Thai Kway Teow Nam Tok (Pork Blood Noodle Soup)
A dark, peppery Thai boat-noodle-style soup: a pork bone broth scented with cinnamon, star anise, galangal and white pepper, enriched with pork blood, then ladled over thin rice noodles, tender sliced pork and greens and finished with crisp fried garlic.
- Prep
- 35 min
- Cook
- 2 hr
- Wait
- 10 min
- Total
- 2 hr 45 min
- Makes
- 4 large bowls (about 2 cups broth each)
Steps
Before you start
- Buy fresh or frozen pork blood (liquid or in cubes) from an Asian market. Keep it refrigerated and use within 1 day, or keep it frozen until needed.
- Read the whole recipe first: the broth simmers for 90 minutes, and you make the fried garlic and chili vinegar while it simmers.
- Slice the pork loin thinly (about ⅛ inch/3 mm) by freezing it for 20 minutes first, which makes it firm and easy to cut.
- Have every bowl, topping and the noodles ready before you add the pork, because the soup is best served piping hot.
Parboil the bones
- Put the pork neck bones in the stockpot and cover with cold water by 2 inches (5 cm), using water from the tap, not from the 10 cups in the recipe.
- Bring to a rolling boil over high heat and boil for 5 minutes.
- Drain into the sink, then rinse each bone under cold water to remove grey scum.
- Wash the pot to remove any residue.
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Ready when: The water turns grey and foamy, and the bones look pale and clean after rinsing.
Tip: Do not skip this step. It is the secret to a clear, clean-tasting broth.
Simmer the broth
- Return the clean bones to the pot.
- Add the 10 cups (2.4 L) water, cilantro roots, smashed garlic, crushed white peppercorns, cinnamon, star anise, galangal, daikon and rock sugar.
- Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low so the surface barely bubbles.
- Partially cover and simmer for 90 minutes, skimming any foam in the first 15 minutes.
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Ready when: The broth is fragrant and lightly golden, the daikon is translucent and tender when pierced, and the meat on the bones pulls away easily.
Tip: A hard boil makes the broth cloudy and bitter. Keep it at a gentle simmer.
Fry the garlic
- While the broth simmers, put the minced garlic and oil in the small skillet while the oil is still cold.
- Set over medium-low heat and stir constantly for 6 to 8 minutes.
- Remove from the heat as soon as the garlic is pale golden, since it keeps darkening in the hot oil.
- Pour through a fine strainer set over a heatproof bowl and spread the garlic on a paper towel to crisp.
- Keep the garlic oil.
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Ready when: The garlic bubbles gently and turns light golden blond; it will crisp as it cools.
Tip: Burnt garlic turns bitter. Pull it off the heat a little early.
Make chili vinegar
- Combine the sliced Thai chilies and white vinegar in a small bowl.
- Let it stand at room temperature for at least 10 minutes so the vinegar absorbs the heat.
- Cut the lime into 4 wedges and set aside for serving.
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Ready when: The vinegar looks slightly pink and smells sharply spicy.
Prep toppings and vegetables
- Slice the scallions and chop the cilantro.
- Slice the pork loin against the grain into ⅛-inch (3 mm) slices and keep it chilled.
- Set out the bean sprouts and morning glory, and drain the soaked noodles.
- Place 4 large bowls near the stove.
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Ready when: Pork slices are thin enough to see through slightly at the edges.
Tip: Partially frozen pork is much easier to slice thinly.
Strain and season
- Remove the bones and strain the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot; discard the aromatics (the daikon is nice to eat, so keep it if you like).
- You should have about 8 cups (2 L); top up with hot water if it is below 7 cups.
- Stir in the light soy sauce, dark sweet soy sauce and fish sauce.
- Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat and taste; it should be savory, a little sweet and peppery.
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Ready when: The broth tastes balanced and the color is deep amber-brown.
Tip: Season gently now. The blood and toppings will add more flavor.
Stir in the pork blood
- Ladle ½ cup (120 ml) of hot broth into a bowl and let it cool for 2 minutes, then whisk it into the pork blood until smooth.
- Reduce the pot to low heat so the broth is barely simmering.
- Slowly pour the blood mixture into the pot in a thin stream while stirring constantly.
- Simmer gently for 5 minutes.
- Stir in the ground white pepper.
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Ready when: The broth darkens to a rich brown, becomes slightly thicker and silky, and smells savory with no raw or metallic odor.
Tip: Boiling hard after adding the blood makes it grainy. Keep it at a bare simmer.
Cook noodles and greens
- In a separate large pot, bring plenty of water to a rolling boil over high heat.
- Blanch the bean sprouts for 15 seconds and the morning glory for 30 seconds, lifting each out with a spider.
- Add the soaked noodles and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Drain well and divide the noodles among the 4 bowls, then top with the sprouts and morning glory.
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Ready when: Noodles are tender but still slightly chewy, and the greens are bright green and crisp-tender.
Tip: Do not overcook the noodles, as they continue to soften in the hot broth.
Poach the sliced pork
- Turn the broth back to medium heat until it just simmers.
- Add the sliced pork in batches, stirring to separate the slices, and cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
- Remove from the heat right away.
- Divide the pork among the bowls.
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Ready when: The slices turn opaque and pale with no pink left; the thickest piece reads 145°F (63°C).
Tip: Thin slices overcook quickly. Cook in two batches so the broth keeps simmering.
Assemble and serve
- Bring the broth to a steaming simmer, then ladle about 2 cups (475 ml) of broth over each bowl.
- Top each with a heaping spoonful of fried garlic, 1 teaspoon of the reserved garlic oil, the scallions and cilantro.
- Serve right away with the chili vinegar and lime wedges so each person can season their own bowl.
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Ready when: The soup is steaming hot and the noodles are fully covered in broth.
Tip: Pour the broth boiling hot so it warms the noodles and pork through.
Good to know
Tips
- Always parboil and rinse the bones first. Skipping this gives a murky, off-tasting broth.
- Keep the broth at a bare simmer after adding the blood so the texture stays silky rather than grainy.
- Buy blood only from a reputable shop, keep it cold, and make sure the soup reaches a full simmer before serving.
- Season at the table with a splash of chili vinegar, a squeeze of lime and extra white pepper to balance the rich broth.
Make ahead
"Make the broth through step 6 up to 3 days ahead and refrigerate. Fry the garlic up to 2 days ahead and store airtight at room temperature. When ready to serve, bring the broth to a gentle simmer, then add the blood in step 7 and continue."
Storage & reheating
"Store the finished broth (with the blood) separately from noodles, pork and vegetables in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 2 days, or freeze the broth for up to 2 months. Fried garlic keeps airtight at room temperature for 3 days. Reheat the broth to a full simmer (165°F/74°C) on the stove and pour over freshly blanched noodles. Do not keep cooked noodles for more than 1 day."
Substitutions
- fresh liquid pork blood → Pork blood cubes (about 7 oz/200 g), sliced into ½-inch pieces. Add the cubes to the strained broth for the last 5 minutes instead of whisking in the liquid blood. If you cannot find any, omit the blood and add 1 more tablespoon of dark sweet soy for color.
- dried thin rice noodles (sen lek) → Fresh rice noodles or dried wide rice noodles (sen yai). Fresh noodles need only 30 seconds in boiling water, and dried wide noodles need 3 to 4 minutes.
- morning glory (water spinach) or choy sum → Choy sum, bok choy or spinach. Blanch for 30 to 45 seconds until bright green.
- fresh galangal → Fresh ginger. Use the same amount; the flavor is sharper and less piney.