This dish is a labour of love. In Cambodia, it is served for breakfast. My family eats it for supper. It’s my #1 favorite thing to eat. If I get to choose my last meal, it will be kuy teav without hesitation.
It is an easy but long process to cook. You’ll need two large soup pots. If you aren’t feeding many people and don’t plan on freezing portions of the broth, then skip the chicken bone broth. I make two separate bone broths and then combine them. Traditionally kuy teav is made with pork bone broth alone. Like chicken noodle soup, every family has their variation on this recipe. This is mine.
INGREDIENTS
2-3lbs pork bones
4 chicken carcasses (optional)
1.5lbs ground pork
Bun rice stick noodles
Green onion
Cilantro
Preserved vegetables
Lime
Hot sauce or chopped Thai chilies
Mung bean sprouts
Salt
BROTH DIRECTIONS
In separate pots, bring the bones to boil then pour out the water and refill the pots. Bring them back to a boil and then lower the temperature to medium. Remove the flotsam that collects at the surface periodically. Keep a kettle of hot water constantly on hand to top off the pots when needed. Do this for at least 2hrs. I’ve cooked it up to 6hrs. It’s better the longer you let it simmer for. Add salt to bone broths. When you are done simmering the broths, remove the bones. The chicken bones can be discarded. I like to pick the meat off of the pork bones and set it aside as a soup topping. Combine the broths.
GOLDEN GARLIC OIL DIRECTIONS
Golden garlic oil is easy to make but also easy to burn. So keep your eyes on it at all times. I usually make a mason jar full and keep it in my fridge for up to three months but you can make a small batch for just this meal. Chop up a bunch of garlic. Pour oil into a small pan and heat to medium. Add the garlic. Watch it sizzle. Stir it a bit. When the garlic starts turning golden brown, take the pan off the heat. It will continue to cook as the oil slowly cools down.
THE WORKS
!!! The noodles need to be soaked in cold water for around 20-30min. Strain them when they are soft.
Fry up the ground pork and season with salt.
Scoop out around a tablespoon of preserved veges per serving of soup. Let them soak in a bowl water. Strain the water out. This stuff is delicious but potent. I keep the clay pot in a sealed plastic bag in the fridge.
Rince and chop up cilantro, green onions and lime. Rinse the mung bean sprouts.
PLATING
Put noodles in the bowl. Add ground pork, stewed pork and preserved vegetables. Pour piping hot bone broth over it. Drizzle Golden garlic oil all around. Sprinkle a generous amount of cilantro and green onion on top. Squeeze lime over it all. Top with hot sauce or Thai chilies and mung bean sprouts. Devour immediately and be prepared to eat a second serving. This all keeps well for the next day. I freeze the left over broth after that.
If you can get your hands on this hot sauce, it will change your life.
Example of rice stick noodles.
I gotta give this a shot.
Is preserved veggies your version of kimchee?
It’s more like Chinese sauerkraut because it isn’t spicy.
That looks awesome. When I buy pork picnic I usually roast the huge shoulder and leg joint and gnaw off the meat, but it should be great for broth too. The next time I buy one I’ll take a shot at this.
Well then – I’m filing away the recipe for golden garlic oil, yum!
…stupid-but-serious-question…this bit?
…whether attempting something of this order of deliciousness or simply boiling rice in hard water & wanting to skim off the scum…I’ve tried a lot of possibilities over the years but this remains a hole in my implement collection
…what do you reach for when you get to this part?
This is similar to what my mom used to skim off foam and fat when she would make bone broth.
…makes mental note for next time I need to resupply on the good noodles & hit the proper sort of supermarket…there’s always the bit in the back with the giant bamboo steamers & at least one thing I’ve never seen before…maybe I’ll get lucky
I use this or a ladle.
But I’m tempted to buy a separator spoon like this:
…wait…I have a doohickey like that first one…only…it dips like a sieve like a hemisphere not a flat surface…which makes getting under the stuff & not getting something stuck to the bottom is tricky for some foolish foreigner
…but the bottom one is either genius or a recipe for disaster…& now I kinda want one?
I feel exactly the same about the separator spoon. If you eventually get one, let me know your thoughts.
Looks amazing, do most Asian stores carry that hot sauce around WA or is it specific to Uwajamaya & H-Mart (the bigger stores)? Most of the ones in my area cater to Korean & Japanese clients.
I haven’t found it in WA. It’s made in Hong Kong and usually paired with Cantonese cuisine (like Dim Sum). But times are changing. My cousin gets it for me from Chinese grocery stores in Toronto (it’s even hard to find in Montreal now).
http://www.specialtiesexpress.com/en/Koon-Yick-Wah-Kee-Chilli-Sauce-340g
I’ll keep an eye out and let you know if I find it. Did you even try the Hong Kong Market?
I haven’t! One day, I’ll make the drive down to Burien and check out the HKM.
Good lord that looks good.