🇰🇭 Cambodia · Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Kuy teavCambodian noodle soup
A Cambodian morning noodle soup of rice noodles in a clear pork-bone broth, often with dried squid and dried shrimp, topped with pork, shrimp or offal, bean sprouts, herbs, fried garlic and lime.
Origin and history
Kuy teav is a Phnom Penh pork-bone noodle soup of Chinese origin: sources say Teochew migrants brought it and Cambodians adapted it with dried squid, fish sauce and lime. It is a typical morning street food, sold until midday, and is the ancestor of Vietnamese hủ tiếu Nam Vang.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Total time
- 4 h 30 min
- Hands-on
- 45 min
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg3.3 lb pork neck bones and femur bones, cracked
- 300 g10.5 oz pork shoulder, one piece
- 4 litres16 cups cold water
- 60 g2 oz dried squid, or about 2 tbsp dried shrimp
- 1 yellow onion, charred whole
- 30 g1 oz rock sugar
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp salt, to taste
- 500 g1.1 lb fresh flat rice noodles
- 200 g7 oz pork loin, sliced very thin
- 200 g7 oz peeled shrimp, optional
- 150 g5 oz bean sprouts
- 5 cloves garlic, minced and fried golden in 4 tbsp oil
- spring onions, cilantro, lime, sliced chili, to serve
- hoisin and chili sauce, optional, at the table
Method
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1. Boil the bones in water for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse them under cold water to get a clear broth.
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2. Put the bones, shoulder, squid and charred onion in a clean pot with 4 litres (16 cups) of cold water. Bring to a boil, skim, then lower to a bare simmer.
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3. Simmer for 4 hours, skimming often, keeping the surface barely moving so the broth stays clear.
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4. After about 1 hour, lift out the shoulder, slice it thinly and set aside.
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5. In the last 15 minutes, season with rock sugar, fish sauce and salt, then strain through a fine sieve and keep just under a simmer.
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6. Dip the noodles in boiling water for 10 seconds, drain, and divide among bowls. Dip the loin slices for 5 seconds, and the shrimp for 1 minute.
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7. Top with sliced shoulder, loin, shrimp and bean sprouts. Ladle over the very hot broth.
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8. Add fried garlic and its oil, spring onion, cilantro, and serve with lime, chili and sauces on the side.
Notes
- A boil turns the broth cloudy, so skim often and keep it at a bare simmer. Dried squid is the quiet source of savour.
- Phnom Penh versions often add liver, heart or pig blood, and versions near the Mekong may add prawns and fish cakes. Modern versions use beef, seafood or chicken.
- A shorter version simmers about 3 lb (1.4 kg) of pork neck for 3 hours with a spoon of dried shrimp, and gets its body from the neck's gelatin.
- Make ahead: the broth keeps 4 days refrigerated and freezes well.
- Vietnamese hủ tiếu Nam Vang descends from this soup and has its own page.
Adapted from Cambodian Cookbook, Kuy teav Phnom Penh, 196 Flavors, Cambodian kuy teav, and Saigoneer, From kuy teav to hủ tiếu.
At the festivals
No festival we list has printed it on a menu yet.