Chiang Mai Noodles – Kao Soy

During our cooking class in Chiang Mai, we made a wonderful Thai curry dish served over egg noodles called Chiang Mai noodles or Kao Soy in Thai. This has become one of our favourite Thai dishes – although we never successful ordered it in Thailand, I’ve made it several times since we got home.

I had to modify the recipe from our cooking class to account for ingredients available in Canada, as following the exact recipe in our cookbook made a very salty and spice dish!

For those that want to try it, the recipe follows.

Ingredients

• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped ginger
• 2 shallots
• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1 tablespoon thai red curry
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1/2 to 1 lb of chicken cut into thin chunks (can also use pork or beef)
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 3 tablespoons Thai fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (about 1/2 a lime)
• 1 lb Chinese egg noodles – fresh are best, but any egg noodle will do
• 1 zucchini or Chinese eggplant (can substitute other vegetables – beans, bamboo shoots)

• chopped green onion
• chopped fresh coriander / cilantro

Procedure

1. Slice shallots, chop garlic, chop ginger, and set aside.
2. Mix the Thai red curry with turmeric and set aside.
3. Chop vegatables and set aside.
4. Chop chicken and set aside.
5. Heat oil pot – it is best to use a heavy skillet or dutch oven.
6. Add a portion of the curry to the oil and stir until fragrant. The more you add now, the spicier the curry will be. Add a minimum of 1/2 a teaspoon.
7. Add the shallots, garlic, and ginger – stir until shallots are cooked.
8. Add the chicken, and brown (about 1 minute). If the pot is too dry, add a tablespoon or two of water.
9. Add 1/2 the coconut milk, 1/2 cup of water, and simmer until the chicken is cooked (about 5 minutes).
10. Add the vegetables and simmer for 2 minutes.
11. Add remaining curry and stir until it is well mixed.
12. Add sugar, fish sauce, lime juice, and remaining coconut milk – heat until just before boiling.
13. Taste – if not salty enough, add more fish sauce. You may also wish to add more sugar.
14. Set aside – turn off the heat if the pot will keep it warm; otherwise, turn to low heat.
15. Cook egg noodles per package instructions.
16. Put a serving of egg noodles in a bowl, top with curry, green onions and cilantro.
17. Enjoy.