Glass noodles may be among the smaller varieties of noodle, but they have long been a big part of Thailand's culinary scene.
Tambon Tha Rua in Tha Maka, Kanchanaburi, is a quiet neighbourhood off the main road. But it is well known among foodies as one of the country's best and oldest producers of glass noodles. Here, they make glass noodles -- also known as cellophane noodles -- purely from mung bean, with no use of flour. These noodles are unbeatable when it comes to quality.
Spicy glass noodle salad. Cookool Studio
Glass noodles and sukiyaki are best friends -- they always go together. Sukiyaki is so popular in Thailand that it's considered part of the cuisine here. But of course, the dish originated in Japan. When and how it came to Thailand is unclear.
The preparation of sukiyaki usually involves cabbage, scallions, shungiku, enoki and shiitake mushrooms, tofu, thin slices of meat marinated in soy sauce and eggs. The soup is usually sweet. Sukiyaki is typically prepared in a shallow iron pot.
The popularity of sukiyaki in Thailand was in part influenced by the 1963 song Sukiyaki by Kyu Sakamoto. The tune was widely known and sung, even among children. Soon, in order to cash in on this popularity, many restaurants in Bangkok started putting sukiyaki on the menu.
In Na Phralan district of Saraburi province, close to Wat Phra Phutthabat, there is a restaurant called Ko Yun, which initially became famous for its braised goat. Over time, however, the popularity of its sukiyaki surpassed that of its braised goat. Ko Yun makes its sukiyaki sauce from fermented bean curd -- an adaptation from the Japanese original.
Throughout the country, further sauce adaptations can be found. In Nakhon Nayok, they make sukiyaki sauce from fermented bean curd, soft tofu and coconut milk, seasoned with deep-fried garlic. There is also an Isan-style sauce, featuring ground chilli, fish sauce and khao khua or ground roasted rice.
Sukiyaki is now one of the most popular dishes in all of Thailand. The dish, and derivations like jim joom or Isan-style hotpot, can be found everywhere. In future, more adaptations will surely develop. But one thing that remains constant is the glass noodles.
Glass noodles also have a long history in Chinese cuisine. Chinese glass noodle soup can be prepared in a traditional Thai style, called gaeng ron, featuring curry paste made with shallots, pepper and shrimp paste. Cooks pound these ingredients together. Gaeng ron soup is made from coconut milk with tofu skin, day lily, Jew's ear mushroom and dried shrimp. Some add ground pork.
Sukiyaki with beef. Melalin Mahavongtrakul
Another well-known glass noodle dish is pad woonsen, sometimes called pad Hainan, as it was originally an ethnic Hainanese dish. This stir-fry is made with napa cabbage, celery, scallion, shrimp, fried squid, pork, dried shrimp, tofu skin and day lily.
Glass noodles are also popular with people who want to lose weight. Although they are mainly carbohydrate, they have fewer calories than rice and other kinds of noodles.
Other popular dishes that can be served with glass noodles include deep-fried spring rolls, goong ob woonsen (glass noodles cooked with shrimp in a clay pot), pad Thai (some restaurants offer glass noodles as an alternative to rice noodles in pad Thai) and glass noodle soup with pork.
All these dishes and derivations are solid proof of the enduring popularity of glass noodles.
