In Search of Khao Soy

A friend who had recently visited Chiang Mai suggested we try her favourite dish – Khao soy. So here we are on our first evening in Chiang Mai at the local Sunday food and craft market near Tha Phae Gate inside the old town.

It's chaotic, the market street stretches for miles, stalls lining each side of the street and there are hordes of people here. Every 100 metres or so there is an entrance to a temple's courtyard where all the food vendors have set up shop with group tables and child-size step seats to squat on and have a quick bite. A sort of open-air food court, really.

But there is not just one - there are dozens, each courtyard has at least 10 kitchens, each serving up their speciality, some of the dishes are obvious to identify, other dishes not-so. I am overwhelmed by the choice of food here, a sensory overload.

We pause at at a stall watching 2 women shouting orders at each other (in Thai of course), one scooping handfuls of soft noodles into a styrofoam bowl which is then passed to the next woman who ladles steaming soup from one of three enormous earthenware pots, then a handful of deep-fried noodles are placed on top with a wedge of lime. People are queuing at this stall , so I order a soup with chicken to share with Adam. We squat on the tiny chairs at the group table and watch the man sitting opposite. There are various condiments he chooses from the table to add to his soup – 2 heaped teaspoons of dried crushed chillies, 2 heaped teaspoons of sugar, lime juice, fresh herbs, beansprouts and pickles.




Now it's our turn. I always taste first before seasoning. It's rich and creamy, thin slices of chicken breast are cooked-through and tender, the soup is yellow from the turmeric and mildly spicy. The contrasting textures of the soft egg noodles and the crunch of the deep-fried noodles makes this a really satisfying dish. Adam squeezes some lime, we taste again and its almost quite perfect, the acid from the lime juice cuts through the heaviness of the coconut cream and balances out all the flavours. We add a few sprigs of Thai basil and mint, a handful of fresh beansprouts, some pickled cabbage and a sprinkle of dried chilli, to make it extra special.

The man sitting opposite winks and smiles and says 'Khao soy good!?'

Khao soy so great!