Awhile ago one of my blog reader, Kevin, put in a request for Kuy Teav Cha គុយទាវឆារខ្មែរ(Cambodian Fried Rice Noodles) recipe. He wanted to see the difference and similarities between the Cambodian version and the Thai version. After I replied to his question my childhood memories came through.

When I was in grade school I lived in a very large Cambodian community called Park Village (known to Cambodian people as Oak Park) in Stockton, CA. The complex consist of about 300+ Khmer refugee families.  It was like a mini Cambodia. Many people use their 2-bedroom apartment to sell groceries, candies, home made goods, cigars and alcohol. I remember one lady who used to make Kuy Teav Cha for sale. She put them into a zip lock size bag. It only cost $1 at that time. The bag cames with fried noodles, shredded eggs, peanuts and a little small container of fish sauce. She was my favorite Kuy Teav Cha vendor. I enjoyed going to her house on weekends to buy them. It’s been long since I’ve made this dish and with a few pointers from my Mother during my last visit I decided to do tackle it again.

I think it’s a cross between the infamous Thai version of fried noodles known as “Pad Thai” and the Vietnamese cold rice noodle mixed with fresh and pickled vegetables topped with some sort of meat and fish sauce known as “bun thit”. Cambodian fried rice noodles is much easier to make than Pad Thai or Bun Thit.  It requires very few ingredients.  What makes a delicious Cambodian fried noodle and the most important ingredient is the fish sauce dressing. It is what binds everything together and completes the dish.

Ingredients
1 lb dried rice noodle stick (small size) pre-soak in warm water for 30 minutes until soften
4 large (jumbo) eggs, beaten
5 tablespoon sweet soy sauce
2 tablespoons roasted peanuts, chopped or crushed
fish sauce dressing (see recipe)
assorted fresh herbs such as mint leaves, Asian mint (coriander), and basil

Method:
Heat a non-stick pan until hot then lower to med-high heat. Use cooking spray if your pan tend to stick. Ladle about 1/3 cup of beaten eggs and pan fry the eggs forming a pancake like-shape. Use a spatula to flip and cook the other size. Since they are thin it should not take long to fry them. Once they are cook remove to a plate and set aside.  Repeat the same process until all the beaten eggs are gone.

Cut the stacked fried eggs in half.  Then fold the bottom half up and thinly slice them leaving you with shredded fried eggs. Set aside.

Next, drain the soak rice noodle sticks and add 5 tablespoons sweet soy sauce. Use either your hands or chopsticks to toss and coat the rice sticks.

Now it’s time to fry the noodles. Heat (again) a non-stick pan and add noodles to your liking. You can also add cooking spray to prevent the noodles from sticking to the pan. Use chopsticks to toss them so that they cook evenly. The noodles can still be sticky. Do not be alarm. Just sprinkle some water to soften and separate them. This step also goes by fairly quickly so do not step away!

Once your noodles are fried transfer it to a serving dish.  Add shredded fried eggs, sprinkle some chopped peanuts and add the fish sauce dressing.  The amount of these toppings will vary depending on your liking. I personally like lots of eggs and peanuts on mine. Throw in your favorite fresh herbs and combine everything together.  It is now ready to eat. Adjust to taste. You will notice that after adding the fish sauce dressing  the noodles have loosen up a bit making it a bit easier to toss and combine.

Phnom Penh Noodle Soup

I have been craving for noodle soup pretty often lately, particularly Cambodian or Thai noodle soup. And what’s widely available in my area is the infamous Vietnamese Pho grrrr. There’s something in the Pho broth that bugs me. Perhaps it’s the heavy spice they use like the star anise and cloves. Whatever it is I am not a fan of Pho.  I usually just settle for the Chicken Noodle or Seafood Noodle when I order because it uses a different type of broth.

I wasn’t born in Cambodia and when I had a chance to go visit I’ve only spent like a little over a week in Phnom Penh. My time exploring with food was pretty limited. I ate a lot of fish. You can see the types of fish dish Cambodia has to offer by viewing my video I made about the FOOD of CAMBODIA. Although my time was short my memory of the dishes lives on especially the Ground Pork Noodle Soup I had on my way to visit some relatives in Banteay Mean Chey province. The noodle shop is situated along Cambodia’s national road #5 in Battambang province right at the footstep on your way up to Phnom Thom temple. That noodle soup was THE BOMB! Perhaps it was the loaded fresh ground pork that made all the difference.  A noodle soup that is close to this would be the famous Phnom Penh Noodle Soup which consist of not only ground pork but also pork, garlic and shallots.  There’s a Khmer restaurant called Mitapheap in Stockton, CA that serves pretty good Phnom Penh Noodle. My family in Stockton goes there often and I usually join them when ever I’m in town.

Because I don’t want to drive hours just to have my bowl of Phnom Penh Noodle Soup and because I don’t feel like preparing the broth for hours, I think I’ve found a quick and easy remedy to this. I’m calling it the Phnom Penh Noodle Soup Shortcut គុយទាវភ្នំពេញផ្លូវកាត់ because not only was it effortless (at least for me) to put together but I felt that the taste was sort of similar to the those rich flavors of a broth that has been simmer for hours. In my shortcut version here the broth was flavored with chopped onions and a little help from chicken bullion in addition to ground pork, sugar and fish sauce.  I also added slice pork, shrimp and cuttlefish. My condiments include fried garlic, lime juice, my home made pickled jalapeños and hoisin sauce. Feel free to create your own topping and condiments. Do try my recipe and let me know what you think of it.

Phnom Penh Noodle Soup Ingredients

Ingredients
4 cups of water
¼ onion, chopped
3 tablespoons ground pork
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
½ chicken or pork bullion
6 oz dried rice stick, pre-soak in warm water for 30 minutes

Ideas for toppings/condiments
slice pork
shrimp
cuttlefish or pork/shrimp/fish balls
fried garlic/shallots
hoisin sauce
siracha chili sauce
pickled jalapeños (see my recipe)
mung bean sprouts
cilantro
lime juice

Method:
Bring 4 cups of water to a boil and add the ground pork breaking it up as you put it into the pot. Once the broth returns to a boil add the chopped onion followed by chicken bullion. Stir to dissolve.  Add sugar and fish sauce then simmer for 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile in another pot bring about 8 cups of water to a boil. .Strain the pre-soak noodles and separate the noodles into 2 servings. Cook in boiling water until soften about 1-2 minutes. Empty the noodles (straining all the liquid back into the pot) into serving bowl.

It is now ready to assemble. Add additional toppings of your choice.  The meat such as slice pork or seafood should be cook it in the broth. This will add another layer of flavor to the broth. It can also be prepared ahead of time and refrigerate until you are ready to use it. Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl, distributing the hot broth evenly to warm all the ingredients. Serve immediately with garnishes and your choice of condiments.