Mee Krob

[Claire]

Does anyone have a recipe for this dish that I love so much. Most Thai restaurants I've been to do not even make it, so I assume it is hard to do. A freind who is a linguist introduced me to it, and I cannot even say it correctly to ask for it! It is a Thai dish of rice noodles that are fried 'til they puff up, and a topping. I'm pretty sure tamarind is an ingredient, and I've had it in my freezer for quite awhile. I haven't had this dish in years.

 

[kitchenelf]

I personally don't have a recipe but I did a search - here is the link Assorted Mee Krob Recipes

They all look fairly similar with only minor differences. It looks like a really good dish and not that hard to make so I can't understand the hesitancy of Thai restaurants not to have it on their menu.

 

[Chopstix]

If I can chime in here. Mee Krob is considered a street food in Thailand. It's considered a cheap eat there which is probably why Thai restaurants may be hesitant about putting it on their menu...

 

[kitchenelf]

Now THAT makes sense Chopstix - thanks for the explanation!

 

[Yakuta]

Hi Claire I have made it before and it is veryvery good. It was some work frying the noodles but nothing out of the ordinary. Just remember to mix the noodles at the last minute before serving as that's the best part.

I know some Thai restaurants in Chicago make it.

Here is how I made mine:

Rice noodles - Break them and then fry them in oil until they puff (they burn easily so keep an eye). Drain them on paper towels.
Raw shrimps (medium sized about 12-15 or more if you'd like)
2 cloves of garlic minced
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 tsp of salt
1/2 tsp of tamarind pulp
1 tsp of fish sauce
2 tbsp of brown sugar
2 tbsp of catsup (this is available in Thai and Asian store and is a bit on the sweeter side, you can substitute with ketchup)
1 bunch of green onions finely chopped
2 cups of bean sprouts washed and drained
cilantro for garnish
2 tbsp of oil

In a large wok or saute pan add the oil. Once the oil is medium hot add the garlic and eggs and cook it by stirring it constantly to break up the eggs. Next add the shrimps and cook them for about 3 minutes or so. Add all the sauces and tamarind and salt and stir to combine. Take it off the stove. Stir in the green onions, cilantro and bean sprouts along with the fried noodles and serve immediately.

It's out of this world.

 

[Chopstix]

You're welcome Kitchenelf! I should add that Mee Krob is peddled by street hawkers who cook it in their woks right there in front of you. You're supposed to eat it right away.

Claire, I have a recipe for this which was demonstrated to us at an Asian Cookery class. I got to taste it and it was very yummy and different from other noodle dishes. I am just not able to re-type the recipe right now.

Meantime, I looked at Yakuta's recipe. Some extra tips that may help:

Before anything, you can fry 2 pieces firm tofu or beancurd cake (cut into strips) then remove and set aside for garnishing. Then you can proceed with sauteing the garlic then frying the egg.

When frying the egg, try to let the beaten egg pass thru a strainer before it hits the oil in the wok. You'll be amazed at the almost magical effect of this: the scrambled eggs turn out stringy and puffy! No need to cut up the eggs later. (You can use this method for Pad Thai also.)

You can also add a sprinkle of lime juice into the sauce.

 

[Claire]

Thank you, thank you. I've been saving my block of tamarind just for this. I hesitate because I'm not big on frying. Not for health reasons (I believe that fying can be Ok if it is done well), just because you have to really pay attention to what you're doing. When we were military, I could always "draft" another friend to watch the oil so I wouldn't get distracted with guests and wine (not necessarily in that order). I think many Thai restaurants don't serve mee krob any more is because it has to come straight from the frying pan (wok, deep fryer, whatever) to the plate. And like many thai and indian foods, it requires a LOT of ingredients. Shouldn't be a problem in a Thai restaurant. Yes, Yakuta, eventually we will find a Thai restaurant in Chicago or Madison. Now that the highway is complete between here and Madison, we've been for Indian food there. I'm generally not a great lover of buffets, but particularly like them for Indian food. Allows you to try everything without committing to one or two dishes, which is what you have to do if it just two of you. Since many Indian dishes are stew-like in consistency, it takes well to steam tables. THis particular restaurant (Maharaja in Madison) had some excellent nan, the best I've every tasted.

 

[Yakuta]

Hi Claire the Thai restaurant that serves Me Krob here is a mom and pop kind of a place. My old neighbours used to do take outs a lot and they gave me a brochure. I read the descriptions and found Me Krob interesting and something I would love to try and so I did. As you correctly indicated most restaurants won't do it because it's normally make to order kind of a thing.

Chopstix thank you very much for sharing your tips. I wanted to ask you how do you strain the egg through a seive. Do you first beat it throughly and then strain it. Also what kind of strainer works the best can you comment on that as well. I have a metal one that I use to strain tea would that work.

Also would that technique also work for egg drop and corn soup.