Thai Glass Noodle Soup
User Reviews
5
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Servings
4 servings
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Thai
Thai Glass Noodle Soup
Description
The core of this Thai Glass Noodle Soup is a broth gently simmered with pork spare ribs or chicken wings, seasoned with fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Daikon or onion and cilantro stems contribute to the broth's depth. The broth is skimmed for clarity early in cooking and then simmered until the meat is tender, releasing richness into the soup.
Glass noodles, softened by soaking, are added along with tender Napa cabbage and soft or egg tofu, providing soft, translucent textures that contrast with the broth. The pork meatballs, made from ground pork seasoned with soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and white pepper, add a juicy texture when simmered in the soup.
This soup offers a gentle but complex layer of flavors typical to Thai cuisine, with a salty-sweet-umami profile and tender ingredients that pose different textures in every spoonful. It can be enjoyed as a warming meal alone or paired with fried garlic topping for added aroma and crunch if desired.
The recipe notes mention that alternatively, pre-made unsalted pork or chicken stock can be used with increased meatballs, and that pork ribs can be cut smaller to speed cooking.
Ingredients
- 5 cups water see note 1
- 12 oz pork spare ribs see note 2, Chinese-style chopped, or chicken wings drumettes
- 1 daikon peeled and large-diced (optional, 2-inch section, or ¼ onion
- 5-6 cilantro stems
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- ½ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1.4 oz glass noodles dried
- 250 g egg tofu or soft tofu
- 4 cups Napa cabbage bite-sized pieces
- cilantro chopped, or green onions
- garlic optional but highly recommended, recipe below, fried, and garlic oil for topping
Pork Meatballs
- ½ lb ground pork preferably not lean, or chicken
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- ¾ teaspoon sugar
- white pepper few cracks, freshly ground
Fried Garlic (optional, this makes more than you need but you'll be glad to have it in the fridge!)
- 1 head garlic
- ⅓ cup neutral oil
Instructions
- If you’re using pork ribs, go through them to find ones that are meaty, and cut them down so the meaty part isn’t more than about ½-inch thick. This is just to speed up the cooking; you can leave them chunky if you have time to let them cook longer.
- Add the ribs or the wings to a pot, cover with water and season with fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and white pepper. Let that simmer for 5-10 minutes, just until you see a bunch of foam gathered on top, and then skim it off.
- Add cilantro stems and daikon and loosely cover the pot so it doesn’t reduce too much. Let this simmer until the meat is fork tender, wings will take a total of 20 mins, and the ribs 30-40 mins depending on the size.
- Meanwhile soak the glass noodles in room temp water for at least 7 minutes to soften, then drain and cut into 2-3 sections. (If you want to add fried garlic, now would be a good time to make it, recipe below.)
- Make the meatballs by combining all ingredients together and use your hand to knead the mixture until well combined.
- Once the ribs/wings are done simmering, use 2 spoons to scoop and flick bite-sized chunks of meatballs into the soup.
- After the meatballs are all added, allow the soup to come back to a boil if it has stopped, and then add the napa cabbage and egg tofu, then wait for the soup to come back to a boil. Then add the glass noodles and cook for 3 mins.
- Taste and adjust seasoning with more soy sauce or fish sauce as needed, then finish it off with green onions and/or cilantro. Top with fried garlic to finish. This soup is typically served with rice, but if you want to eat it by itself, that's fine too!
For the Fried Garlic and Garlic Oil
- Chop the garlic just until the pieces are no bigger than ⅛-inch, but don't mince it finely.
- Add the oil to a small pot, then put one piece of garlic in it and turn the heat to medium. Once the piece of garlic is bubbling, add the rest of the garlic then turn the heat down to medium low.
- Stir the garlic until the pieces are a light golden (not brown!) and the bubbling has mostly subsided. Off the heat and drain using a metal sieve. Keep the garlic and the garlic oil in separate air-tight containers, and store them in the fridge.
Notes
- Using unsalted homemade pork or chicken stock lets you omit ribs or wings and make extra meatballs for a meatier soup.
- Cut pork spare ribs into small chunks to reduce cooking time if preferred.
- Fried garlic, made by slow frying minced garlic in neutral oil, can be used as a flavorful garnish and stored in the fridge.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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