This pork noodle soup is a variation of my mom’s recipe, which she loosely calls “ba mee nam” (Thai pork noodle soup). This is not, however, what I would consider a traditional “ba mee nam” hence I wouldn’t call it that. This is one of my favourite winter soups and great for colds too, in my opinion.
Serves 6 (approx. 668 calories per serve)
Prep time 20 mins
Cook time 2 hours
Ingredients
1kg pork bones
1 onion, peeled and halved
1 whole garlic, cloves
1 bunch coriander (stems and leaves separated)
2cm piece of ginger
12 pieces of ligusticum root slices (from Asian stores)
1 1/2 tbsp light soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp fish sauce
400g thin egg noodles
400g pork balls (store bought)
Gai choy, choy sum or other green Asian vegetable of your choice (1 bunch, cut into 4cm lengths and blanched)
500g bean sprouts, blanched
Optional: fried garlic in oil
Put the pork bones in a large pot and fill with approximately 2L of water. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 1 hour, regularly skimming off the scum that rises to the top.
Then add the onion, garlic cloves, coriander stems and ginger and let it simmer for a further 1 hour. At the 45 minute mark, add the pork balls, soy sauce and fish sauce. After the hour is over, scoop out the onion, garlic, coriander stems and ginger and discard.
Meanwhile, blanch the gai choy and bean sprouts. Then prepare the egg noodles as per packet instructions.
Place noodles, gai choy and bean sprouts in bowls. Top with pork balls, pork bones and soup. Garnish with coriander leaves and optionally, top with garlic oil. Serve immediately.