Kuy Teav AKA Phnom Penh Noodle Soup by Sophia Thach @yophiphi

What to buy: Sophia Thach Kuy Teav Bundle

asianstaples.com.au ingredients used: fish sauce, light soy, shiitake mushrooms, rice vermicelli, fried shallots, dried kelp, star anise

 

kuy-teav-without-egg.png
 

Kuy Teav is Cambodia’s most popular noodle soup, usually eaten for breakfast and found across Cambodia and everywhere food is served from markets to street vendors to restaurants. There’s something truly satisfying about crushing (and sweating over) a bowl of Kuy Teav in Cambodia’s heat with a cold cup of iced jasmine tea. Traditionally Kuy Teav is made with pork and beef bones and served with a lucky dip of meats but this version includes no meat and if you’re vegetarian you can sub the fish sauce for mushroom vegetarian sauce or miso (or if you’re vegan don’t add the eggs). Wild times.

Serves 6 big eaters, 8 not so big eaters

INGREDIENTS
For the stock:

  • 4L water
  • 2 onions, peeled and halved
  • Half a head of garlic, peeled
  • 20g dried shiitake mushrooms
  • 2 sheets of dried kelp
  • Half a bunch of spring onions (the white part)
  • 50ml fish sauce
  • 25ml soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 2 tbsp salt
  • 2 star anise
  • Bunch of choy sum, matchstick size chunks

To garnish:

  • 1 lime, quartered
  • Half a bunch of spring onions (the green part), thinly sliced
  • Bunch of coriander, thinly sliced stems and all
  • Kampot black peppercorns, crushed
  • 1 chilli, thinly sliced
  • Fried shallots
  • 4 eggs, cooked for 6 minutes (optional)
  • Fish sauce, to taste

 

HOW TO MAKE IT

  1. Chargrill onions, garlic and spring onions. You can do this over a gas stove but if not, just pop it under the grill until charred.
  2. In the meantime, in a large pot add water and bring it to the boil. Once the water has boiled add shiitake mushrooms, kelp sheets, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, salt and star anise. Once the onions, garlic and spring onions are charred add it to the pot. Simmer for 3 hours.
  3. Once the stock is ready, remove onion, spring onions and kelp sheets. Then add the choy sum. You may want to add some more salt and fish sauce to taste.
  4. Fill a large pot with water and bring it to the boil. Add vermicelli noodles and cook for about 1 minute. Then quickly rinse noodles in the stock pot and transfer to serving bowls
  5. In each serving bowl, add choy sum and shiitake mushrooms from the stock. Top up each bowl with a few ladles of stock.
  6. To serve, add as much of the garnish ingredients as you like. Recommendation is to go heavy on the lime and fish sauce.
  7. Slurppppp!

 

!