Khao Soi Curry Udon

Method

1. Bring plenty of water to a boil in a 16 cm pot on high heat. Lower in the eggs straight from the fridge with a ladle, cook for exactly 6 min 30 sec, then plunge them into iced water and peel. You'll get set whites and runny, jammy yolks.

   Add in this stepEggs 2

   high heat

2. Cut the chicken into 3 cm pieces and finely slice the scallions. Heat the oil in a 20 cm pot on medium heat and fry the curry paste, curry powder and a little of the coconut milk (the thick cream from the top) for 2 min, stirring, until fragrant and the oil starts to separate.

   Add in this stepVegetable oil 1 tbspRed curry paste 2 tbspCurry powder 1 tspCoconut milk 90 ml

   medium heat

3. Add the chicken and stir-fry on medium-high heat for 3 min until the outside turns opaque and is coated in paste.

   Add in this stepBoneless chicken thighs 250 g

   medium-high heat

4. Add the water, dashi powder, soy sauce, mirin, the rest of the coconut milk and the fish sauce. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat, then lower to medium-low heat and simmer for 8 min. Cut the largest piece of chicken open: it should be white all through, with no pink.

   Add in this stepWater 550 mlInstant bonito dashi powder 1 tspSoy sauce 2 tspMirin 2 tspCoconut milk 210 mlFish sauce 2 tsp

   medium-high heat→medium-low heat

5. Stir the potato starch into the cold water until smooth. Pour it slowly into the broth while stirring, then cook on medium heat for 1 min more, until the broth is glossy and lightly coats the back of a spoon. Re-stir the slurry right before adding or it will clump.

   Add in this stepPotato starch 2 tspCold water (for the slurry) 4 tsp

   medium heat

6. Bring 2.5 L of water to a rolling boil in another pot on high heat. Drop in the frozen udon and cook for 2 min, until the noodles loosen and are hot right through; drain well.

   Add in this stepFrozen udon noodles (1 block per person) 2

   high heat

7. Put the udon in bowls and ladle over plenty of curry broth and chicken. Top with the halved egg, scallions, crispy shallots and pickled ginger, and serve with lime wedges to squeeze over.

   Add in this stepScallions 2Crispy fried shallots (store-bought) 2 tbspPickled red ginger 2 tspLime 1