Khao Soi - close-up
Feeling in need of a spicy fix, and seeing the hail damaged Kaffir Lime leaves, lemongrass mint and chilli, I decided to prune them and use them to try my hand at as Khao Soi, a spicy Northern Thai noodle dish.
I didn't have fried noodles for an authentic version, but soft white noodles would do.
I made the spice paste with coriander root, ground coriander, ground cumin, ground turmeric, curry powder, onion, ginger and garlic. I then stewed some sliced pork shoulder in chicken stock with some Kaffir Lime leaves until they were tender. Finally, I cooked coconut milk until it split, added the spice paste, sugar and fish sauce to taste, then added all of the pork and stock. This made a delicious creamy soup that was full of zingy spice.
It didn't taste like Khao Soi though.
It was too fresh and zingy, but with the addition of fish sauce, preserved mustard greens and sliced onions, it was delicious!
Next time, maybe I'll use more curry powder and more spice, like star anise, cassia/cinnamon, cloves and cardamom to reflect the Muslim origins for this dish.
I wonder if this Khao Soi recipe by Austin Bush, Lonely Planet writer and photographer for South East Asia would have done the trick? His photos on Flickr are pretty amazing though :)
- Khao Soi: The Legacy of the Spice Trade in Chiang Mai, by JG Learned