Red Curry Noodle Soup (Khaub Poob or Khao Poon)

Bring 8-10 cups of water to boil in a large pot. Add the rice noodles, stirring them so that they don’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Drain the water from the cooked noodles and add cold water, and drain again. Repeat until noodles are cool enough to handle.  Place a strainer to one side. Pick up clumps of the noodles and smooth them out so that they are not all tangled together. Place each clump in a spiral shape; this will help create the sections of noodles you’ll add into the soup, and stops them from clumping all together. Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a medium pot. Add cleaned chicken to the boiled water, and skim off any foam that appears as the chicken cooks. Drain the cooked chicken, and set aside. In a medium pot, heat 1 tbsp of the oil over medium heat. Fry the garlic until it is just browned; stir in the curry paste and gravy, mixing well. Add the coconut milk and paprika. You’ll notice the colours are a vibrant orangey-red!  In a separate large pot, add 12-14 cups of water. Tip the curry mixture into the water and add 2 tbsp of chicken bouillon. Keep this on a low simmer. In the meantime,shred the chicken and mix with the bamboo shoots. Add to the pot and stir thoroughly. Reduce heat and simmer. To serve, take a clump or two of noodles and lay into the bottom of a soup bowl. Ladle the red curry soup on top and garnish.  You can mix and match the garnishing to suit your preference, but shredded carrots, cabbage, and chopped cilantro and mint with a squeeze of lime is traditional!