Kway Tiew Nahm Sai, or Clear Noodle Soup, is one of the most basic Thai noodle dishes.
Similar to the Vietnamese Pho, it is a kind of noodle soup served with fresh bean sprouts and a mixture of other seasonings, in a clear broth (Nahm Sai).
With Kway Tiew ก๋วยเตี๋ยว we refer to a type of wide Chinese rice noodles, called Shahe fen (沙河粉), or simply he fen (河粉), a bit slippery. Their texture is elastic and somewhat chewy.
The dish is also known as Boats noodles because Bangkok was once called the Venice of the East, as the city hosted an expansive canal system (called K longs) and thus floating markets.
The broth for this dish is generally made from pork, beef, or chicken bones, radish, onions, white peppercorns, cilantro roots, and garlic, with a touch of Chinese herbs.
The seasonings usually consist of thinly sliced lean pork, pork or fish balls, sliced fish cakes, fresh bean sprouts, etc.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Very affordable
- Preparation time: 10 Minutes
- Portions: 2 People
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Thai
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
- 4.4 lbs pork bones (or beef or chicken)
- 2.1 quarts water
- 2 radishes
- 2 onions
- to taste cilantro roots
- 10.5 oz fish balls
- 8.8 oz he fen noodles
- to taste kai lan (Chinese kale)
- to taste bean sprouts
- to taste cilantro
- 3 tbsps fish sauce
- to taste white peppercorns
- 3 cloves garlic
Steps
Prepare the broth first by bringing the bones to a boil, then transferring them to a pot and covering them with water, boil for 2 hours with onion, cilantro roots, radishes, peppercorns, and garlic cloves.
Put the strained broth in a separate pot, then bring it to a boil, add the fish balls, and simmer for another 30 minutes on medium heat.
The liquid at this point should be reduced from the initial 2 liters to 1 liter.
Season with fish sauce and ground white pepper.
Cook the noodles following the package instructions.
Blanch the kai lan in boiling water.
Place the noodles in a bowl, add the kai lan, then pour the hot broth over the noodles with the fish balls.
Finish with fresh bean sprouts, cilantro, and serve hot.
This is one of the Thai recipes cooked in Thailand during my trip to Ao Nang in October 2024 for the Thai version of the blog.
