Kway Teow (noodle soup)
Ordering a bowl of kway toew in Thailand, as easy as it may look to the ordinary diner, can be an eye-opening experience. If you happen onto a popular roadside restaurant in Bangkok, you'll see menus on the walls detailing several sorts of noodles, soups, seasonings, and ingredients. Diners are free to mix and combine these combinations as they choose. Rice noodles, pig tenderloins, offal, minced meat, fish balls, and vegetables are the most regularly requested kway teow moo ingredients. Bean sprouts, chili paste, lime, and chopped coriander are among the condiments offered with each dish.
Ingredients:
- 6 cups chicken stock, 1⁄2 lb. pork tenderloin, 1 tbsp. vegetable oil, 1 fish cake, about ½ lb., thinly sliced, 1⁄2 lb. large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and split lengthwise, 1⁄4 lb. fresh kway teow rice noodles, precut or in sheets (or ¼ lb. dried Chinese rice vermicelli), 1⁄4 lb. fresh or dried flat Chinese egg noodles, ⅛" wide, 2 scallions, trimmed and finely chopped, 2 tbsp. finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves, salt.
Instructions:
- Bring stock to a simmer in a large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add pork and simmer 20 minutes. Remove pork and set aside. Keep stock hot.
- Heat oil in a wok or medium skillet over medium heat and fry fish cake slices until lightly browned and crisp. Drain on paper towels; set aside.
- Add shrimp to stock; cook over very low heat for 1 minute. Transfer shrimp to serving bowl. Slice pork thinly and add to serving bowl. If using kway teow in sheets, cut into ¼” strips. (If using dried vermicelli, soften in boiling water for 1 minute, then drain.)
- Bring 6 cups water to a boil in a wok or medium saucepan over high heat. Add egg noodles and cook until tender (about 2 minutes if fresh, 3 minutes if dried) using chopsticks or a fork to gently pull them apart. Drain; add to serving bowl. Add rice noodles, scallions, and cilantro, pour in stock, and stir gently. Season to taste with salt and serve garnished with fish cake slices.
