Kao Soi
Ingredients
Slow-Cooked Chicken:
20 chicken thighs
Rice bran oil, for searing
2 teaspoons white peppercorns
4 sticks cinnamon
4 pieces star anise
1/2 cup palm sugar
1/4 cup black soy sauce
1/4 cup thin soy sauce
1 stalk celery
1 head garlic, cloves peeled
Curry Sauce:
2 cups red curry paste
7 1/2 pounds red onion
1 1/4 pounds ginger
10 ounces cumin
5 ounces dried Thai chiles
2 teaspoons black cardamom
1 cup rice bran oil
1 1/2 gallons coconut milk
10 ounces granulated sugar
8 ounces palm sugar
12 ounces fish sauce
Salt
For serving:
Boiled egg noodles
Fried egg noodles
Sliced green onions
Sliced red onions
Directions
For the slow-cooked chicken: Sear the chicken thighs in rice bran oil in a wok over high heat. Add the peppercorns, cinnamon and star anise. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the chicken skin is crispy, 10 minutes.
Put the chicken in a large pot. Add the palm sugar, black soy sauce, thin soy sauce, celery and garlic. Add enough water to cover all the ingredients. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and cook for 2 hours.
For the curry sauce: Place the curry paste, red onion, ginger, cumin, dried chiles and cardamom in a blender and blend into a thick paste.
Heat the rice bran oil in the wok over medium heat. Add spice paste and lower the heat; cook until you can smell the curry, around 7 minutes. Add the coconut milk, granulated sugar, palm sugar, fish sauce, 4 teaspoons salt and 1 1/2 gallons water. Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat.
To serve: Put some boiled egg noodles in a bowl. Add slow-cooked chicken and curry sauce and top with fried egg noodles, green onions and red onions.
