Khao Soi Gai (Northern Thai Coconut Curry Noodle Soup)
From the Chef Specials section of our SkinnyAsia 2 cookbook.
If you’ve never tried Khao Soi Gai, you’re in for something special. This famous Northern Thai dish combines tender chicken and noodles with a rich, fragrant coconut curry broth, then piles on the toppings for plenty of crunch, freshness and acidity.
Soft noodles sit underneath the curry while crispy noodles go on top, along with our Quick Pickled Cabbage, fresh lime, shallot and coriander.
You can make the curry paste completely from scratch, or save time by using a batch of our Thai Red Curry Paste from SkinnyAsia 2.
What is Khao Soi Gai?
Khao soi is a Northern Thai curry noodle soup, particularly associated with Chiang Mai and Northern Thailand.
Khao soi gai is the chicken version, combining a coconut-based curry broth with noodles and chicken. One of the things that makes it so good is the contrast of toppings, particularly the combination of soft and crispy noodles.
Fresh lime and pickled vegetables help cut through the richness of the coconut curry, so don’t skip the toppings!
What ingredients you will need
The complete quantities and method are in SkinnyAsia 2, but some of the key ingredients include:
- Bone-in chicken thighs or chicken lovely legs – the bones develop the lovely rich, authentic flavour.
- Coconut cream and coconut milk – I prefer AYAM
- Fresh Singapore noodles
- Thai Red Curry Paste – we make our own for this recipe. If you are using shop bought it is important to check the usage info on the jar/can.
- Makrut lime leaves
- Fish sauce – or Vegan Fish Sauce
- Soy sauce, tamari or coconut aminos
- Chicken Stock Concentrate
- Cumin, coriander and turmeric
- Malaysian Style Curry Powder
If you’re making your curry paste from scratch, you’ll also use shallot, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, shrimp paste, coriander, chilli and spices.
Don’t Skip the Crispy Noodles!
One of our favourite parts of Khao Soi is having soft noodles underneath and crispy noodles piled on top.
We’ve made it easy to get that crunch at home. Take a handful of the fresh noodles, lightly spray them with oil and pop them into the air fryer until golden and crispy.
No air fryer? You can lightly fry them instead.
The Toppings Make It
This is one recipe where we highly recommend going all-in on the toppings.
Serve your Khao Soi Gai with:
- Quick Pickled Cabbage – recipe in SkinnyAsia 2
- Crispy noodles
- Fresh lime
- Thinly sliced shallot or spring onion
- Fresh coriander
That combination of rich coconut curry, fresh lime, tangy pickles and crunchy noodles is what makes every mouthful so good.
Can I Make Khao Soi in the Slow Cooker?
Yes. We’ve included a slow cooker variation in SkinnyAsia 2. Double the chicken.
Prepare the curry through to the point where the remaining soup ingredients are added, then transfer it to your slow cooker and cook on low for 4–6 hours.
Finish the sauce towards the end, prepare your noodles and toppings separately, then assemble when you’re ready to eat.
Dietary & Recipe Variations
We’ve included plenty of ways to adapt Khao Soi Gai to different dietary needs.
EGG FREE
Use thin egg-free noodles of choice.
GLUTEN FREE
Use your preferred gluten-free noodles and compliant sauces.
LOW CARB / PALEO
Replace the noodles with finely sliced wombok or compliant noodles and use fresh bean sprouts instead of crispy noodles. We’ve also included swaps for the sweetener and cornflour.
SUPER SKINNY
Use light coconut milk and light coconut cream, with finely sliced fresh wombok and bean sprouts instead of noodles.
VEGETARIAN
Swap the chicken for tofu, use vegan fish sauce and Vegetable Stock Concentrate.
LOW FODMAP
Use spring onion greens instead of shallot, omit the garlic and use garlic-infused olive oil. We’ve also included swaps for the coconut cream, Stock Concentrate and noodles.
HALVED / DOUBLED
To make a half or double batch, use the conventional method.
Get the Recipe
The complete Khao Soi Gai recipe, including the homemade curry paste, Thermo cooker and conventional methods, slow cooker instructions, crispy noodle method, toppings and dietary variations, is available in SkinnyAsia 2.
Method Variations
For this recipe we have cooking methods for:
✔️ Thermo cooker
✔️ Conventional
✔️ Stove top
✔️ Slow cooker
This recipe can be also:
✔️ Halved
✔️ Doubled
From the Testing Team
- Tanya H. – This was divine! I used bone in thighs and they cooked perfectly in the TM7, the meat fell off the bones. The soup was so rich, comforting and delicious! The pickled cabbage really did add to it, it was so good, I’m glad I did them. We all enjoyed this one. I did question the addition of the curry powder but trust the recipe. Nik has nailed it!!
- Angie G. – OMG I could quite easily eat this soup every day of the week !! Its rich, flavoursome and very delicious. The pickled cabbage really adds to the flavours. Perfectly cooked in TM7 within recipe times, I used bone in chicken thigh cutlets. We absolutely loved it !! Hubby ended up having a second serve of soup and noodles lol so only 2 pieces of chicken and a bit soup left over for tomorrow. Guess I am cooking more soup tomorrow!
- Mel C. – Yum! I had some red curry paste in the freezer, which I assume is from skinny Asia (really need to get better at my labelling!) I was expecting it to be a bit more spicy, but it was really tasty. The pickled cabbage gave it a nice little freshness, I’m glad I remembered to add it.
- Kylie W. – YUM!! I did in the slow cooker, using a red curry paste from my freezer stash. Took 5 hours on low, cornflour last 30 minutes because I got distracted. Meat falling apart, broth absolutely divine.
- Veronica B. – Whoa this soup is so tasty full of bold flavours its a party in my mouth, my taste buds are dancing yum!! 10/10. Love the crunch of the noodles, soft juicy meat falling off the bone and the zing of the picked cabbage mixed with the broth, just delicious!!!
- Julie H. – Nom Nom Nom. Best one yet. Absolutely loved it
- Amanda E. – Delish!! So much flavour! I pulled the meat off the bone to serve , to make it easier to eat as a “soup”
Some other Thermomix Noodle Soup recipes you might love:
Want to know more about SkinnyAsia 2 cookbook?
SkinnyAsia 2 is a collection of Thermomix & Conventional cooking recipes. All of our cookbooks have a strong focus on Dairy-free, Gluten-free, Nut-free, Egg Free, Low Carb, Paleo, Vegetarian and Low FODMAP.
Ingredients
- 700 g chicken lovely legs
- Chicken Stock Concentrate
- brown sugar
- cornflour
- fish sauce
- olive oil
- roasted shrimp paste
- salt
- fresh lime
- soy sauce
- tin coconut cream
- tin light coconut milk
- fresh coriander leaves
- fresh Singapore noodles
- fresh coriander roots - stems and leaves
- fresh ginger
- garlic
- lemongrass
- makrut lime leaf
- makrut lime leaves
- red chillies
- shallot
- crispy noodles
- coriander powder
- coriander seeds
- cumin powder
- cumin seeds
- Malaysian Style Curry Powder
- sweet paprika
- turmeric powder
- Quick Pickled Cabbage
Instructions
- This recipe is exclusive to the SkinnyAsia 2 cookbook.
FAQs
Can I make this without bone-in chicken?
The bone-in chicken develops the lovely rich authentic broth.
Do I need to make the crispy noodles?
No, you can skip the crispy noodles.