Soak the chilis in water for 5 minutes.

First, prepare the paste. There are a few ways to do this. The authentic way is with a mortar and pestle, so if you have one: smash together the lemongrass, turmeric and lime skin until they’re broken down. Add the chilis (after they’ve been soaked) and ginger and mash until all combined. Add the garlic, shallot, and yellow curry powder and keep mashing. Finally, add the shrimp paste (or fish sauce) and mix together so there are no chunks and it’s all one paste.

If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, to make the paste: mash all of the ingredients except for the shrimp paste (or fish sauce, if that’s what you’re using) on a cutting board using anything you have that’s heavy (meat tenderizer works). Add this to a food processor and pulse until combined and paste-like. Remove, transfer to a bowl and stir in the fish sauce and stir well until paste-like, smashing again if needed.

After the paste is made, prepare the curry. Add a large pot over medium-high heat and once the pot is hot, add the coconut milk and the prepared paste. Stir to melt the paste into the coconut milk. Add the chicken, chicken broth, fish sauce, and stir the liquid. Cook the chicken until well-cooked, about 15 minutes. Remove the chicken and slice through the thickest piece to make sure it’s no longer pink on the inside. If it’s still pink, cook for another 5 minutes. If it’s ready, add the zucchini noodles to the pot and meanwhile, shred the chicken off of the chicken thighs and some of the drumsticks (try to leave the drumsticks mostly intact.) Add the pulled meat and drumsticks back into the pan and let everything cook for 3-5 minutes or until zucchini noodles are wilted.

Using tongs, divide the drumsticks into four bowls and then divide the curry and noodles on top. Top with the cilantro, scallions, and if desired, the crunchy noodles.