we ended up using a lot more than the recipe called for… the soup lacked salt.
Now for some fun stuff. We bought Chinese egg noodles at the store, but if you can’t find them you could totally just buy a couple packets of Ramen and throw out the spice pack. You’re too good for that spice pack anyway! We soaked the noodles in hot water from the kettle for 4 minutes and then drained the liquid. Done!
Now a note on spices. We find ourselves hard-to-please when it comes to spice. The hotter the better. I mean, c’mon Chick Fil A…you call that a “spicy” chicken sandwich?? Pu-leaze. Give me a challenge! So naturally, we added some extra heat to our curry. Do as you will.
Now for the condiments. We went with sliced red onion, cilantro, radishes, jalapeno, lime wedges, and crispy onions! The radishes and jalapenos are our additions.
Time to assemble! We put the noodles on the bottom, poured in the curry, and topped it off with some crunchy stuff. We also drizzled a little chili oil on top. Nice and spicy, the way we like it.
Check out the custom chopstick holders in the bowl! Aww yeah.
A very tasty, and very rich soup. So much coconut milk. Its almost more like noodles with a thin gravy, so don’t go too heavy on the broth!
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