Passport & Plate - Spicy Thai Noodle Soup
Thailand | Tuesday, March 3, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
1 litre of chicken or fish stock
1 onion chopped
teaspoon of coriander seeds
2 stalks of lemon grass chopped and crushed
1- 2 tablespoon of lime juice
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 red chilli finely chopped
3cm ginger or galangal peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon fish sauce
vermicelli noodles
stick of celery finely chopped - chop leaves separately
1 large chicken breast sliced (or fish balls)
crushed palm sugar add to your taste
couple of handfuls of fresh coriander ripped
spring onions
handful of crushed peanuts
Pepper to season
tablespoon of oil
How to prepare this recipePlace onion, white parts of the spring onions finely chopped, coriander seeds, celery, lemon grass, garlic, chilli, ginger, chicken and pepper into a saucepan fry lightly with oil until softens and the bottom of the pan needs de-glazing.
Add 1 litre of chicken or fish stock to the saucepan and bring to the boil. Add lime juice and fish sauce.
Add palm sugar to your taste requirements. Add half the coriander.
Add the noodles and cook until soft.
Serve the soup in bowls and add a good amount of crushed peanuts, chopped green part of the spring onions, chopped celery leaves and fresh coriander to the top of each bowl.
Use a spoon and chopsticks to eat. (You can add, remove or substitute ingredients to your specific taste).
The story behind this recipeWhilst travelling in Thailand one of my fondest memories was sitting down to my daily dose of Thai noodle soup from whichever street vendor I could find serving it. From my first bowl where my eyes streamed from the heat and I struggled to pick up the slippery noodles with my chopsticks to my last bowl eaten like a Thai soup connoisseur, I enjoyed each and every bowl. I actually had a slight panic thinking that I wouldn't be able to buy it when I got home so I decided the only solution was that I needed to be able to make it myself.
Throughout Thailand there were different variations of the soup but you could always spot the vendors selling it by the large steaming vats of liquid followed by the tempting wafts of the aroma of cooking. Often I found you could point out the extras you wanted so fresh coriander, peanuts and occasionally crispy pieces of deep fried onion became my favourite accompaniments.
In Thailand the soup generally came with fish balls. Initially I wasn't a fan of these slimey white globes however as I ate my daily soups I eventually accepted that they weren't that bad. However, they are not the easiest of things to find where I live in the UK and really I can live without them so some thinly sliced chicken is my concession to the fish balls!
Even now this soup instantly transports me back to the Thai streets and its blend of spice, sweetness and saltiness ticks every taste box there is.
