Lao Khao Soi Recipe

5 from 3 votes

This Lao khao soi recipe makes a delicious filling Laotian soup with wide rice noodles and a rich, hearty sauce of pork mince, tomatoes and fermented soy beans that could best be described as a Southeast Asian style ragu Bolognese soup.

Adapted from a recipe by Friends International

Prep Time20

Cook Time3

Total Time3 20

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Lao

Servings: Servings

Calories: 3937kcal

Author: Terence Carter

Equipment

Ingredients

Pork Stock

2 kg pork bones
60 g ginger
10 coriander roots
300 g carrots chopped roughly
200 g daikon chopped roughly
2 medium onions halved
2 celery stalks halved
4 litre cold water
3 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp soy sauce

Khao Soi Sauce

300 g minced pork around 20% fat
3 tomatoes finely chopped
10 garlic cloves finely chopped
5 tbsp fermented soybean paste
8 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp chilli powder
1 tbsp chilli flakes
8 spring onions thinly sliced

To Serve

400 g wide rice noodles around 4-5mm wide
200 g bean sprouts
Handful of coriander leaves roughly chopped

On the side

8 snake beans cut into small pieces
A bunch of Watercress
Green birds-eye chillis

Condiments

Chilli powder
Chilli flakes
Sugar
Fish sauce
Lime wedges
Chilli paste
Black pepper

Metric - US Customary

Instructions

The Pork Stock

Grill the ginger and onion until the skins are charred.
Place the pork bones in a pot and pour over boiling water. Place in a sink and run cold water over the pork.
Place the bones and cold water into a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Add the grilled onions, ginger, carrots, celery, daikon and coriander roots and simmer gently for at least 2 hours to build flavour in the stock.
Skim the stock with a ladle frequently and discard the accumulated protein from the stock.
Strain the stock, add the fish sauce and soy sauce, season with salt to taste and put the stock back over low heat.

The Khao Soi Sauce

Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over medium heat, add the garlic and fry until fragrant – do not burn the garlic as it will be bitter. Add the fermented soybean paste, chilli powder and flakes and fry until fragrant, approximately 2 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and fry over medium heat for another 4-5 minutes.
Mix in the pork mince and fry for another 5 minutes or until the meat is well cooked. The final result should resemble a thick Bolognese sauce. Keep the sauce warm until ready to plate. Add half the spring onions to the mix.

To Serve

Cook the noodles per packet instructions. As a guide, these wide noodles take around 7 minutes to cook. Start testing for doneness around 5 minutes.
Place the noodles in the individual serving bowls. Ladle over the stock. This will help the noodles not to stick.
Spoon over the sauce and add the bean sprouts and the remaining spring onions. Top with coriander.
Serve with the remaining condiments. Remember that in Southeast Asia everyone at the table adds their favourite condiments to taste.

Nutrition