Khao soi

Khao soi

Chicken khao soi in Chiang Mai, Thailand
Alternative names	Khao soy
Type	Noodle soup
Region or state	Northern Thailand, Northern Laos and Shan State
Main ingredients	Hand cut rice or egg noodles, coconut milk, curry soup base
Variations	Northern Thai khao soi, Lao khao soi
Cookbook: Khao soi  Media: Khao soi

Khao soi or khao soy (Thai: ข้าวซอย, pronounced [kʰâ:w sɔ̄ːj]; Lao: ເຂົ້າຊອຍ [kʰȁw sɔ́ːj]) is a Burmese-influenced dish (see ohn no khao swè) served widely in northern Laos and northern Thailand.^[1] The name means "cut rice" in Thai, although it is possible that it is simply a corruption of the Burmese word for noodles which is just "khao swè" which may account for the variations. Traditionally, the dough for the rice noodles is spread out on a cloth stretched over boiling water. After steaming the large sheet noodle is then rolled and cut with scissors. Lao khao soi is still made with the traditional noodles and in some markets in Luang Namtha and Muang Sing you can still see the vendors cutting the noodles. These traditional cut noodles can also be found in several places in northern Thailand.

Versions

There are two common versions of khao soi:

Lao-style khao soi, in Luang Prabang

• Lao khao soi is a soup made with wide rice noodles, coarsely chopped pork, tomatoes, fermented soy beans, chillies, shallots, and garlic, then topped with pork rind, bean sprouts, chopped scallions, and chopped cilantro. Though northern Laotians have a special way of preparing this dish, different versions of it can be found at Lao restaurants.^[2]
• Northern Thai khao soi is closer to the present day Burmese ohn no khao swè, being a soup-like dish made with a mix of deep-fried crispy egg noodles and boiled egg noodles, pickled mustard greens, shallots, lime, ground chillies fried in oil, and meat in a curry-like sauce containing coconut milk. The curry is somewhat similar to that of yellow or massaman curry but of a thinner consistency. It is popular as a street dish eaten by Thai people in northern Thailand, though not frequently served in Thai restaurants abroad.
  There is some reason to believe that the Thai version of khao soi was influenced by Chinese Muslim cuisine and was therefore likely served with chicken or beef.^[3]
  Different variants of khao soi that are made without any coconut milk and with rice noodles instead of egg noodles are mainly eaten in the eastern half of northern Thailand.

Khao soi is featured in the cuisine of the Shan people who primarily live in Burma. This version of khao soi, as well as the version in Chiang Rai Province, can contain pieces of curdled blood (see khow suey).^[4]

Gallery

• Northern Thai khao soi
• 
  Chicken Khao soi with curdled blood in a school cafeteria, Chiang Rai, Thailand
• 
  Khao soi Mae Sai, with (minced) pork and curdled blood, is a Thai variant that does not contain coconut milk or curry
• 
  A Muslim style khao soi nuea (beef khao soi), Chiang Mai, Thailand
• 
  Khao soi nam na is a style of khao soi with a minced pork-and-chilli paste, that is eaten in the eastern part of Chiang Rai Province, Thailand

See also

• Khow suey
• Laksa
• List of soups
• Ohn no khao swè
• Thai curry

Notes and references

External links

• Media related to Khao soi at Wikimedia Commons

• Khao soi recipe, Northern Thai style curried noodle soup with chicken