There may be more kui tio, noodle dishes, in Thailand than anywhere else. Even a partial list covers a number of noodle dishes. There's kui tio moo (rice noodles with pork), kui tio nuea (rice noodles with beef), kui tio luk chin pla (rice noodles with balls of pounded fish meat) and ba mee moo daeng (wheat noodles with Chinese red pork) or kui tio baeb Kwangtoong (Cantonese-style rice noodles). Also popular are yen ta fo (a rice noodle dish with a red sauce), kui tio Kae (Khae Chinese-style rice noodles) and kui tio Hailam (Hainanese-style rice noodles). And of course we have the standby, kui tio ped (rice noodles with duck meat), kui tio khaek (a curried rice noodle dish), khao soi (a curried wheat noodle dish), kui tio nuea liang (a beef noodle dish from Chanthaburi Province), kui tio kai mara (rice noodles with chicken and bitter melon), kui tio kai cheek baeb Ayutthaya (Ayutthaya-style rice noodles with chicken meat broken into pieces by hand). Also popular here are the Vietnamese chicken or beef rice noodles called pho. And then there are the new ones that keep appearing.
CUTTING CORNERS: Above, a box containing pounded peanuts, dried chillies and sugar to season noodles. Most shops today buy these at the market instead of preparing them fresh.
Among all the dishes in this repertoire, it is pork noodles (kui tio moo) that have been with us the longest. They remain the most popular, and there are many types. The basic format is simple and it is delicious and easy to prepare if you understand the basic technique. But many of the vendors now complicate things unnecessarily, so that it doesn't taste good and has little in common with the original dish. In the past, cooks made these dishes using just noodles and broth made by boiling pork bones with garlic, coriander root, salt and some soy sauce.
The meat added to the bowl was just chopped, lean pork cut into thin slices, and pork liver cut into pieces. Also included was garlic that had been fried crisp in pork fat with bits of pork rind, tang chai (a condiment made from pickled dried cabbage stems), fresh coriander, spring onion, coarsely pounded roasted peanuts, ground dried chillies and fresh chillies newly pickled in vinegar. These last three ingredients, added as seasonings, were an important part of the secret for making good noodles, and they had to be freshly prepared at home. Another ingredient was the small dried shrimp sold in large markets. It was these shrimp that gave the dish a more appetising aroma.
‘sen lek haeng’ at a roadside shop in Photharam district. Shops in the provinces often colour the pork before boiling it. Right, old-fashioned ‘yen ta fo’.
When cooks made noodles for sale in earlier times, they had all the ingredients in the morning, including the broth. As the day passed this broth became richer in flavour because of the ground pork that was boiled in it for each serving.
Nowadays noodle cooks sometimes omit some of ingredients, or add others that are not necessary. In some shops they now like to put in phak khana (Chinese broccoli) or pieces of phak boong vine. They use pork meatballs or the elongated balls of pounded fish meat called hue kuay, as well as the crisp-fried kio (stuffed noodle dumplings), which are basically just fried starch. As for the tang chai, the pounded peanuts, dried chillies and garlic fried in oil, they prefer to buy them ready-made at the market for reasons of convenience and economy. When sold in the market, the pork stock has often been kept for a long time, has a rancid smell and can be unhealthy to eat. The dried shrimp is left out and almost 100% of it contains MSG.
But despite the negative trend in a lot of noodle shops today, there are still many places where tasty pork noodles are available, both in Bangkok and in the provinces. In these places cooks stick with the preparation techniques used in the past, although there may be some ingredients used to excess and others that would have been used before that are missing now.
In Bangkok, good pork noodles are available on Rama III Soi 30, which leads to Wat Priwat. The place where they are sold is a shed on the temple grounds. It offers noodles with ground pork, sliced boiled pork or fish balls. Especially good are the sen lek nam tom yam (small-gauge noodles in sour-spicy broth) and sen lek haeng (without broth). The pounded peanuts and dried chillies are not made at the shop, however, but bought at the market. They don't add any dried shrimp, either. The stall is closed on Sundays.
Another place worth a visit is a nameless noodle shop located at Ratchawat Market on Nakhon Chaisi Road. You can find it by using the Excise Department building as a landmark. The market is right at the border of the department's property. The noodle shop is in a shophouse not far from the market. The vendor is a very elderly Chinese man assisted by a daughter who takes orders and serves the noodles to customers. But it is Ah Pae, the owner, who stands in front of the noodle stove and won't let anyone else help. He offers noodles with ground and sliced pork, and they are especially delicious because he adds garlic that has been fried crisp in pork fat. The shop is open in the morning every day but closes in the afternoon. Closed Sundays.
The pork noodles sold at Sri Yan Market (on the same side of the road as the Krung Thai Bank) are also worth investigating. The sen lek nam tom yam and sen lek haeng are especially good. One specialty offered here are luk rawk - eggs stuffed with pork. The shop is open daily from the morning on, and there are many customers.
There are also plenty of places outside of Bangkok that should not be passed by. Heading into Pathum Thani from Tiwanon Road, after passing Bang Kradee Industrial Park there is a turnoff with a sign indicating the entrance to Wat Makham. Drive in for about two kilometres and you will come to a shrine on the bank of the Chao Phraya River, and also to a big noodle shop that does a very brisk business. The most popular dishes there, again, are sen lek nam tom yam and sen lek haeng. The kitchen prepares its own pounded peanuts and dried chillies, and prices are low - 20 baht for a bowl of noodles. You will have to order at least three servings to feel full, though. The shop is closed on Mondays.
Another option: When you drive into Ang Thong province from the highway heading north, just before reaching the province there is a turnoff to the left that goes to Ayutthaya. About 500 metres past it there is another turnoff to the right that goes in to Wat Thong Khung. Behind the temple is a shop that sells delicious phat Thai and excellent pork noodles. Sen lek nam tom yam and sen lek haeng are the only pork noodle dishes available there. The pounded peanuts and dried chillies are fresh and home-made.
In Ratchaburi province, driving along the road to Ban Pong district, you will pass through Photharam district. After you have crossed the bridge across the Mae Klong River you will spot a noodle shop to the right. It is well known among locals, who identify it by its location next to the mechanic shop that fixes the long-tail boats that have races on the river during certain festivals. The pork noodles are made in the authentic old-fashioned way, with chopped pork as the only meat ingredient. The pounded peanuts and chillies are home-made and the broth is flavoured by dried shrimp, as it should be. Yen ta fo is also available, coloured red not by the addition of red sauce but from tao hu yee, the fermented soy tofu condiment that was originally used exclusively to give the dish its tint. Some kind of prize should be awarded to a restaurant like this one, so fastidious in maintaining the old standards of preparing this classic dish, and with such delicious results.
There are many other shops and restaurants that make fine pork noodles, offering a challenge for noodle connoisseurs who enjoy tracking them down.
Anyone armed with reliable knowledge of what really good pork noodles should be and a good appetite can spend a happy day off seeking out a promising shop and putting it to the test.
This is one of life's simpler pleasures, but one that rates high among discerning noodle fans.
