The same applies to chicken rice or duck noodles or any other street food dish you may favor. This is why (with the exclusion of Sukhumvit Soi 38, which is special) I do not focus on well-known street food areas. The vendors are simply not all of the same standard. If the “neighborhood/night market/walking street approach” is your favorite way of exploring street food, then by all means go ahead. You will not need this book to do it. What I do hope is that this book ends up inspiring you to hit the pavement and explore, not just the places in the book but whatever it is that may strike your fancy—just eat it.
I want discussions, questions, heated exchanges. Readers of my first book have given me feedback, both good and bad, on all the Bangkok vendors. That feedback invariably makes me happy even though it is occasionally negative, because it means the book has, in some small way, contributed to each reader’s search to discover what they love and what works for them.
NOODLES IN SOUP
First brought to Thailand by Chinese immigrants, this “Chinese fast food” has morphed into a suprisingly wide variety of dishes based on:
1 Types of noodles
2 Main ingredients (proteins) with the noodles
3 Styles of broth
4 Whether you want your noodles with or without broth
Types of Noodles
Bamee บะหมี่
Chinese-style egg and wheat flour noodles
Giem ee เกี้ยมอี๋
A type of hand-rolled Chinese noodle resembling spaetzle
Giew เกี๊ยว
Wonton, usually filled with a type of pork stuffing
Guay jab กวยจั๊บ
A type of hand-rolled longer Chinese noodle always served in a pork broth
Sen lek เสนเล็ก
Thinner, flat noodles made from rice flour
Sen mee เสนหมี่
Rice vermicelli—tiny angel hair-like noodles made from rice flour
Sen yai เสนใหญ
Wide noodles made from rice flour
Sieng hai เซี่ยงไฮ
Green hand-rolled Chinese noodles
Wunsen วุนเสน
Glass vermicelli noodles made from mung beans
Main Ingredients
Guay jab กวยจั๊บ
Choice of clear or cloudy pork broth always accompanying hand-rolled Chinese noodles
Han หาน
Goose (served roasted)
Moo หมู
Pork (served as meatballs, barbecued, sliced or as mince)
Nam sai น้ําใส
Clear broth
Nam tok or leuat น้ําตก
Includes animal blood
Nuea เนื้อ
Beef (served stewed, freshly boiled or as meatballs)
Ped เป็ ด
Duck (served roasted)
Phae แพะ
Goat (served roasted or braised)
Styles of Broth
Pla ปลา
Fish (served freshly boiled or as meatballs)
Talay ทะเล
Mixed seafood (usually shrimp, squid and fish)
Tom yum ตมยํา
Like the soup, a spicy lemongrass-infused flavor
Taohu เตาหู
Tofu, usually deep-fried into a type of meatball
Yen ta fo เย็นตาโฟ
Red fermented tofu sauce accompanying seafood noodles
FRIED NOODLES
กวยเตี๋ยวผัด
Noodles are not only served in soup. They are also fried in a variety of styles. Most food stalls will specialize in one or two types of fried noodle. The dishes are usually eaten with a fork and spoon.
Khanom jeen
ขนมจีน
This fermented rice noodle is often mistaken for a Chinese dish because its name mistakenly translates into “Chinese candy”. It is, in fact, of Mon origin and is served alongside a variety of curries, the best known being nam prik (chili sauce), gaeng kiew waan (sweet green curry) and nam ya (fish curry). Khanom jeen is usually available at a khao gub
