Khao Soi Thai Curry...A Taste of Chiang Mai

After spending almost two weeks in Thailand recently, everyone has been asking me what my favorite part of the trip was. I emphatically answer - Elephants and curry! Both of these favorites were to be found in the lush, mountainous area of northern Thailand called Chiang Mai. This friendly city was our home for three full days and we wished we could have stayed forever!

Our time there began at the beautiful, English colonial style ,

99 The Heritage Hotel in the old town section of Chiang Mai city. We were greeted with cool towels, bright green coconuts filled with fresh coconut water and a tasty treat of sticky rice with mango. It was so nice to relax and cool off after our flight and taxi ride, and our stay there was nothing short of perfection. We enjoyed our refreshing pool after each day's excursion and took advantage of the complimentary cocktails and delicious Thai food, that was a part of our room package.

My last post showed a little of our Thai cooking class day with Sammy, at his Organic Farm and Cooking School, which was an incredible day, but my absolute favorite day of the entire trip was our day with the elephants at Blue Daily Elephant Care Sanctuary. This was one of those once in a lifetime experiences that is the reason why I love to travel!

My travel partner and I were the luckiest girls on the planet that day, because we happened to be the only two people on the tour! Typically, there can be anywhere from 12 to 40 people on these day tours, so we were amazed when we got into the comfortable, air-conditioned van and found that we were the only people going that day!

Kisses and hugs...

Blue Daily is one of the sanctuaries that does not allow riding of the elephants and is dedicated to educating people about these gentle giants. We were introduced to three wondrous beasts and spent the day feeding them, playing with them, walking in the mountains with them and finally, bathing them...and they decided we needed a bath too!

Leaving the sanctuary that day, my heart was full, and being that is was Valentine's Day, I felt happy with my new love, my baby elephant. It's hard to imagine that this day could get any better, but after a dip in our pool to cool off and a chilled glass of wine, we were in for another delightful experience...the Night Market!

The Night Market is held on different streets in Chiang Mai, usually on Saturday and Sunday nights. There is also the Night Bazaar, which is a colorfully crazy space filled with food and "stuff". We managed to hit both of these spots, but the Night Market was where we found the most delicious of Thai curries and one that Chiang Mai is famous for, Khao Soi.

We wandered along the bustling street, lined with food stalls and little kiosks filled with colorful Thai silks and a miriad of other Thai trinkets. I had to buy a few silk scarves, along with some jewlery, some vibrant printed pants and, of course, some cooking vessels and utensils! Everything was so affordable that I was able to go a little overboard with my gifts and not even feel guilty!

After our shopping spree, we began our search for the perfect Khao Soi and quickly came across a food stand that looked like it had a nice selection of fresh ingredients. We ordered the Khao Soi with chicken and took a seat in the jam-packed space behind the cart, which was filled to overflowing with people seated at little metal tables with plastic chairs. We seemed to be sitting in what would have been the storefronts for the shops behind us, if it were daytime. I was so excited to try my first Thai "street food"! I wasn't disappointed! A hot bowl of steaming curry with crunchy noodles, pickled swiss chard and lime was gingerly set down in front of me. The scent of ginger and lemongrass reached up to entice my taste buds and I was in love after the first spicy slurp.

I have to say that I did eat some form of curry everyday...and most days, for breakfast! This is one of my favorite food groups, whether it's red, green or yellow. I love all Thai curries! The Khao Soi is a bit unique, in that it has a deeper flavor due to the added spices and I just loved it! So, here is my take on this Chiang Mai classic, using ingredients that are easy to get here in the States and that are lectin free and gluten free. I hope you fall in love with this curry, just as I have.

First, make the special curry paste that has a little extra something. There are extra spices added to the traditional red Thai curry paste and the madras style curry powders (the Indian style) have most of those, which makes things easy! You can find the red curry paste in any regular market these days, along with the madras curry powder.

In a small bowl, mix together the Thai red curry paste, madras curry powder and one tablespoon oil.

Heat a medium sized saucepot over medium-high heat. Melt one tablespoon of coconut oil and then add in the curry mixture, smashed lemongrass, garlic, lime peel or kaffir lime leaves and ginger slices. Smashing the lemongrass with a mallet or rolling pin, will release the oils and allow them to diffuse into the curry while it simmers. Stir the aromatics for a minute or two until you begin to smell the heavenly aromas.

Next, mix in the chicken broth, coconut milk, coconut cream, brown sugar, fish sauce and coconut aminos or soy sauce. Bring this to a boil and then cover the pot and turn down the heat. Let it simmer for 20 minutes. This will meld the yummy Thai flavors and enhance the deliciousness!

After 20 minutes, uncover the steaming goodness and add in the vegetables and chicken slices and let cook for several minutes until the chicken is cooked through and the veggies are just tender. You'll see a thin layer of the oil on top, but that just mixes into the curry and noodles when you serve it, so don't worry about it! It's all good! If you have an extreme aversion to the oil, you can always skim it off.

I found these incredible coconut bowls at the night bazaar and couldn't resist getting them! They reminded me of my baby elephant! They are actually made of coconut halves and just the cutest!

Use whatever cooked noodles you like and add those into the bottom of your bowls. I used Shirataki noodles here that are lectin-free and gluten-free. They work great for these kinds of asian-style noodle dishes. Glass noodles or ramen noodles would work great too!

Ladle the savory Khao Soi curry over the noodles and garnish. The garnishes are VERY important! So don' skip them! At least not all of them...

The traditional garnishes for Khao Soi are sliced shallots, pickled mustard greens, lime, chili paste and crispy noodles. The Shirataki noodles don't really fry up, so I fried up some sliced shallots, which made a good stand in. If you use a regular noodle, go ahead and fry a small amount of them in hot oil to add some crunch. I think the fried shallots add a nice flavor and crispy aspect to the dish, while keeping it lectin-free. Since pickled mustard greens are not readily available here in the states, you can substitute sauerkraut and it's very similar. The chili paste is also not lectin-free, but you can use chili oil to give it a kick. I like a little fresh cilantro, as well, to add a fresh pop! Now, grab some chopsticks and dive into the best Thai curry ever!

Khao Soi Thai Curry

Yield: 2-3 Servings

Prep time: 15 minutes

Total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

For curry paste:

• 3 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

• 1 tablespoon Madras curry powder

• 1 tablespoon avocado oil

For curry broth:

• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

• 2 stalks lemongrass, trimmed, cut in half and smashed

• 4 garlic cloves, smashed

• 3 kaffir lime leaves or peel of one lime

• 4 slices of ginger root, ¼ “ thick

• 3 cups chicken broth

• 1 cup coconut cream

• 1 cup coconut milk, full fat

• 2 tablespoons golden monkfruit sweetener or regular brown sugar

• 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce

• 1 tablespoon coconut aminos or soy sauce

To finish curry:

• 4-6 oz raw chicken, thinly sliced

• 2 cups small broccoli florets (or any vegetable you like that will cook in a few minutes of simmering)

• 1 -7oz package shirataki noodles, angel hair or cooked, thin ramen-style noodle of your choice

Condiments for curry garnish

• Thinly sliced shallots

• Pickled mustard greens or sauerkraut

• Lime wedges

• Fried shallots or fried noodles

Directions

For curry paste:

Mix red curry paste, Madras curry powder and oil in small bowl and set aside.

For curry broth:

In large pot, heat coconut oil. Stir in curry paste and let saute for one minute. Add in smashed lemongrass, lime leaves or peel, ginger slices and garlic cloves. Let the aromatics sauté for two minutes, until fragrant.

Add in the chicken broth, coconut cream, coconut milk, brown sugar, fish sauce and coconut aminos or soy sauce. Bring to a boil, cover and turn down the heat. Let simmer for 20 minutes.

To finish curry:

Add in the chicken slices and broccoli florets (or any vegetables you like). Cook for several minutes until chicken is cooked through and broccoli is just tender.

In serving bowls, drop a handful of noodles into the bottom of the bowl, then ladle the curry over the top. Garnish with thinly sliced shallots, lime wedges, pickled cabbage, chili oil and crispy fried shallots or noodles, if desired. Sliced shallot and lime wedges are highly recommended to get the traditional flavor of the dish.

Special Diet Recommendations:

Lectin Free, Gluten Free