Destination
Luang Prabang
The story
Khao piak sen is Laos's daily breakfast noodle soup: hand-cut noodles made from a dough of rice flour and tapioca starch, boiled straight into a clear ginger-chicken broth, topped with shredded poached chicken, a spoon of fried garlic, a scatter of spring onion and coriander, a squeeze of lime and a hit of chilli. Served in a wide bowl with a small dish of extra fish sauce and pickled chillies on the side. Sold from every morning market in Vientiane, Luang Prabang, Vang Vieng and Pakse from 5am, always with a small cup of hot black coffee alongside.
Method
Combine the chicken, ginger, spring onion whites, garlic, salt, fish sauce, sugar and cold water in a large pot. Bring to a gentle simmer, skim any foam, and poach 40 minutes until cooked through. Lift the chicken out. Strain the broth into a clean pot and keep hot. Shred the chicken meat, discarding skin and bones.
In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the rice flour, tapioca starch and salt. Pour in the boiling water in a steady stream, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon, until the mixture comes together into a shaggy dough. Turn out and knead by hand for 3 to 4 minutes until smooth and pliable (like Play-Doh; add a splash more water if too dry).
Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each on a lightly floured surface (use tapioca starch, not wheat flour) into a thin rectangle about 2mm thick. Cut into short flat noodles about 5cm long and 5mm wide. Toss the cut noodles with a little more tapioca starch to prevent sticking.
Bring the strained chicken broth back to a gentle simmer. Taste and adjust with more fish sauce, salt or white pepper.
Add the noodles to the simmering broth. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, stirring gently, until the noodles float to the surface and turn slightly translucent. Don't overcook; they should still have chew.
Divide the noodles and broth between 4 large bowls. Top each with a generous mound of shredded chicken.
Scatter each bowl with fried garlic, spring onion greens, coriander, Thai basil and a squeeze of lime. Add pickled chillies or fresh sliced chillies to taste.
Serve immediately with extra fish sauce, chilli oil and black soy sauce on the table so guests can adjust.
Tips
- Boiling water into the flour, all at once. Cold water gives you a stiff dough. Boiling water scalds the starch and creates the correct pliable, elastic dough. Add in a steady stream while stirring vigorously.
- Use tapioca starch for dusting, not wheat flour. Wheat flour on the noodles cooks into little sticky pockets in the broth; tapioca starch dissolves cleanly.
- Cut the noodles short, not long. Khao piak sen noodles are short (5cm) and easy to eat with a spoon, unlike Vietnamese phở noodles. Longer noodles change the eating experience.
- Cook the noodles in the broth, not separately. This is the specifically Lao technique: the noodles absorb the broth as they cook, and the starch from the noodles gives the broth a subtle body. Cooking in water first and adding to the broth gives you a thinner, less integrated bowl.
- Fried garlic is not optional. A generous spoon of crispy fried garlic (buy pre-made, or make ahead) is what makes khao piak sen sing. It's the signature Lao topping.
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