Khao Piak Sen (Lao Tapioca Noodle Chicken Soup)

Step 1

Remove papery skin from the onion. Char the onion on the stove until they are lightly charred all over

Step 2

Place the chicken broth in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add aromatics, chicken, and seasonings. Bring back to a boil and then lower the heat to let it gently simmer for the next 30 minutes or until the chicken are cooked through. Remove the chicken to a plate and let them cool down. Strain the stock and discard the solids

Step 3

Adjust the taste of the broth by adding more fish sauce and/or sugar or salt as needed to your preference

Step 4

When the chicken are cool enough to handle, shred the meat. Cover and set aside

Step 5

Make sure you boil at least 300 ml ( 1 1/4 cups) of water. Make sure the water is rolling boil. This is important or your noodle won't turn out right

Step 6

Place both types of flour in a large mixing bowl. If you have a stand mixer with dough hook attachment, use this. Pour in the boiling water and knead it. The mixture won't come together just yet. You may need to scrap the side of the mixing bowl halfway. It will continue to form a smooth non-sticky dough. If it's too wet, add a bit more tapioca flour, if it's too dry, add a bit more hot water

Step 7

Dust your working surface with tapioca flour. Roll the dough out into about 1/4 inch thick. You can use a knife to cut the noodle, but I find that using pizza cutter is way faster and easier. The noodle has kinda square shape, so cut the noodle about 1/4-inch in width too

Step 8

If you plan to cook portion by portion, get a medium saucepan and pour about 2 cups of broth into the saucepan for 1 portion. Otherwise you can bring a large pot of broth you prepared earlier to a boil. Add uncooked tapioca noodles and cook until the noodles turn slightly translucent and float to the top, about 1 minute or less. Don't stir the noodles too much or they will break. The broth will be slightly gooey (because of the tapioca starch). Transfer to serving bowl and proceed to the serving step

Step 9

Top with shredded chicken. Garnish with green onions, cilantro leaves, and some fried shallots crisp. Serve immediately