By Chef Michael Minorgan for Curtains Up
Guay Teow Sukhothai (Sukhothai Noodles)
Sukhothai, literally translated, means Dawn of Happiness It is situated about one hour north of Bangkok as the plane flies. Sukothai was founded in 1238 and served as the capital of the Thai Kingdom for 140 years. It is a wonderful mixture of the old and new in Thailand. the old being magnificently represented by its spectacular ruins found in the Sukhothai Historical Park and in nearby Sri Satchanalai. Sukhothai Noodles is a dish native to this area and is a broth based meal as many are in all areas of Thailand and throughout South East Asia. The number of ingredients belie the simplicity of this dish. If you make it in large quantities the broth will freeze very well and can be used for future meals with just the addition of fresh vegetables and herbs at the last minute when serving. The flavors are wonderful….Enjoy!
Sukhothai Noodles
Ingredients
- 1kg pork leg bone
- 3 liters water
- 4 garlic cloves peeled
- coriander roots from one bunch
- 2tsp dried shrimp*
- 400g pork fillet
- 2tsp white pepper
- 3tbsp fish sauce*
- 1tbsp soy sauce*
- 1tbsp palm sugar*
- 4tbsp vegetable oil
- 1tbsp garlic chopped
- medium rice stick noodles soaked in warm water for 15 minutes*
- snake beans cut into matchstick sizes*
- green onions cut into matchstick sizes
- bean sprouts red chillies sliced (to taste)*
- coriander, Thai Basil*
Method
- Wash the pork bone, put it in a large stockpot and pour over the water. Bring to the boil then add the whole garlic cloves, coriander roots and dried shrimps. Reduce the heat a little and simmer for 3 hours, skimming every so often to remove the scum that rises to the surface.
- Add the pork fillet to the stockpot and cook until it is done, but not breaking up – this takes about 30 minutes. Remove the meat and set aside to cool, then cut into slices about 2.5 cm (1 in) thick. Add the white pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce and sugar to the stock and continue to simmer.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a small frying pan and fry the chopped garlic until golden-brown, then remove the pan from the heat immediately to avoid burning the garlic. Set aside the garlic-flavoured oil to add to the noodles when you are ready to serve.
- Bring the water for cooking the noodles to the boil in a saucepan, add the noodles and stir to prevent sticking. Cook for about 3 minutes, until just soft (don’t overcook them). Remove, drain and divide the noodles equally among four bowls.
- Meanwhile, bring the soup back to the boil, add the snake beans and cook for 2 minutes then add the beansprouts and cook for a further 30 seconds. Lift out the beans and beansprouts and place on one side of the noodles. Arrange the pork slices on the other side, add ladlefuls of soup and the garlic oil and stir in the chopped coriander and spring onion. Garnish and serve with Chillies if desired
* Available at any Asian grocery store
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