Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Khao Poon
A spicy, herbal rice-vermicelli soup in a fragrant coconut-and-chili broth, the celebratory noodle bowl of Laos.
Lao · medium · serves 4
prep 30 min · cook 40 min
~1204 cal · 63g protein · 154g carbs · 41g fat · 13g fiber · 35g sugars · 28g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Khao poon is the noodle soup of Laos, served at nearly every festival, wedding, and gathering, ladled from great pots to feed a crowd. Fragrant, spicy, and herbal, it is a dish of genuine hospitality.
Thin rice is bathed in a broth built on a pounded paste of , , chili, and often fish, enriched with and simmered with chicken or fish. It is served with an enormous platter of raw vegetables and herbs, shredded banana blossom, cabbage, long beans, mint, and cilantro, which each eater piles into the bowl. Bright, hot, and aromatic, it is festive food at its best.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1 1/2 lb chicken pieces
1 lb thin rice
1/2 cup , , kaffir lime, and chili paste
2 cups
3 tbsp
4 cups banana blossom, cabbage, and long beans
2 cups fresh mint and cilantro
Instructions
1
Fry the aromatic paste until fragrant, then add the chicken, coconut milk, and water and simmer to a fragrant broth.
2
Season the broth boldly with fish sauce and adjust the chili heat.
✎ Chef’s note
Make the broth punchy and well salted, since it is diluted by the noodles and the heap of raw vegetables that go into each bowl.
3
Soak the rice vermicelli and divide among bowls.
4
Ladle over the hot broth and serve with a big platter of raw vegetables and herbs to add at the table.
Lao celebration tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Luang Prabang. The town's own dishes are far more particular than Lao food in general: aor lam, a stew given a numbing edge by sakhan pepperwood; jaew bong, a chilli paste made with dried buffalo skin; and khai pen, weed lifted from the Mekong, pressed into sheets with sesame and garlic and dried, gathered only a few weeks a year.
🗺️
Laos. Sticky rice is not boiled, it is soaked overnight and steamed in a conical bamboo basket called a huad, then tipped into a lidded basket, the thip khao, that each person keeps beside them. You pinch off a lump, knead it into a ball with your fingers, and use it to pick up everything else. Laotians sometimes call themselves luk khao niao, children of the sticky rice.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Laos
Tam Mak Hoong (Lao Green Papaya Salad)Shredded green papaya pounded in a mortar with padaek, lime, chili, garlic, and tomato, the dark, funky, fiery Lao papaya salad.
Larb (Lao Herb & Meat Salad)Warm minced pork tossed with lime, fish sauce, chili flakes, toasted rice powder, and a garden of herbs.
Or LamA Luang Prabang herb stew of meat and vegetables thickened with sticky rice and buzzed with peppery sakhan vine.
Browse all Laos recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Best fresh. Leftovers keep 2 days refrigerated; loosen with a splash of water or oil as you reheat so they do not clump.
Make it a Laos meal
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Larb (Lao Herb & Meat Salad)Dinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Khao Poon?
A spicy, herbal rice-vermicelli soup in a fragrant coconut-and-chili broth, the celebratory noodle bowl of Laos.
Where does Khao Poon come from?
Khao Poon is a Lao dish from Luang Prabang, Laos.
Can Khao Poon be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Khao Poon recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Khao Poon safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Khao Poon take to make?
About 70 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 40 minutes cooking), serving 4.
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