Khao Soi - Pim (Nothern Chicken Curry Noodle)

 For the chicken curry:

3-4 pounds chicken, cut into large pieces (or you could use 2 legs, 2 thighs, and 2 breast pieces, about 3 pounds altogether)

4-5 Tbsp. Red Curry Paste

2 Tbsp. Oil

3 cups Coconut Milk

1 tsp. Curry Powder

1/2 tsp. Turmeric Powder

1 brown (or black) cardamom, crushed or ground (optional)

1 - 1 1/2 cups of water or chicken stock

a pinch of sugar

Fish sauce to taste

The rest of the ingredients

About 6-7 (loosely packed) cups of Chinese egg noodles

5 shallots, (very) thinly sliced

1 package of Chinese pickled mustard green, rinsed and thinly sliced

3-4 cups oil for frying

6 dried chillies

3 limes, cut into slivers

a handful of cilantro, chopped

First you make the chicken curry:

1. Into a hot heavy bottom pot, add the oil and the red curry paste, curry powder and turmeric and cook, stirring vigorously, for a few minutes until the curry paste is fragrant. Be careful not to burn the paste.

2. Add 1 cup of coconut milk, stir to blend and let the pan come back to a boil. Let it bubble for a few minutes over high heat, stirring often, until you see the red oil separating from the coconut milk mixture. Add the second cup of coconut milk, again wait until the oil separate.

3. Add the chicken pieces to the pan, with the 1 cup water and the rest of the coconut milk. Let the pan come back to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer.

4. Add the fish sauce, starting with 2 Tbsp. Close the lid and let it simmer until the chicken is done. Check the  seasonings, you might need to add more fish sauce. The flavor of the curry should be salty, spicy, and with a very slight after taste of sweetness. When you taste the curry at this stage, it should be a bit saltier than what you would like the final dish to taste like. If it is under-salted now, the addition of the other ingredients at serving time will make it even more insipid.

Then you deal with the noodles and the rest of the garnish:

5. Take 1 cup of the noodle, fluff up until the strands are separated. Fry a little bit at a time in a pan with very hot oil until golden, you will need to flip the noodle once in the pan to get the same color on both sides. Set aside.

6. Use the oil to fry up the dried chilli, very quickly, be careful not to let them burn. Set aside.

7. Slice the shallots, rinse and slice the mustard greens, cut up the limes, chop the cilantro. Set aside.

To serve. 

8. After the chicken curry is done, heat up a large pot of water to a full boil. Rinse the rest of the fresh noodles first in cold water to wash out the excess starch, then cook in the very hot boiling water for 2-3 minutes. Stir the noodles well to prevent sticking.

9. Put some cooked noodles in a bowl, top with the curry, and the garnish to taste. Squeeze some lime juice into the bowl just before eating. You could add the fried chilies if you want more heat.