Chicken Rice Noodle Porridge

This Chicken Rice Noodle Porridge is the gourmet version of the Jasmine Rice Porridge and both dishes are called 'khao biek'. Other Asians would call this dish "congee soup".

Soup Recipe: Chicken Rice Noodle Porridge1 cup chopped chicken pieces
Chicken bone (optional)
3 to 4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
1 cup rice flour
1 cup glutinous rice flour
1 cup boiling hot water
Tapioca starch

Sides:
Soy sauce
Fried garlic
Dry chili flakes
Oil & garlic chili sauce
Chopped green onions and cilantro

For Chicken broth: In a pot over high heat, crisp garlic and oil. Add chopped chicken are stir fry until cooked. Add water, salt and chicken bone. Bring broth to boil. Scoop out any foam residue from broth. Reduce heat to medium and cover.

For Noodle: Mix rice flour, glutinous rice flour and boiling hot water. Knead rice dough for 3 minutes. On a flat surface, sprinkle tapioca starch. Roll out rice dough until it is 15 centimeters long, 3 millimeters thick and cut noodles about 5 millimeters apart. Use tapioca starch to sprinkle where dough is sticky.

Chicken Rice Noodle Porridge Individual bowls:
Add noodles to broth and cook noodle for 3 to 5 minutes. Laddle on to individual serving bowls. Add ½ teaspoon fried garlic, ½ teaspoon chili flakes, ½ oil & garlic chili sauce, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, chopped green onions and cilantro. Mix and enjoy.

Lao Pho - Beef Noodle Soup

Happy New Year!

Thai pho is called 'Guoi Tiao' so when in Laos, ask for 'Pho' and when in Thailand, ask for 'Guoi Tiao'. This beef noodle soup is the most popular soup in Laos and Thailand. I like to make this soup on new years and weekends because it requires low preparation time, the broth simmers all day, and guests help themselves.

People from the northern region of Laos prefer khao soy which is with minced pork and salted soy beans noodle soup. Khao soy uses wide pho noodles.

For 12 years, everytime I craved pho, would order it at restaurants and was never quite satisfied of the taste. I find the pho soups at restaurants have too much fat and not enough meat, vegetables, herbs and sauce options. Since my parents taught me, I make my own at home and for the price of one pho soup bowl, I could feed a family of 6.

You can stir fry pho noodles to make Pad Thai Pho Noodles. Do not substitute vermicelli noodles for pho noodles. The star anis can also be added to dome kim which is pork and egg in soy sauce.

Pho Soup Broth:
1 pound beef bones
1 tablespoon salt
3 liters water
4 star anis
1/2 of whole onion
24 beef balls

In a large pot, over high heat, add all ingredients except beef balls. Boil 30 minutes. Scoop out dark foam that floats in broth. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate overnight or until fat hardens. Remove fat and place broth over high heat. Add beef balls and boil.

Side Options of Meat, Vegetables, Herbs, and Sauces:thinly slice raw beef
Thai basil
fish sauce
chopped cooked tripe
chopped cilantro
shrimp paste
tomato slices
chopped green onions
chili tomato sauce
bean sprouts
lime slices
oyster sauce

Soak pho noodles 30 minutes in cold water and drain. In a large soup bowl, add a handful of noodles. Pour hot water into bowl to cover noodles. After 3 seconds, drain water out. Add desired amounts of meat, vegetables, herbs, and squeezed lime into bowl. Add pho broth and beef balls. Add 1 tablespoon each fish sauce, oyster sauce, chili tomato sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon shrimp paste. Mix soup and enjoy!

Khao Bune Ba - Festive Fish Curry Noodle Soup

The host of a Lao gathering who calls for a celebration like a birthdays, weddings, new years and Christmas will serve khao bune soup. Khao Bune soup is traditionally made with either fish or pork and I've given you the fish recipe.

If you are serving this soup to Thai or Lao guests they will help themselves so serve the garnish, herbs and sauce in a baffet style. Any left over shredded banana blossoms, shredded red cabbage, Thai basil, and Vermicelli noodle bundles may be rolled into making spring rolls made with rice paper.

For non Thai and Lao guests, I recommend having the individual bowls ready with noodles, garnish and herb. When everyone is at the dinner table, pour the broth into the bowls, add squeezed lime juice and fish sauce. Let the guests mix the soup.

Soup Recipe: Khao Bune Fish Broth
2 lbs grouper or any fresh water white fish like cat fish
2 litres cold water
1 inch galangal
3 kaffir lime leaf
2 inches lemongrass
1 tablespoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons Thai Lao Curry Paste
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh coconut milk

Side Garnish, Herbs, and Sauce:
Vermicelli noodle bundles
Shredded red cabbage
Shredded long beans
Shredded banana blossoms
Bean sprouts
Chopped green onions and cilantro
Thai basil
Lime wedges
Dried chili flakes
Fish sauce

Making Khao Bune broth: In a pot over high heat, add water, fish, galangal, kaffir lime leaf, lemongrass, and salt. Bring to boil and cook 20 minutes. Remove foam that rises to top. Remove fish from broth and save the broth reduce heat to medium. Once fish cools, remove the bones and skin. Mince the fish meat by using a food processor, mortar pestle, or just a fork.

In a wok over high heat, add oil and garlic. Crisp the garlic before adding chopped tomatoes. Stir fry for 2 minutes. Add minced fish and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add Thai Lao Curry Paste and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add fresh coconut milk and stir fry for 2 minutes.

Add fish coconut curry into reserved fish broth. Bring the heat to maximum when ready to pour red curry fish broth to khao bune noodle serving bowls.

Making Khao Bune soup individual bowls: In a large serving bowl, add 2 vermicelli noodle bundles. Add small handfuls of garnish and herbs. Boil khao bune broth and ladle about 2 cups into bowl or until it just covers the noodles. Add 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 tablespoon squeezed lime juice, and 1 teaspoon dried chilies. Mix and enjoy.

Long Bean Noodle Salad

I post this Thai and Lao salad to introduce 'Ba Dek' which is salted and cured fish. Basically, it is fresh fish that is cleaned and chopped, mixed with salt and rice, and then covered for about 4 days to cure and sour. You can always find this at Asian supermarkets.

In northern Thailand and Laos, green papaya salads are mixed with salted fish. Another reason for posting this video is to show you how to mix vermicelli noodle with green papaya salads and long bean salads.

Since the fibers of long beans are tougher than green papayas, you must crush the long beans with garlic and chilies until they are in small pieces before adding other ingredients.
Salad Recipe: Long Bean Noodle with Ba Dek4 chilies
1 clove garlic
1 cup long beans chopped into 1 inch lengths
1/4 cup tomato slices
2 tablespoons squeezed lime
2 tablespoons Salted Gourami Fish (ba dek)
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
1 teaspoon MSG (optional)
1 to 2 rice noodle bundles (Sin Khao Bune)

Using the Thai / Lao Mortar & Pestle Set, crush chilies and garlic until they are separated. Add chopped long beans and crush with a pestle for 5 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients in the mortar and mix all the ingredients. Cut rice noodles in half, add into mortar, and mix with spoon.

Sin Khao Bune - Vermicelli Noodle Bundles

Sin Khao Bune are rice noodles that resemble a long string like spaghetti. When purchasing sin khao bune make sure the package DOES NOT READ PHO. Pho noodles are for Lao Pho - beef noodle soup and pad Thai pho noodles.

However, sin khao bune are added to many dishes:1. Add sin khao bune in spring rolls made with rice paper.
2. Place sin khao bune into individual bowls and top with chicken curry with bamboo and long beans.
3. Toss sin khao bune with green papaya salad in a bowl before serving.

4. Make Khao Bune noodle soup - fish curry noodle soup which is fish in coconut Thai Lao curry.


Instructions on cooking sin khao bune:
1. In a large pot, add 3 inches of water and bring to boil.
2. Add dry sin khao bune noodles and cook based on time described in the package.
3. When noodles are cooked, remove from heat and run cold water into pot while draining hot water.
4. Fill cold water into pot.
5. Dip hand into pot and use thumb, pointer and middle fingers to grab about 1/2 cup of noodles.
6. Wrap hanging noodles around pointer and middle fingers to make a bundle.
7. Let noodle drain in a colander for bundles to set and hold their shape.
8. Lightly cover noodle bundles with plastic wrap to keep from drying.

Pad Thai Pho Noodles

My fans have been asking for this recipe from day one of blogging. So here is everyone's favourite recipe. The most important thing here is to cook in high heat, that is, between medium and maximun heat. When purchasing pho noodles, make sure the label of the noodle package reads "Rice Sticks" and "Pho". Use pho noodles to make Lao Pho - beef noodle soup.

Stir Fry Recipe: Pad Thai Pho Noodles
1 handful of rice stick pho noodles soaked in luke warm water for 2 to 3 hours.
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon garlic
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon hot chili sauce
3 cups chopped baby bok choy, snow peas, sweet red peppers

Ingredients for Egg Strips:
1 egg
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon garlic

To make fried egg strips, in a small bowl mix egg and soy sauce. In a wok of high heat, add oil and garlic. Stir for 30 seconds and pour egg mixture into wok. Cook evenly and flip the egg in half and flip again to cook other side. Remove from wok. Once cooled, sliced into strips. Egg strips are also used in the Fried Rice recipe.

To make pad Thai noodles, drain the water from the soaked noodles. In a wok of high heat, add oil and garlic. Add noodles and soy sauce, oyster sauce and chili sauce. Stir quickly. Add chopped vegetables and stir quickly. If the noodles look dry and not yet cooked add ½ cup of water and mix again for another minute. Pour noodles into serving dish and top with fried egg strips. Pad Thai Noodles should not take more than 5 minutes to cook. Serve immediately.

Thai Lao Glass Noodle Shrimp Soup

In Lao, glass noodle is called "sin lon". When purchasing glass noodles make sure the ingredients listed on the package shows only mung bean and water. Glass noodles are often used in salads, soups, and fried spring rolls. Do not use pho noodles or sin khao bune - rice noodles with this recipe.

Soup Recipe: Glass noodles and shrimp
2 bundles glass noodles
4 cups water
½ teaspoon salt
1 piece lemongrass
1 lime kaffir leaf
1 chopped chilies (optional)
4 tomato pieces
8 mushroom pieces
8 shrimps
8 baby bok choy bunches
1 tablespoon oyster, mushroom or bean sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Place 2 bundles of glass noodles in a bowl. Pour warm water to cover the glass noodles. Wait for 15 minuets. Remove the string from the bundle and cut the noodles in half. Divide the glass noodles into 4 separate bowls.

In a pot over high heat, add 4 cups of water. Add salt, lemongrass, kaffir leaf and optional chilies. Once the water boils, add tomatoes, mushrooms, shrimps, baby bok choy, oyster sauce and fish sauce. Stir until the shrimp is cooked which is about 2 minutes. Remove and discard the lemongrass and kaffir leaf from the soup. Pour soup over 4 individual bowls. Make sure each bowl has equal portions of tomatoes, mushrooms, shrimps, and baby bok choy. Garnish with chopped green onions and cilantro.