Khao Piak Sen

Khao piak (or khao piek) is a simple, but aromatic soup made with chicken or pork. Khao piak literally translates to wet rice and can be made with jasmine rice like porridge or congee. Khao piak sen features udon style noodles made with rice and tapioca flour. The smell of homemade fried garlic and broth simmering away on the stove signals that a warm bowl of comfort is almost ready.

Khao piak is likened to the American chicken noodle soup. Although thicker versions can be reminiscent of chicken and dumplings. But the pork version is just as delicious. Some would say that they can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And we do eat it for every meal. In any case, it is one of the ultimate comfort foods in Laos. There are variations throughout Asia and in neighboring countries like banh canh, which is eaten in Vietnam.

Notes:

Noodles – when making the noodles, make sure that you are using boiling hot water. This will activate the tapioca flour and help form the dough. You have to work quickly to knead to form. The exact amount of liquid used can vary depending on the weather or ingredients. Start by adding a little bit of water at a time and work the dough until it comes together. With that said, be careful when working with dough as it can be very hot. Noodles can also be made up to 2 days in advance. Toss with the extra tapioca flour and store in a zip top bag in the refrigerator. Follow instructions to cook as normal.

Fried Garlic – homemade fried garlic oil is essential, but if you simply don’t have time to make your own, you can use storebought garlic oil. However, I’d like to add that the smell of fried garlic paired with the broth is quintessentially the smell of khao piak. It’s not quite the same without it. Additionally, you can remove the fried garlic from the oil, reduce the heat down to low and add chili flakes to the garlic oil and make your own garlic chili oil.

Onions– I’ve noted the onions as optional for this recipe. The onion adds a nice flavor to the simpler rice version, but it is not essential for the broth. Matter of fact, I have spent years trying other people’s recipes and wondering why they taste different from Mom’s broth. My mom doesn’t always use onion in her khao piak sen broth. But if that is something you are used to, feel free to add it.

Galangal – The slice of galangal can also be optional if you cannot find it, but it is a flavor found in many of the Lao broth, and I enjoy it in this broth as well. You don’t need much of it. Just a little bit goes a long way. Also note that you can slice the ginger and galangal to size and freeze any of the unused slices. Toss them directly into your next broth.

Freezing broth– speaking of freezing, the broth can be stored in freezer safe containers for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and heat before serving. It is recommended to store the broth without noodles. As warming up the soup with noodles, it could result in a very thick soup. It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes to make the noodles from scratch.

Khao Piak Sen (Noodle Soup)

Time: 1.5 hour
Serves: 8-10

Broth
3 lbs (1.36kg) whole chicken or quarters
1 inch ginger, cut into ¼ inch slices
¼ inch galangal slice**
3-4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 ½ tablespoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon MSG (can be optional) – use chicken bouillon powder if not using MSG***
1 tablespoon fried garlic (below)
A handful of cilantro stems
20 cups (5 quarts) water
1 tablespoon fried garlic – recipe below

Optional for broth
Cilantro stems
Onion – good for rice version of khao piak
1-2 teaspoon chicken bouillon powder***

Accompaniments
1 bunch of cilantro – roughly chopped
1 bunch Green onions – diced
Fried garlic oil – recipe below
Chili oil
Sriracha
Soy sauce or seasoning sauce
White pepper
Patangko / Youtiao


Fried Garlic Oil
1 head of garlic, peeled
Pinch of salt
2-3 tablespoon vegetable oil

Noodles
1 (16 oz) package rice flour (red bag)
1 (16 oz) package tapioca flour (blue bag)
2 ½ cup boiling water (+ more if needed)

To Make Broth:
• In a large pot, add the whole chicken or chicken quarters.
• Add ginger, galangal, and garlic cloves to a cheesecloth and create a satchel or add directly into the pot along with salt, and MSG or chicken bouillon powder (if using).
• Pour in 20 cups (5 quarts) of water, ensuring the chicken is fully submerged.
• Bring the water to a boil over high heat.
• Once boiling, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer.
• Add the cilantro stems and a tablespoon of fried garlic to the pot. Continue to simmer for about ½ hour to an hour, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
• Occasionally skim off any foam or impurities that rise to the surface.
• Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the broth and set aside until it’s cooled enough to handle. Then shred the meat to add back to the soup later.
• Remove the ginger, galangal, and garlic from the broth.
• Return the shredded chicken to the pot. Add a handful of uncooked noodles during the last ten minutes of cooking to help thicken the broth. The more you add, the thicker the broth will be. If you like thicker broth, add more uncooked noodles directly into the broth pot.
• Adjust seasoning to taste, as needed.
• Add the udon noodles, which have been cooked separately into the pot right before serving.

To Make Fried Garlic Oil:
• Add garlic cloves and a pinch or two of salt to a mortar and pestles. Crush until you get fine paste. Alternatively, garlic can be minced finely.
• In a small pan, heat the vegetable oil over medium heat.
• Add the crushed/minced garlic.
• Fry the garlic, stirring frequently, until it turns golden brown and crispy.
• Remove from heat and let it cool.

Noodles:
• In a large mixing bowl, combine the entire bag of rice flour and most of the tapioca flour (reserving about ¼ cup to ½ cup).
• Gradually add the boiling water to the flour mixture, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon or a spatula. Then quickly work with your hands to form a dough. Be careful as it will be hot.
• If the dough is too dry, add more boiling water, a little bit at a time, until the dough is smooth and pliable. You may not need to use all of the water, or you may need more. Make sure to knead between additions.
• Knead the dough until it becomes smooth. It should not be sticky. If the dough sticks to your hands or the surface, add a little more tapioca flour.
• Flour the work surface with some of the reserved tapioca flour, roll out portions of dough to desired thickness using a rolling pin.
• Cut the rolled-out dough into long, thin strips to form your udon style rice noodles. Toss with extra tapioca flour to keep them from sticking together. Also, keep in mind that they will expand to be larger than the size that you cut.
• Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
• Add the noodles to the boiling water and cook for 3-5 minutes, or until they float to the surface and are tender but still chewy.
• Use a spider to transfer the cooked noodles into the broth pot right before serving.