Vegetarian Khao Soi/Chiang Mai Noodles

I consumed a fabulous meal at Pok Pok in Portland, Oregon this summer, and the main feature was a dish I had never tried before — Khao Soi Kai, also called Chiang Mai noodles (I had the completely vegetarian version — they also have a meat version, which I gather is more commonplace).  Even though I was clearly full after eating only half of the dish, I could not stop eating more and more of this rich soup (yes, I did feel a little sick afterwards, but I still think it was worth it!).  Ever since that meal, I have often thought longingly of eating another vegetarian version of Khao Soi, but my restaurant searches in D.C. and New Haven haven't resulted in any positive hits yet.  So I ultimately decided to try making it at home, even though I was nervous about mastering the dish in my kitchen.

I first checked through my cookbooks and magazines (including Nancy Dermott's Real Vegetarian Thai), but couldn't find anything that seemed to work.  I then simply googled "Khao Soi" and found a ton of recipes online.  None of the recipes I found though seemed to fully work though for vegetarians and for what ingredients I had on hand/was willing to buy, so I decided to take the common elements of the many recipes out there on the Internet, and just adapt a recipe to what I thought my tastes would be — thankfully, there was enough variation of the Internet recipes to make me feel like no matter what I did, I could still come up with a tasty meal.  It was also funny to note that most of the recipes that at least popped up first on Google had in turn been adapted from Nancy McDermott or other popular Thai cooking books.  

The result was outstanding — yes, I would definitely make modifications the next time I make the soup, but I was really happy with what I was able to put together.  That being said, I look forward to my next trip to Portland!  The recipe and the modifications I recommend follow the picture.

Vegetarian Khao Soi

Ingredients – for approximately 3 – 4 main course servings

• 7 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup chopped red onion
• 1 tsp. minced thai green/serrano/jalapeno pepper (adjust to your preference)
• 2 tbsp. red curry paste (I used a store version instead of making my own)
• 1 1/4 cup vegetable broth — recommend increasing to 2 cups (I only had 1 1/4 cup frozen homemade broth available)
• 1 can light coconut milk — recommend starting with maybe 1/2 can though if you like more powerful flavors
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1 tsp. soy sauce
• 1 package firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch cubes — recommend decreasing to 1/2 package
• 2 tsp. fresh lime juice (or to taste)
• 1/4 tsp. cane sugar
• 2 tbsp. chopped cilantro
• 2 oz. uncooked thin rice noodles, cooked to taste, or 1 1/2 cups cooked noodles — recommend increasing to maybe 2 cups cooked noodles
• Vegetable oil

For garnish

• Chopped scallion
• Chopped cilantro
• Chopped red onion — most recipes seem to use shallots though, presumably for the less strong flavor?
• Lime wedges
• Recommend adding packaged fried egg noodles as well – I had them with the Pok Pok version, and it seems to be a standard garnish in most of the online recipes.

Directions

• Heat vegetable oil on medium-high heat in a medium pot.
• Add garlic and hot pepper, and after sauteing for 1 – 2 minutes, add 1/4 cup of the chopped onion, red chili paste, and another tsp. of oil if the mixture is sticking to the pot.  
• After 2 – 3 minutes, stir in the light coconut milk, vegetable broth, soy sauce, and turmeric, and turn up the heat to bring the mixture to a boil.
• Once the soup is boiling, mix in the tofu cubes and cooked noodles.  Then stir in lime juice, sugar and 2 tablespoons of chopped cilantro, making sure to taste the mixture to ensure you reach your desired flavor balance (particularly with the lime juice).
• Remove soup from heat, and ladle into serving bowls.  Garnish, serve, and enjoy!