30-Minute Northern Thai Chicken Khao Soi

Place 700g boneless skinless chicken thighs on a wire rack or cutting board. Sprinkle generously with 5g salt on both sides, ensuring all surfaces are seasoned. Set aside while preparing the curry paste.

Using a microplane rasp grater, grate 30g unpeeled fresh ginger into a juicy pulp, then grate 15g trimmed fresh lemongrass stalk, 25g garlic cloves (about 6 to 7 cloves), and the fine zest of 1 whole lime. Finely mince 50g red onion. Place all grated aromatics into a container along with 5g salt, 12g turmeric powder, 10g curry powder, 3g ground coriander, and 5g paprika. Stir vigorously with a spoon until the wet aromatics hydrate the dry spices and form a thick, uniform paste.

Set a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 40g coconut oil and allow it to fully melt and begin to shimmer. Add all the prepared curry paste and 1g salt. Stir-fry constantly for 60 to 90 seconds, breaking up the paste in the hot oil until it smells deeply aromatic and leaves a light reddish glaze across the bottom of the pot.

Pour in 2 cans (828ml total) full-fat coconut milk and 1000g chicken stock into the Dutch oven. Stir thoroughly with the wooden spoon to dissolve the fried curry paste from the bottom of the pot, and bring the liquid to a hard simmer over medium-high heat until actively bubbling across the surface.

Carefully lay the salted chicken thighs into the boiling broth one by one. Once the broth returns to a simmer, cover the Dutch oven with its lid and reduce the heat to low. Simmer gently for 15 to 20 minutes until the chicken thighs are cooked through, extremely tender, and easily pull apart with tongs.

Set a small saucepan on an adjacent burner over medium-high heat. Pour in 400ml high smoke point frying oil (about 1 inch / 2.5cm deep) and heat until the oil temperature reaches 350°F (175°C) on an instant-read thermometer.

Take 60g of the fresh Chinese egg noodles and drop a small loosely gathered nest into the 350°F (175°C) oil. Fry for 15 to 20 seconds on the first side until puffed up and sizzling. Flip using tongs and fry the second side for another 15 to 20 seconds until golden brown, crispy, and rigid. Lift out with tongs and transfer to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to drain. Repeat in batches for remaining frying noodles.

Move the hot saucepan of frying oil to a safe back burner to cool down completely. Place a medium pot filled with 1500ml water over high heat on the front burner and bring it towards a rolling boil.

Uncover the Dutch oven. Check the chicken thighs with tongs—they should be fully cooked, tender, and easily breaking apart. Use tongs to lift all chicken thighs out of the simmering broth and transfer them to a clean bowl or plate.

To the simmering soup broth, add 30g fish sauce, 25g brown sugar, and 25g Sambal Oelek chili sauce. Stir with the wooden spoon until the sugar dissolves. On a cutting board, use tongs to hold the warm chicken thighs and rough chop them with a chef's knife into 1/2-inch (1.2cm) bite-sized pieces. Return all chopped chicken pieces into the broth and stir to combine. Taste the broth and adjust if desired with an additional 5g splash of fish sauce for saltiness or 5g sambal for heat.

Add 10g salt into the boiling water pot. Drop in 200g of the fresh Chinese egg noodles and stir immediately to separate the strands. Boil vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes until al dente with a slight toothsome bite in the center. Lift noodles out using a spider strainer and drain excess water well.

Divide the boiled egg noodles evenly into serving bowls and fluff gently with chopsticks so strands do not stick together. Ladle 350ml to 450ml of piping hot curry broth with tender chicken pieces generously over the noodles. Garnish each bowl with 20g thinly sliced raw red onion, 10g fresh cilantro sprigs, 30g chopped pickled sour mustard greens, and a fresh lime wedge. Crown the top with a nest of golden crispy fried noodles.