EAT IN ASIA / Food destinations / Thailand - thai food
Thai style Khao Soi Soup with Crispy Wonton Noodles
Have you ever heard about a soup with crispy noodles? Sounds strange, doesn’t it? But, although might seem to be slightly impossible, it is doable and really tasty. Well, of course if you like soups.
What are Wonton noodles?
Let’s start with a short introduction of some ingredients because not everyone might be familiar with all these names.
The first ingredient that might be confusing for some of you are Wonton noodles. Generally speaking, Wonton/wontons are small, Chinese dumplings with a different filling. However, here, in this soup you will not find any dumplings! This Thai style soup derived its name from special, yellow, egg noodles, similar to those that are used in a traditional Chinese Wonton soup.
As a quick explanation of Wonton noodles is describing them as wheat, egg noodles that have a characteristic yellow color and that are mainly used in a Chinese cuisine in soups.
If I had to compare them to anything European, I would say, that are spaghetti style but made of the mix of eggs, water and wheat, instead of using only durum durum.
Wonton noodles vs Wontons
You might wonder what the difference between these two is. As explained above, wontons are small dumplings with a fish, seafood or meat filling. When the meal is called Wonton noodles, it means these Wonton dumplings are served in a broth with additional noodles. Usually that are rice thin noodles, however, sometimes you might get other kind of them. If you had such an option, I would recommend you choosing crispy egg noodles, that are really unique.
The broth might be either a light one, almost like a clear soup, or the dish might be served in a popular thick gravy soup. While the first version is the most traditional one, I like a lot this smooth, silk like texture of the gravy broth.
Many South-East Asia countries have their own variation of Wonton noodles. What is characteristic for the Thai version, is the addition of dried chili flakes, chilies preserved in vinegar and fish or oyster sauce. Of course, sugar is added at the same time too, to balance flavors.
Finally, the broth, if the light one, might be served sometimes in Thailand separately. The same applies to the Vietnamese version. However, in Vietnam, Wonton noodles are very often topped with chives and include many types of meat. Apart from that, Vietnam prefers wheat, egg noodles than rice noodles.
Thai special crispy fried egg noodles gravy soup with pork
Among different Thai dishes, some of them have influences from other countries and regions. One of such an example would be Wontons, that have their originate in China. Apart from that, some Vietnamese, Burmese and Khmer tastes and dishes were mixed into the Thai cuisine making it unique ad full of different aromas.
While many regional influences are visible mainly close to borders, then Wontons are available and popular within the whole country.
With different fillings and usually served in a soup, these dumplings are available starting from the early morning till the late evening.
Crispy fried egg noodles
We decided to have a gravy soup with pork Wontons and yellow egg noodles. However, that were not regular noodles. They were completely different from these that are usually in the Wonton soup. And why was that? Because these noodles were not soaked in the broth or rather in the thick gravy but were put aside and crispy since they were fried and dried.
They were very delicate, easily breakable and relatively dry although deep fried. I would say they were more like noodle chips than any pasta.
The best and the tastier option was to eat them with hand like a snack. They had more taste than regular noodles but no oil from frying was distinguishable. When paired with this delicate and soft soup they were adding a nice contradiction.
Pork Wontons
The next and almost the most important ingredient of that dish were Chinese dumplings – Wontons. We decided to take these with the pork filling. These Wontons had a delicate and thin dough in which small, minced pork meat balls were wrapped.
They were very tender and had a relatively bland taste.
Gravy soup
The soup had its own, special aroma. With slight mushroom and meat notes was nicely pairing with Wontons. Apart from that, as said before, the smooth texture of the soup was creating a contradiction to crispy noodles put aside.
Our overall impression
The whole dish was not spicy, did not include any chilis and the only spice that was giving a slight spiciness to the soup, was white and black pepper.
It is definitively worth trying and might be a good option for someone looking for a well-balanced dish with no, so typical for Thailand, hotness. It is also worth trying for these yellow, crispy egg noodles that are relatively uncommon.
Author: Beti – A passionate traveler and lover of Asian cuisine, especially Thai and Japanese dishes, Bernadeta brings her culinary and cultural experiences to life in her writing. Beyond her travels, she’s an avid technology enthusiast with a deep interest in data processing, merging her love for exploration with analytical insights.
Photographer: Adalbert – An aficionado of computers and photography, Adalbert captures the essence of diverse cuisines with a discerning eye. A connoisseur of rich flavors and particularly fond of meat-based dishes, he combines his technical skills with his passion for the culinary arts in every shot.
