Tom Yum Noodles - Guay Tiew Moo Tom Yum ก๋วยเตี๋ยวหมูต้มยำ

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Most people know Tom Yum Goong but a few know Tom Yum Noodles or ‘Guay Tiew Tom Yum’. Some dishes come and go but the noodles are as popular now as when I was a kid. The flavors are a combination of Chinese noodles with Thai flavors, similar to Pad Thai but different. Both share the key ingredients: ground peanuts, lime and chili powder.

Like Pad Thai, Tom Yum Noodles were never a haute cuisine but everyday lunch. You can walk into most Thai noodle shops and ask for Tom Yum Noodles. They’ll ask you for your choice of noodles; egg noodles (sen mi), small rice noodles (send lek), large rice noodles (sen yai) or rice vermicelli (mi kow). You also have a choice to have the soup or not.

There are 2 steps in making the noodle soup. First, you make the soup and let it simmer for 1 hour while you prep the noodles and the condiments. The second step is assembling the noodles, vegetable and condiments into a bowl.

4-6 Servings, Prep Time: 1 Hours, Total Time: 2 Hours

1 cilantro roots
2 cloves garlic
1 package Pork Meatball
Toasted Peanuts
1 package Fresh Flat Rice Noodles
preserved Chinese cabbage
1 cup ground pork
1-2 limes
sugar
ground dried chili pepper
1 package bean sprouts
1 cup chopped cilantro
2-3 chopped green onions
ground pepper
fried garlic

Tips and Techniques

Seasoning a bowl of noodles is a personal affair. Given a good base or broth, you tweak your noodles with condiments until you find the right spot. Some people love it extremely hot and some people have it the way it's served.
Add the broth the last minute because the noodles will start absorbing the broth and get bigger. And eventually, all the broth will disappear.
Substitute cilantro stems for cilantro roots.

Method

Make the pork soup (reicpe below -takes 1 hr to make). Let the soup simmer and keep the lid off.

Mince the cilantro root and garlic together. Add them to ground pork. Add a dash of ground pepper and salt. Massage the spices into the ground pork.

Add the pork meatballs (from the package picture 3) to the simmering soup. Make ground pork balls (any size or even patties) and drop them in the simmering broth. When everything is cooked, add ½ tablespoon of salt. Taste to see you like it. Do not add too much salt because you’ll be adding the salty preserved Chinese cabbage as a seasoning. If needed, at the table you can add fish sauce.

Toast the peanuts in the pan, if you have raw peanuts. It should take about 7-10 minutes in the oven at 400 degrees for large peanuts. Adjust the time according to the size. Or you can toast them in a pan. When the peanuts are ready (picture 5), let them cool, then coarsely grind them either in a mortar and pestle or a food processor.

If your noodles have been in the refrigerator or freezer, warm up your noodles in the microwave until soft and warm. Then, separate the noodle strands. One pound of noodles can make 4 to 6 servings. Add the noodles to the serving bowls.

Chop cilantro and green onions into 1/3 of an inch. Slice lime crossectional, 1/4 inch thick.

Add the bean sprouts into the serving bowl, next to the noodles. Top with chopped cilantro and green onions. Add ground peanuts, salted cabbage, fried garlic, lime and chili powder. Sprinkle white ground pepper. Squeeze a wedge of lime on top.

Put sugar, fish sauce and additional chili powder in bowls to serve on the table as condiments to the noodle soup.

When you’re ready to serve, add the hot broth with meatballs and ground pork to the bowl. The noodles will keep absorbing the broth, do not let the noodles sit in the broth for a long time.

Some people like daikon and pork ribs in the bowl but others leave them in the pot to season the broth. Have it however you like.

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Pork Soup

Nam Guay Tiew

4 Servings, Prep Time: 5 Minutes, Total Time: 1 Hours5 Minutes

2 cilantro roots
1/2 lb daikon
1 inch galangal
1 head garlic
1/2 tablespoon peppercorns
1/2 tablespoon salt
3 quarts water
1 lb baby back ribs

Tips and Techniques

Keep the lid off the pot the whole time. This lets it simmer gently and you can see the progress. Hard boiling will make the soup cloudy.
Pork bones and daikon together form a natural MSG. You can taste the umami flavor of the broth after a long boiling period. If you want more flavors, add more bones, spareribs and pork ribs. This broth is perfect for a soup base.
You can substitute cilantro stems for cilantro roots.

Method

Fill a 4-quart pot with water up to ¾ full. Let it boil while you prep other ingredients. Rinse the pork ribs well in cold water. Peel and chop daikon into large pieces.

Drop the pork ribs into the boiling water. Add the rest of the ingredients except salt. Do not cover the soup with a lid. Let the soup simmer for at least 1 hour. Add more water as needed to bring the soup level back up to the same level. At the end of the hour, add salt.

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Fried Garlic

Gratiem jiew กระเทียมเจียว

5 Servings, Prep Time: 4 Minutes, Total Time: 4 Minutes

4-5 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons cooking oil

Tips and Techniques

I use olive oil with recipe with a great success.

Method

Press the garlic with garlic press into a small, microwavable bowl. The bowl should be large enough to prevent overspilling. If you don't have a garlic press, mince the garlic with a knife instead. Add 2 tablespoons of oil or just enough to cover the garlic. Microwave for 30 seconds -- depending on your microwave, it may take between 30 seconds and 2 minutes.

When you first make this, stop the microwave every 30 seconds and check to see if it's ready. Keep in mind that it will continue to cook in the hot oil after it is taken out of the microwave. The goal is to have the golden color. Fried garlic keeps for a week.

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Ground Dried Chili Pepper

Prig bpon พริกป่น

10 Servings, Prep Time: 7 Minutes, Total Time: 7 Minutes

10-15 Dried whole chilis

Tips and Techniques

The desired color is bright red or orange. The trick to get this color is to toast the peppers without burning them. If you go over the edge, burnt pepper will make the ground pepper dark.
Use dried Thai chili peppers for maximum heat.

Method

Toast the dried whole chili peppers with stem on in a hot pan. A cast iron pan is best for this job because it gives even heating. Use medium heat. Keep stirring to get all sides toasted evenly. When your peppers start to fragrant and turn dark, they are ready. Take extra care not to breath in deeply the hot aroma, it will burn your lungs!

Remove from heat and let them cool before grinding. When cooled, they are crunchy and easy to grind. Remove the stems and grind them in a mortar. Pound the chili peppers until fine. Once in a while, drag the pestle in a circular motion or back and forth to break up clumps. This should make about 2 tablespoons.

Keep the ground chili pepper in a jar in the pantry for up to a year. After a year, it tends to lose it potency.