Khao soi
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''Khao soi'' or ''khao soy'' ( th, ข้าวซอย, ; lo, ເຂົ້າຊອຍ , my, အုန်းနို့ခေါက်ဆွဲ ,) is a
Chin Haw The Chin Haw or Chin Ho (; th, จีนฮ่อ, ), also known locally as Yunnanese ( zh, 雲南人, th, คนยูนนาน), are Chinese people who migrated to Thailand via Myanmar or Laos. Most of them were originally from Yunnan, a s ...
dish served in
Laos Laos (, ''Lāo'' )), officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic ( Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ, French: République démocratique populaire lao), is a socialist ...
and northern
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is bo ...
. A comparable dish, ''
ohn no khao swè Ohn no khao swè (; ) is a Burmese dish consisting of wheat noodles in a curried chicken and coconut milk broth thickened with gram flour (chickpea flour). The dish is often garnished with crisp fried bean fritters, sliced raw onions, chilli ...
'', is widely served in
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
. The name means 'cut rice', although it is possible that it is simply a corruption of the Burmese word for noodles – "khao swè" – which may account for the variations. Traditionally, the dough for the rice noodles is spread out on a cloth stretched over boiling water. After steaming the large sheet noodle is then rolled and cut with scissors. Lao khao soi is traditionally made with hand sliced rice noodles in clear soup broth and topped with minced pork. In some markets in
Luang Namtha Luang Namtha (''Luang Nam Tha'') ( Lao: ມ. ຫລວງນໍ້າທາ) is a district as well as the capital of Luang Namtha Province in northern Laos. The city lies on the Tha River (''Nam Tha''). Luang Namtha is a popular tourist desti ...
and
Muang Sing Mueang ( th, เมือง ''mɯ̄ang'', ), Muang ( lo, ເມືອງ ''mɯ́ang'', ; Tai Nuea: ᥛᥫᥒᥰ ''muang''), Mong ( shn, ''mə́ŋ'', ), Meng () or Mường (Vietnamese), were pre-modern semi-independent city-states or principali ...
vendors still hand cut the noodles. These traditionally cut noodles can also be found in several places in northern Thailand.


Versions

There are two common versions of khao soi: *''Lao ''khao soi is completely different and has no relation to the more famous Muslim influenced ''khao soi'', a rich coconut curry and egg rice noodle soup, of northern Thailand and Burma. ''Lao khao soi'' is a hand sliced rice noodle soup with clear chicken, beef or pork broth topped with a tomato meat sauce made of minced pork, tomatoes, garlic and fermented bean paste. The dish is always served with a fresh herbs. ''Lao khao soi'' noodles are made with steamed rectangular sheets of rice flour batter, the streamed rice flour sheets are then rolled and sliced into wide rice noodle ribbons. The name ''khao soi'' is derived from the Lao language meaning 'sliced rice': ''khao'' is “rice” and ''soi'' means “sliced” and it is probably where the dish got its name. The northern Lao provinces of
Luang Namtha Luang Namtha (''Luang Nam Tha'') ( Lao: ມ. ຫລວງນໍ້າທາ) is a district as well as the capital of Luang Namtha Province in northern Laos. The city lies on the Tha River (''Nam Tha''). Luang Namtha is a popular tourist desti ...
and
Luang Prabang Luang Phabang, ( Lao: ຫລວງພະບາງ/ ຫຼວງພະບາງ) or ''Louangphabang'' (pronounced ), commonly transliterated into Western languages from the pre-1975 Lao spelling ຫຼວງພຣະບາງ (ຣ = silent r) ...
is said to be the birthplace of the ''Lao khao soi''. Northern Laotians have a special way of preparing this dish, different versions of it can be found at Lao restaurants. *Northern Thai ''khao soi or Khao Soi Islam'' is closer to the present day Burmese
ohn no khao swè Ohn no khao swè (; ) is a Burmese dish consisting of wheat noodles in a curried chicken and coconut milk broth thickened with gram flour (chickpea flour). The dish is often garnished with crisp fried bean fritters, sliced raw onions, chilli ...
, being a
soup Soup is a primarily liquid food, generally served warm or hot (but may be cool or cold), that is made by combining ingredients of meat or vegetables with stock, milk, or water. Hot soups are additionally characterized by boiling solid ing ...
-like dish made with a mix of deep-fried crispy
egg noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, I ...
s and boiled egg noodles, pickled mustard greens,
shallots The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with ''Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as the d ...
,
lime Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...
, ground chillies fried in oil, and meat in a curry-like sauce containing
coconut milk Coconut milk is an opaque, milky-white liquid extracted from the grated pulp of mature coconuts. The opacity and rich taste of coconut milk are due to its high oil content, most of which is saturated fat. Coconut milk is a traditional food i ...
. The curry is somewhat similar to that of yellow or
massaman curry Massaman curry ( th, แกงมัสมั่น, , ) is a rich, flavourful, and mildly spicy Thai curry. It is a fusion dish, combining ingredients from Persia, the Indian subcontinent, and the Malay Archipelago (e.g., cardamom, cinnamon, clov ...
but of a thinner consistency. It is popular as a street dish eaten by
Thai people Thai people ( th, ชาวไทย; ''endonym''), Central Thai people ( th, คนภาคกลาง, sou, คนใต้, ตามโพร; ''exonym and also domestically'') or Siamese ( th, ชาวสยาม; ''historical exonym and ...
in northern Thailand, though not frequently served in Thai restaurants abroad.
There is some reason to believe that the Thai version of ''khao soi'' was influenced by
Chinese Muslim Islam has been practiced in China since the 7th century CE.. Muslims are a minority group in China, representing 1.6-2 percent of the total population (21,667,000- 28,210,795) according to various estimates. Though Hui Muslims are the most numerou ...
cuisine and was therefore likely served with chicken or beef.
Different variants of ''khao soi'' that are made without any coconut milk and with rice noodles instead of egg noodles are mainly eaten in the eastern half of northern Thailand. *''Khao soi'' is featured in the cuisine of the
Shan people The Shan people ( shn, တႆး; , my, ရှမ်းလူမျိုး; ), also known as the Tai Long, or Tai Yai are a Tai ethnic group of Southeast Asia. The Shan are the biggest minority of Burma (Myanmar) and primarily live in th ...
who primarily live in
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
. This version of ''khao soi'', as well as the version in Chiang Rai Province, can contain pieces of curdled blood (see ''
khow suey ''Khow suey'' (from my, ခေါက်ဆွဲ), is a noodle soup made of egg noodles and curried beef or chicken with coconut milk, served with a variety of contrasting condiments. A squeeze of lemon also adds tanginess to ''khow suey''. ...
'').


Gallery

File:CVK-Khao Soi42.JPG, Chicken ''khao soi'' with curdled blood in a school cafeteria,
Chiang Rai Chiang Rai ( th, เชียงราย, ; nod, , เจียงฮาย, ) is the northernmost major city in Thailand, with a population of about 200,000 people. It is located in Mueang Chiang Rai District, Chiang Rai Province. Chiang Rai ...
, Thailand. File:Khao soi Mae Sai.JPG, ''Khao soi
Mae Sai ''Mae Sai'' ( th, แม่สาย, ; Shan: , ), is the district town of Mae Sai District in the far north of Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. Mae Sai is a major border crossing between Thailand and Myanmar where the town of Tachileik, in Shan ...
'', with (minced) pork and curdled blood, is a Thai variant that does not contain coconut milk or curry but uses the same sauce as in ''
nam ngiao ''Nam ngiao'' ( th, น้ำเงี้ยว, ) or ''nam ngio'' ( th, น้ำงิ้ว, ) is a noodle soup or curry of the cuisine of the Tai Yai people who live in the northeast of Burma, the southwest of Yunnan province, China, and in no ...
''. File:Khao soi nuea Fueng Fah.jpg, A Muslim style ''khao soi nuea'' (beef ''khao soi''),
Chiang Mai Chiang Mai (, from th, เชียงใหม่ , nod, , เจียงใหม่ ), sometimes written as Chiengmai or Chiangmai, is the largest city in northern Thailand, the capital of Chiang Mai province and the second largest city in ...
, Thailand. File:Khao soi nam na.jpg, ''Khao soi nam na'' is a style of ''khao soi'' with a minced pork-and-chilli paste, that is eaten in the eastern part of Chiang Rai Province, Thailand. File:2019 01 Khao soi noi songkhrueang.jpg, ''Khao soi noi songkhrueang'' is a Shan dish: a wrap made from steamed rice flour batter with a filling of steamed vegetables and dusted with ground peanuts.


See also

*
Khow suey ''Khow suey'' (from my, ခေါက်ဆွဲ), is a noodle soup made of egg noodles and curried beef or chicken with coconut milk, served with a variety of contrasting condiments. A squeeze of lemon also adds tanginess to ''khow suey''. ...
*
Laksa Laksa is a spicy noodle dish popular in Southeast Asia. Laksa consists of various types of noodles, most commonly thick rice noodles, with toppings such as chicken, prawn or fish. Most variations of laksa are prepared with a rich and spicy coco ...
*
List of soups This is a list of notable soups. Soups have been made since Ancient history, ancient times. Some soups are served with large chunks of meat or vegetables left in the liquid, while others are served as a broth. A broth is a flavored liquid usua ...
*
Ohn no khao swè Ohn no khao swè (; ) is a Burmese dish consisting of wheat noodles in a curried chicken and coconut milk broth thickened with gram flour (chickpea flour). The dish is often garnished with crisp fried bean fritters, sliced raw onions, chilli ...
*
Thai curry Thai curry ( th, แกง, translit=kaeng, ) is a dish in Thai cuisine made from curry paste, coconut milk or water, meat, seafood, vegetables or fruit, and herbs. Curries in Thailand mainly differ from the curries in India in their use of ingr ...


Notes and references


External links

*
Khao soi recipe, Northern Thai style curried noodle soup with chicken
{{DEFAULTSORT:Khao Soi Northern Thai cuisine Laotian soups Burmese cuisine Southeast Asian curries Noodle soups Laotian noodle dishes Thai noodle dishes Chiang Mai