Khao Poon

Ingredients

Broth

• 1chicken, about 1.5 kg
• 2.5 litreswater
• 2 stalkslemongrass, bruised
• 1thumb galangal, sliced
• 4kaffir lime leaves
• 2 tspsalt

Paste

• 8dried red chillies, soaked
• 6shallots
• 1 headof garlic
• 1thumb galangal
• 2 stalkslemongrass, sliced thin
• 1 tbspshrimp paste, or padaek
• 1 tspsalt

Soup

• 3 tbspoil
• 400 mlcoconut milk
• 3 tbspfish sauce
• 1 tbsppalm sugar
• 2 tbsppadaek, strained

Noodles

• 500 gdried rice vermicelli

Vegetable tray

• banana flower, shredded and held in lemon water
• bean sprouts
• shredded cabbage
• Thai basil
• mint
• coriander
• long beans, cut short
• lime wedges
• sliced chilli

Directions

1. Put the whole chicken in a large pot with the cold water. Bring it slowly to the boil and skim the foam carefully. Add the bruised lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and salt.
2. Simmer it for forty minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Lift the chicken out and let it cool enough to handle. Keep the pot simmering with the bones returned to it. Pull all the meat off the bones. Pound it in a mortar until it becomes fibrous and fluffy.
3. Set the pounded meat aside for now. Soak the dried chillies in hot water for thirty minutes. Roast the unpeeled shallots, garlic and galangal in a dry pan. Turn them until they are blackened in patches and soft inside.
4. Peel them once cool enough to handle. Pound the sliced lemongrass first, since it is the toughest. Add the galangal and pound it in. Add the drained chillies, shallots and garlic. Pound everything to a smooth red paste.
5. Work in the shrimp paste and salt at the end. This takes twenty minutes by hand and is worth doing properly. Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat. Add the paste and fry it for eight minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Add the pounded chicken and stir it through the paste. Cook it for three minutes so it takes up the flavour. Strain the broth and pour it into the pot. Bring it to a simmer and cook for fifteen minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and lower the heat. Do not let it boil hard, since coconut milk splits.
7. Add the fish sauce, palm sugar and strained padaek. Simmer it gently for ten minutes. Taste it: it should be savoury, faintly sweet and deeply aromatic. Adjust with fish sauce or sugar as needed. Soak the rice vermicelli in warm water for twenty minutes. Boil them in plenty of water for two or three minutes.
8. Drain them and rinse them under cold water at once. Rinsing stops them cooking and washes off surface starch. Shred the banana flower finely and hold it in water with lemon juice. Banana flower browns within a minute of being cut.
9. Arrange the sprouts, cabbage, herbs, beans, lime and chilli on a platter. Now serving, which is done by assembly. Put a nest of noodles in each deep bowl. Ladle the hot soup over the noodles. Serve it very hot, since the raw vegetables cool the bowl.

Technique

• Pound the chicken rather than shredding it, since that is what holds the broth.
• Fry the paste until the oil separates, which is the sign it is cooked.
• Hold shredded banana flower in acidulated water, as it browns within a minute.

Substitutions

• Fish or pork in place of chicken, both of which are traditional.
• Shredded cabbage alone if banana flower is unavailable.

Variations

• Clear khao poon, made without coconut milk.
• Made with fish, which is common in the south.
• Vegetarian, with mushrooms and no fish products.

History

The standard dish at Lao weddings, funerals and temple gatherings, cooked in large pots and served with a tray of raw vegetables.

Frequently asked questions

What is Khao Poon?

Khao Poon is a soup & stew from Laos: rice vermicelli in coconut or fish broth with pounded meat, herbs and banana flower. The standard dish at Lao weddings, funerals and temple gatherings, cooked in large pots and served with a tray of raw vegetables.

How long does Khao Poon take to make?

Khao Poon takes 45 min of preparation and 1 hour 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 servings. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Khao Poon?

Yes, within limits. Fish or pork in place of chicken, both of which are traditional. Shredded cabbage alone if banana flower is unavailable.

What is the most important thing to get right in Khao Poon?

Put the whole chicken in a large pot with the cold water. Bring it slowly to the boil and skim the foam carefully. Add the bruised lemongrass, galangal, lime leaves and salt.