Revisiting (& a Khao Soy Recipe)

The end of my time in Thailand went by in such a flash. All of a sudden, the final projects were over, I had my last tasty meal from OK Pad Thai and was hugging everyone goodbye, tears streaming as we drove through the dusk to Bangkok. Then, a few days with my parents, all of us in a completely new environment, but quickly settling in to our comfortable routine. After a whirlwind trip to Chiang Mai, and a few more sweltering, mosquito-bitten days in Bangkok, we were in a plane, heading west (but actually east, to get to the west).

My favorite family portrait: dad taking a selfie of us at Wat Doi Sutep in Chaing Mai

While I am incredibly happy to be back in my home climate, wearing pants and taking long walks every day (something you definitely can't do anywhere in Thailand), I am of course revisiting the dreamlike reality of the past 5ish months. My knowledge of Thai is quickly fading, along with my tan, and I'm trying to regain some semblance of control over my health and my diabetes. Thailand is certainly not somewhere I could live long term, but it is now a part of who I am. And I'm forced to constantly remember it due to the obscene number of Thai restaurants that are scattered all over Portland. 

No Portland restaurant can compare to the reality of Thai street food, but my dad and I endeavored to try and re-create a wonderful dish that we sampled in Chaing Mai. It's called Khao Soy which translates to sliced rice which I think alludes to the noodle base of the dish. It's essentially a curry noodle soup. Pa and I went hunting for ingredients at the Asian grocery store (including some Thai beer, which is essential) and got to work.

So; Here's what we came up with. One part tasty Chiang Mai memories and one part refuge from the Portland rainy cold. This version is made with chicken, but it could easily be made vegan, which I intend to do when I make it again. 

Khao Soy (ข้าวซอย)
Adapted from Austin Bush's Recipe

Part One: Curry Paste

Coriander seeds 2 Tbsp

Big dried chilies 4-6 (Seeds Removed)

Chopped ginger 1 heaping Tbsp

Powdered turmeric 1 heaping Tbsp

Shallots OR Garlic 4 cloves & Half of 1 large onion

Salt 1 Tbsp

Curry powder 2 tsp

Toast the coriander seeds, ginger, and peppers in a pan (separately). Then, combine all ingredients in a blender to create your paste. If it's within your capacity, you can use a mortar and pestle to combine everything.

Part Two: The Soup

1 can of thick coconut milk

3 cups of water or stock

Chicken, tofu, veggies, whatever. 

Fresh or dry flat yellow noodles

crispy crunchy noodles

Start cooking most of your curry paste with 3/4 cups of the coconut milk in a large sauce pan over medium heat until it is very much reduced into a thick paste.

Just combined curry paste and coconut milk

Much reduced paste + coconut milk, and chicken

While you fry up your chicken, tofu, whatever in the curry paste, start cooking your yellow noodles in a separate pot of boiling water. If they're fresh, they probably won't take long. If they're like the ones we got, they were dry, but only cooked in about 6 minutes.

Our cool looking but cryptic Burmese noodles.

Add your water/stock, and the rest of the coconut milk to your pot with the curry paste and bring it to a simmer. Once your noodles are done, drain them, and put them in bowls. Ladle some soup and stuff over the noodles and sprinkle with crispy noodles. Serve with limes, extra curry paste, slices of banana and Chang beer.