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Korea, Asia · Dak-kalguksu (Korean Chicken Knife-Cut Noodle Soup)

Khao Soi-Style Coconut Curry Dak-kalguksu

Chewy kalguksu noodles and chicken in a Northern Thai khao soi coconut curry broth, finished with lime and chopped kimchi in place of pickled mustard greens.

ServingsServes 2
Total cooking time30 min
DifficultyMedium

Method

  1. Cut the chicken into 3 cm pieces. Finely chop the shallots and garlic and grate the ginger. Thinly slice the red onion, chop the kimchi small, halve the bok choy lengthways and rinse the grit from between the stems. Pick the coriander leaves and cut the lime into wedges.

  2. Heat the oil in a 20 cm pot on medium heat and fry the shallots, garlic and ginger for , until soft and fragrant. Move on as soon as they start to colour.

    Add in this stepVegetable oil 1½ tbspShallots (or a quarter onion each) 2Garlic cloves 2Fresh ginger 10 g

    medium heat

  3. Add the curry powder, gochugaru and about a third of the coconut milk and fry on medium-low heat for , stirring constantly, until it becomes a thick paste, red oil seeps out at the edges and it smells toasty. Frying the spices like this takes away their raw taste; keep stirring, as burnt spices turn bitter.

    Add in this stepCurry powder 3 tspGochugaru (Korean chilli flakes) 1 tspCoconut milk 72 ml

    medium-low heat

  4. Add the chicken and stir on medium heat for to coat it in the paste. Pour in the stock, the rest of the coconut milk, the fish sauce and sugar; when it bubbles, turn down to medium-low heat and simmer for . The chicken is done when no pink remains inside (75 °C).

    Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs 300 gCoconut milk 168 mlChicken stock 550 mlFish sauce 2 tspBrown sugar 1 tsp

    medium heat→medium-low heat

  5. Meanwhile bring 2.5 L of water to a boil on high heat in another pot. Shake the flour off the noodles, drop them in and cook for , stirring, adding the bok choy for the last minute. Drain and rinse briefly under hot water to remove the surface starch. Cooking the noodles separately keeps the curry silky rather than gluey.

    Add in this stepFresh kalguksu (knife-cut wheat) noodles 300 gBaby bok choy 2

    high heat

  6. Taste the broth: add a little more fish sauce if it needs salt, or lime juice if it needs brightness. Divide the noodles and bok choy among bowls and ladle over the curry and chicken. Top with red onion, kimchi and coriander and serve with lime wedges. The kimchi plays the role of the pickled mustard greens in khao soi.

    Add in this stepRed onion ½Well-fermented napa cabbage kimchi 80 gFresh coriander (cilantro) 5 gLime 1

Cook's tip

Curry powders vary in heat, so start with less and adjust at the end. Dried kalguksu or egg noodles work well instead of fresh. Coconut milk can split if boiled hard for long, so keep the simmer gentle.

Cooking it at camp

Fry the curry paste (up to step 3) at home and take it in a sealed tub; at camp you only add chicken and stock and simmer. If you have just one pot, cook the noodles directly in the curry with an extra cup of water and stir often. Keep the raw chicken below 5 °C in the cooler.