COPPERKhao piak sen recipe
Hand-cut tapioca and rice noodles dropped straight into the broth, which their starch thickens as they cook.
Ingredients
- 400 g tapioca starch
- 300 g rice flour
- 350 ml boiling water
- 1000 g bone-in chicken
- 30 g galangal
- 2 stick lemongrass
- 6 clove garlic
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 bunch green onion
- 1 bunch cilantro
How to make Khao piak sen
- Simmer 1 kg of bone-in chicken in 3 litres of water with 30 g of sliced galangal and 2 bruised lemongrass stalks for 1 hour, skimming; lift out the chicken and shred it.
- Mix 300 g of tapioca starch with 300 g of rice flour: the tapioca is what makes the noodle chewy, rice flour alone gives a dough that falls apart.
- Pour about 350 ml of boiling water into the flours, stir fast, then knead the hot dough until smooth and elastic; warm water will not do, the starch has to gelatinise.
- Roll the dough 5 mm thick, dust it generously with tapioca starch and cut strips 5 mm wide, shaking off the excess.
- Fry 6 sliced garlic cloves in oil until golden and keep both the garlic and the oil.
- Season the broth with 3 tablespoons of fish sauce, bring it back to a rolling boil and drop the noodles straight in: they cook in 3 to 4 minutes and their starch thickens the broth, which is the whole point of the dish.
- Ladle noodles and broth into bowls, top with the shredded chicken, green onion, cilantro and the fried garlic with its oil.
What is Khao piak sen?
Khao piak sen is a traditional dish from Laos, simmered in one pot, and takes about 1 hour and 30 minutes from start to finish. It is built around bone-in chicken, tapioca starch and boiling water. The recipe below uses 10 ingredients and is written out step by step.
How long does Khao piak sen take?
At 90 minutes it is quicker than 63% of the 586 dishes in Copper's atlas. Copper's atlas has 2 dishes built on bone-in chicken. The method runs to 7 steps, the longest being 4 minutes.
Any tips for making Khao piak sen?
Make the dough with boiling water, not warm, so the starch gelatinises, and drop the noodles straight into the boiling broth to thicken it.
How Khao piak sen compares
Hard to find elsewhere: tapioca starch (1) and bone-in chicken (2).
Copper documents Laos alongside 197 other countries. Every recipe is free to read, with the full ingredient list and every step.