Destination
Phuket
The story
Kuay tiew rua ("boat noodles") is one of Bangkok's most iconic street foods and one of the country's most-eaten noodle soups. The dish is served in specifically small bowls (about 150ml each — half a regular bowl) at street counters that keep tallies of how many bowls each customer has eaten (10 to 12 bowls per person is standard; the record at some famous stalls is 100+). The broth is dark, deeply savoury, sharply spiced and unmistakable — beef or pork bones simmered for hours with cinnamon, star anise, coriander root and dried chili, seasoned with fish sauce and — the classical Thai touch — a spoon of fresh pig's blood which thickens and darkens the broth. Topped with braised beef or pork, pig's blood cubes, offal, blanched morning glory, bean sprouts, pickled Chinese mustard greens and a scatter of fried garlic. Every Bangkok working-class neighbourhood has boat noodle shops.
Method
Preheat oven to 220C. Toss beef bones with 2 tbsp oil. Roast 30 minutes until deeply browned.
In a large heavy pot, warm 1 tbsp oil. Char halved onion, garlic head and ginger 5 minutes. Add coriander roots, all spices and dried chilies. Toast 60 seconds.
Add roasted bones, beef shin (and offal if using), plus water. Bring to a boil, skim foam. Simmer 3 hours over low heat.
Lift the beef shin out and reserve. Strain broth into a clean pot. Add fish sauce, dark soy, light soy, palm sugar, pickled bean juice, salt. Simmer 15 minutes.
In the last 5 minutes, whisk in 3 tbsp fresh pig's blood. It will thicken and darken the broth. This is the classical Thai boat-noodle finish.
Slice the reserved beef shin thin against the grain. If using offal, blanch it in boiling water 2 minutes.
Blanch fresh flat rice noodles 30 seconds in boiling water. Drain.
In small (150ml) bowls: add a small handful of noodles, a spoon of bean sprouts, a spoon of morning glory, 4 or 5 slices of beef, a few pieces of blood tofu. Ladle hot broth over. Scatter with fried garlic, coriander, spring onion. Serve with chili powder, chili-vinegar and lime wedges. Diners stack 6 to 12 bowls per meal.
Tips
- Small bowls, many rounds. This is the classical boat noodle format. Serve in 150ml bowls and let eaters have 6 to 12 rounds.
- Roast the bones. Deeply-roasted bones give the dark, savoury broth. Skipping gives you pale, cloudy soup.
- Fresh pig's blood is classical. This is what makes boat noodles specifically boat noodles — the dark colour and rich body come from the blood. Blood tofu cubes are the safer alternative.
- Pickled bean juice is the sour note. Do not skip. This is what gives the broth its faint sourness beneath the deep savoury.
More recipes
View all
Pork leg slow-braised in a five-spice soy-sugar broth until silky, sliced over jasmine rice with pickled mustard greens, a soy egg and coriander. Bangkok's Chinese-Thai comfort bowl.
Egg noodles in a rich coconut-curry broth with braised chicken, topped with crispy fried noodles, pickled mustard greens, shallots and lime. Northern Thailand's iconic bowl.
Clear beef broth over rice noodles with slow-braised beef shin, meatballs, bean sprouts and fresh coriander. Bangkok's iconic noodle lunch.
Fresh rice vermicelli in a tangy tomato-pork rib broth spiced with dried chili and Chinese black cardamom, topped with pig's blood cubes and beansprouts. Chiang Mai's Sunday-morning noodle.
Thai instant noodle brand Mama transformed into a proper meal: tom yum broth, minced pork, prawn, kaffir lime and a runny yolk fried egg. Thailand's midnight comfort food.
Yellow noodles stir-fried Hokkien-style with prawns, squid, pork, kai lan and dark soy. Bangkok Chinatown's Chinese-Thai classic, tossed in a screaming wok.