Chicken Khao Soi is the chicken noodle soup of all my dreams. This Thai-style soup is so filled with flavor and texture that it absolutely satisfies, and eats as a full meal. Sorry regular chicken soup, but Thai cooks have bested you through and through. Now, this is not an authentic Chicken Khao Soi, as I am unable to fully do that justice with what I have available to me in my grocery stores, but it’s a good approximation and a way of honoring one of the world’s loveliest dishes … on a busy weeknight, no less. Read on for a little bit about Khao Soi, my version of it, and a few tips and tricks for success.

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What is the translation of Khao Soi?

Translated from Thai, “Khao” means rice, and “soi” means to cut. In this version, we’re using chicken, so we’re meaning Khao Soi Gai (Gai meaning chicken). So, the name is a literal explanation of exactly what you’ll be getting when you sit down to enjoy a big, steaming bowl of Khao Soi. Made with freshly cut rice noodles, this chicken khao soi is a classic dish from Northern Thailand’s Chiang Mai province, and often the most widely recommended dish when sampling or exploring the cuisine of this region.

What is Chicken Khao Soi (Khao Soy)?

A Chin Haw coconut curry noodle soup from Northern Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos, Chicken Khao Soi is a beloved dish all over the world. The Chin Haw were a group of Chinese people who migrated to Thailand, via Myanmar and Laos. My homage to a classic bowl features chicken/chicken broth, so would technically be a Khao Soi Gai, “gai” meaning chicken.

The soup features a richly flavored broth made with fresh curry paste and coconut milk, along with aromatics like garlic, scallions, and shallot. As is the case with may dishes from this region, fresh chilies and punchy fish sauce contribute heavily to the flavor profile. In my version, I also use a little bit of granulated sugar to amp up the sweetness of the coconut and carrots. Sugar is a traditional ingredient used in many Southeast Asian dishes, and it lends a balancing quality to the overall flavor.

What Does Chicken Khao Soi Taste Like?

In short, Khao Soi tastes like a super flavorful Thai-style curry (because that’s what it is). But “curry” is a catch-all and certainly can mean many different things, depending on the type of curry paste in question. As is typical of many dishes from Thai, Laotian, and Burmese cuisines, Khao Soi is an absolute riot of flavors. It’s the opposite of subtle, every slurping spoonful bringing a total explosion of deep flavor. Can you tell I’m a fan?

Khao Soi boasts a strong note of fish sauce, as there is a generous amount used to flavor the broth (3 tablespoons in my version here). While traditional Khao Soi utilizes fresh curry paste to help flavor the soup, we’ll use a store-bought Thai-style red curry paste. This is one of my very favorite kitchen staples, because the flavor you can pull from a little jar of this stuff is downright amazing. When you support that with fresh aromatics like scallions, chilies, shallot, and garlic, you can build a truly great soup in less time than it would take to make a traditional broth from scratch.

In addition to the fish sauce and fresh aromatics, Khao Soi also contains coconut milk, whose rich sweetness runs throughout the broth, just doing all sorts of work to help balance the strong flavors of garlic, onion, fish sauce, and chilies. The resulting flavor is nothing short of stunning, in my opinion, and such a wonderful representation of Northern Thai cuisine.

What You’ll Need to Make this take on Chicken Khao Soi (Khao Soi Gai)

I employ a favorite time-saving grocery store trick in this recipe, to help get this beautiful, flavorful soup on the table faster. Most grocery stores offer pre-made popcorn chicken or chicken tenders that are of good quality, and by tossing them with a simple honey/soy mixture, we can infuse them with flavor and crisp them up in the oven, before topping our bowls of steaming Khao Soi. This is totally optional, and you can follow my note below for a fresh-cooked chicken breast option.

INGREDIENTS

2 tablespoons cooking oil (such as vegetable, canola, or even olive oil)
1 bunch scallions, chopped, white and green parts separated
2 carrots, thinly sliced
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 fresh red chili, sliced (I use a Thai chili)
1 teaspoon sugar
3 garlic cloves, minced
¼ cup Thai-style red curry paste (I use this one)
3 tablespoons fish sauce
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons soy sauce, plus more as needed
5 ounces fresh baby spinach or frozen spinach, thawed and wrung out
Two, 15-ounce cans coconut milk
3 cups chicken stock
16-ounce package rice noodles, cooked per package directions
1 pound pre-made popcorn chicken or chicken tenders from your grocer’s deli (see note)
2 tablespoons honey

Serving Suggestions: Fresh chopped cilantro and basil, extra soy sauce, Sriracha, fresh limes

How to make this Chicken Khao Soi Recipe

The noodles cook away in their own pot while you whip up the most flavorful, Thai-inspired broth EVER. Again, this isn’t authentic Khao Soi, as it would be tough for me to pull that off with the ingredients I have readily available to me, and I don’t think it’s really my place to share a fully authentic Thai recipe. There are so many great recipes for authentic Khao Soi out there, and I encourage you to check them out.

For my MKL purposes here, I’m hoping to take your taste buds on a trip to Thailand with this soup, in the most efficient way I can while paying respect to the classic. Hopefully, it will inspire you to learn more about real-deal Thai cuisine, and don’t forget to order a big bowl of Khao Soi Gai the next time you’re at your favorite Thai restaurant.

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Adjust the rack to the middle position.

Add the oil to a large, deep-sided skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. When it’s shimmering hot, add the scallion whites, carrots, shallot, chilis, and sugar. Cook until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and curry paste and cook for another minute.

Add fish sauce, ¼ cup soy sauce, and spinach. Cook for another minute. Add the coconut milk (stirring to melt in the solids), and the stock. Let the soup simmer over low heat while you prepare the chicken.

In a bowl or liquid measuring cup, stir together the honey and 2 tablespoons of the soy sauce. For the chicken (using my quick-fix trick), place the popcorn chicken/chicken tenders on a baking sheet and toss with the honey/soy mixture. Bake just until they start to caramelizer and brown, about 5-ish minutes (just keep an eye on them).

To serve the soup: lade the coconut broth and veggies into bowls and top with noodles and the crispy honey/soy chicken. Top with fresh cilantro, basil, Sriracha, fresh limes for squeezing, and extra soy sauce, if you like.