My Version of Phnom Phenh Noodle Soup

My Version of Phnom Phenh Noodle Soup

This is the noodle that I grew up with in our house. I remember this version ever since I was little and my grandmother would take me to this outside booth in Thailand and we would share our bowl of noodle once in a long while. Then when we first came to Long Beach, there was no such thing as a noodle house or Chinese restaurant. So we always end up making our own noodle at home. And that occasion would be maybe four times a year. I never learnt how to make it then, because I was too young and the process took too long. I was always willing to eat and never willing to help my grandmother cook. That why I only caught on to a couple of my favorite dishes from her.

As I grew up and have my own family, I learn to make this noodle for my family too. Even though by then Long Beach have plenty of restaurant and noodle house. And the saying still goes that eating out uses too much msg. Which I don’t use in my cooking at all, due to the fact that it is already in the soy sauce and fish sauce…if you haven’t noticed by now. So with trials and errors I have learnt to improve this recipe. Of course, you have to remember that even with the same exact recipe, the outcome will still be different due to our difference in taste. As for the name it depend whom you ask or where, for it also known Thiew Chieu noodle.

This noodle bring back old memories growing up. I just love how the house would fill wit this intoxicating aroma early every morning, making me looking forward to Sunday.



Ingredients:

Soup:

5 liter water or bigger
5 Pieces of pork neck
3 Pieces of pork shoulder bone
3 Pieces of chicken bone
4 Tbsp of chicken broth (powder form)
1 Cube of pork flavor soup base
2 Tbsp of sugar
1 Tsp of white pepper
1 Tsp of black pepper
3 Star anises
1 Large onion
1 Inch ginger
1 Dried Squid
3 Tbsp of dried shrimp
3 Cloves garlic
2 Whole preserved turnip cut into two pieces
2 Tbsp of preserved vegetable (comes in jar shred)
¼ Cup of fish sauce or add to taste
½ Tbsp of sea salt

1 – 2 Pack dried of fresh noodle

Meat garish:

8 oz of rib eyes beef sliced thinly
8 oz or one flap of beef tripe cooked and sliced into stripes
1 Pack beef ball
1 Pack fish ball
1 Cup of shrimp devein and peel
½ Cup of cook pig kidney (optional)


Topping:

1 Whole garlic (minced and added into hot oil until golden brown)
½ Bunch of cilantro chopped
3 Scallion chopped
2 Cup of bean sprout
Preserved vegetable topping as desire…
White pepper

Methods:

1. Place the bones in a big enough pot for your family. I used a 2 gallons plus. Fill water to top add the salt and place on the stove on high.
2. Bring it to a rapid boil and removed all scum and fat on the top.
3. Add all the soup ingredients.
4. Lower to medium and let it cook for another 1 hour and 45 minutes at least.
5. Make sure to add the salt, fish sauce and sugar to taste.
6. After meat are tender, turn off the stove and let it cool.
7. When it finished cooling place it in the refrigerator over night.
8. The next morning put reheat on the stove on high.
9. As the soup is reheating add the beef and fish ball, and put enough water in another clean pot and bring to boil.
10. Cook the noodle no more than 1 minute.
11. When it cooked use a noodle strainer and pick up the noodle and let the water drip and dry the noodle.
12. As soon as you place the noodle on the bowl add the oil and garlic right away so it doesn’t stick together.
13. While the water still boiling cook the beef and shrimp and add it on top of your noodle. Add the beef tripe and kidney too.
14. Add all the desire topping on like the preserved vegetable, cilantro, scallion bean sprout.
15. Now slowly and carefully pour the soup on top of it. Sprinkle a couple dash of white pepper and your ready to eat!