Hi Reader,

I took a cooking class in Koh Samui (Thailand) last November. My teacher was from Isan, but she'd learned paste-making from living in Northern Thailand — where khao soi (aka Thai curry noodle soup) comes from. She taught me two things I've never forgotten.

1. Don't shake the coconut milk can! If you're surprised, I was too. But you basically scoop the thick cream off the top and use it to fry the paste (the same way ghee works in Indian cooking) and the fat splits in the heat and blooms the spices. The thinner milk goes in later to build the broth. Genius.
2. Season in stages, not all at once. My mom always cooks this way as well, so we add the seasoning sauce in thirds — once into the coconut cream, once onto the tofu, once with the noodles. Every component gets individually seasoned before it becomes part of the whole. The depth is noticeably different than adding everything at the end!

The recipe looks long — it's not. Most of it is the condiment list, and the actual cooking is about 45 minutes.

And the best part is the table spread — shallots, peanuts, lime, herbs. Everyone builds their own bowl, so one pot feeds people with completely different tastes.

Toodles,
Shruthi

P.S., If you are craving this recipe but want a weeknight shortcut, you can just get store-bought paste. This is the brand that I recommend (affiliate link, but I only recommend what I use!)

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