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.

Spring Rolls made with Rice Paper

These spring roll appetizer are so easy to make and very healthy because it is not deep fried. Fill the rice paper with anything you want. Also see wet rice paper spring rolls

In my video, you’ll see that I made a vegetarian spring roll filled with lettuce, carrots, avocado, green onions, long green beans, snow peas, mint, cilantro, and baby mixed greens. Traditional spring rolls are filled with sin khao bune (vermicelli noodles), pork, herbs and banana blossoms.

Instructions on how to make Spring Rolls:
1. Place a damp cloth over a flat surface.
2. Submerge a rice paper into hot water for less than 4 seconds.
3. Place the soft rice paper on to the damp cloth
4. Fill rice paper with vegetables and arrange neatly.
5. Roll the rice paper while tucking in vegetables .
6. Fold in the sides and finish rolling.
7. Roll and complete two rotations.

lf the spring rolls are made prior to serving, place the damp cloth over the spring rolls to keep the rice paper moist. Garnish the spring roll sauce with Crushed Toasted Peanuts.

Also see the wet rice paper spring rolls, spring roll dipping sauce, the toasting peanuts, and the appetizer recipe sites.