87 recipes. Page 4 of 4
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The rice takes seafood stock a ladle at a time, and saffron soaked in a couple of spoonfuls of that stock goes in partway through to turn it yellow. Shrimp and squid wait until the rice is nearly done and come off the heat before they curl up tight.
Laksa paste fried in oil until it bleeds red does most of the work, and coconut milk and chicken stock turn it into a spicy, creamy broth. Fried tofu puffs act like sponges, soaking up that broth so they burst when bitten, while the shrimp spend just 3 minutes in the pot and stay plump. This style of curry noodle soup is everyday food in Singapore and Malaysia. Coconut milk turns thick and heavy as it cools, so the bowls go to the table as soon as the broth is poured.
The thick cream from the top of the coconut milk is heated first until a little oil shows, and the green curry paste is fried in that before the rest of the milk goes in. Eggplant can cook until soft, but the shrimp go in last and come off the heat the moment they turn pink and curl. Thai basil and lime juice are added off the heat.
Warm soy tare goes over the tempura the moment it lands on the rice, and the grains take the sauce while the tops of the shrimp, sweet potato and eggplant stay freshly crisp. Shallow cuts along each shrimp's belly let it lie straight across the bowl.
Unlike chow mein, which gets fried until crisp, lo mein tosses boiled noodles gently with sauce so they stay soft and glossy. Soy sauce, oyster sauce and a little sugar make a salty, faintly sweet coating, mixed in advance so the seasoning spreads evenly during the brief toss. Half cooking the shrimp before the vegetables go in keeps it from toughening while everything is tossed, and the broccoli and carrot come off the heat while still bright and crisp. The noodles are plated the moment the sauce turns glossy, since left in the pan they dry out. Chicken or beef works in place of shrimp with the same steps.
The shrimp are never sauteed. After 10 minutes in garlic and soup soy sauce, they go on top of the rice once the pot is bubbling hard and turn pink in the steam under the lid. Their garlicky soy juices season the top layer of rice, and the lotus root, cut 3 mm thick, is still crisp after resting.
Somewhere between a soup and a sauced noodle dish, mee bandung from Johor in Malaysia covers soft yellow wheat noodles with a thick red gravy of shrimp stock, tomato paste, and chili paste. A starch slurry at the end gives the gravy enough body to cling to every strand, the texture that defines the dish.
Tamarind leads the flavor, sour and fruity, with fish sauce and sugar rounding it into a sweet-salty tang. Despite a name that points to Siam, the dish belongs to Singapore and Malaysia rather than Thailand. Thin rice vermicelli is soaked, then stir-fried hard and fast so the sauce soaks in without the noodles breaking down. The shrimp are only seared at first and finish cooking alongside the noodles and bean sprouts, which go out with some crunch still in them.
Turmeric and fish sauce tint the pork yellow and season it before it ever meets the pan, and that colored fat ends up in the broth. Mi quang, from Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, uses only enough of that concentrated broth to moisten the noodles, so the bowl eats more like dressed noodles than soup. Shrimp cooked separately and briefly stays tender, and bean sprouts with peanuts added at the last moment keep their crunch against the soft rice noodles.
Tamarind, fish sauce, and sugar decide everything in pad thai: shift the ratio slightly and the dish leans sour, salty, or sweet. Firm tofu fried golden gives a nutty base, shrimp cook only until pink, and eggs are scrambled into thin ribbons in a cleared space in the pan. Bean sprouts and scallion go in for the last few seconds to stay crisp, with crushed peanuts and lime on the side.
Glass noodles drink up soy and oyster sauce fast, turning clear and glossy within a minute or two in a hot pan. With shrimp, cabbage, carrot, and egg, this Thai stir-fry comes together in a few minutes over high heat.
An orange shrimp sauce colored with annatto blankets thin rice noodles, finished with boiled egg and a squeeze of lime. Shell-on shrimp are worth buying, because the savory depth comes from a stock made with their shells and fish sauce.
Thin rice vermicelli turns yellow with curry powder and tosses with shrimp, bell pepper and bean sprouts into a light, loose stir-fry. With only 1 tablespoon of soy sauce in the pan, curry aroma rather than salt carries the flavor.
Squid, shrimp, cabbage and onion simmer in chicken stock, then starch slurry binds it into a glossy gravy that is poured hot over wheat noodles. There is no chili, so the flavor is mild, built on oyster sauce and seafood. The noodles are drained but not rinsed cold, letting the warm sauce work its way between the strands.
Lime juice, fish sauce, and palm sugar make a sharp, salty, faintly sweet dressing that soaks into fine mung bean glass noodles, poached shrimp, celery, and red onion. Cilantro goes in last and is folded through lightly so the leaves stay bright. The salad is meant to be eaten right after mixing, while the noodles are still springy rather than swollen with dressing. Thick sweet potato noodles used for Korean japchae are not a substitute, since they need different soaking and cooking times.