Fried Noodles at TAC [Pics]

Q: Erik, do you ever eat any of the regular stuff at TAC? Or is it always scary looking fish, liver soup, and wild boar?

A: What, you mean like stir-fried noodles? You mean like the stuff that the native Thais actually eat?

Sure. All the time. That is what I live for...


kũay tĩaw kha ki

Habitat: Thai Language Menu.

Ingr: chicken, squid, chopped scallions and lettuce.

The wide rice noodles are stir-fried with vinegar, oyster sauce, white pepper and sugar.


pht khi mao

Habitat: English Menu.

Ingr: peapods, sliced mushrooms, sliced carrots, red and green bell peppers, tomato wedges, bean sprouts, sliced jalapeno, bird's eye chiles, sliced onion, lettuce, garlic, and your choice of meat.

Meat shown: Pork.

The wide rice noodles are stir-fried with oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and fish sauce.


rat na si khi "empire"*

Habitat: Thai Language Menu.

Ingr: chinese broccoli, ginger, garlic, and your choice of meat.

Meat shown: Pork.

The wide rice noodles are stir-fried and smothered in a Chinese-style "gravy" sauce that is made from fermented yellow beans, beaten egg, sugar, oyster sauce and soy sauce.


pht thai kng

Habitat: English Menu. As shown, requested "Thai-style."

Ingr: Beaten egg, chopped scallions, and your choice of meat.

Meat shown: As the name above (kng) implies, shrimp.

Accoutrements: chopped peanuts, ground chile, sugar, bean sprouts, shredded carrots, and a lime wedge.

The thin rice noodles are stir-fried with vinegar, paprika, sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce.


b-mi pht

Habitat: English Menu.

Ingr: peapods, chicken, shrimp, red bell peppers, celery, sliced carrots and bamboo shoots.

The thin egg noodles are stir-fried with sesame oil, oyster sauce and fish sauce.


mi "sua"**

Habitat: Special Request.

Ingr: chicken, shrimp, chopped scallions and garlic.

The thin egg noodles are stir-fried with oyster sauce, white pepper and sugar.



For reasons stated elsewhere, these ingredient lists are not complete.


Regards,
Erik M.

* "Empire" refers to a famous Bangkok shop that made this dish popular. As shown, the dish was dressed at the table and in the Thai-style, with ground chile and chopped/pickled jalapeno.

** As Andy explained it to me, "sua" derives from a Chinese term. Accordingly, there is no direct translation of the term in Thai.

Do they have a studio table set up for you there, Erik? Great pics as always.

extramsg wrote:Do they have a studio table set up for you there, Erik? Great pics as always.

Nope. All of the dishes shown were undoctored/unstyled and naturally lit. And, I didn't use a tripod, either.

Thanks for the kind words, Nick.

Regards,
Erik M.

all that's missing is picture of mee krob ....

1 Q: what separates kũay tĩaw kha from jolly ol lard nar? if my cantonese serves me, kuay tiaw is simply the soft wide rice noodles, no?

TonyC wrote:all that's missing is picture of mee krob ....

Well, you are going to have to let me know where mi krwp can be found on the menu(s) at TAC, as I have never come across it. At any rate, even if it were on the menu(s), it is a deep-fried noodle dish, not a stir-fried noodle dish. With my OP, I chose to focus on the stir-fried noodle dishes at TAC. The fact that I do not particularly care for mi krwp is something else entirely...

TonyC wrote:1 Q: what separates kũay tĩaw kha from jolly ol lard nar? if my cantonese serves me, kuay tiaw is simply the soft wide rice noodles, no?

Kũay tĩaw, strictly speaking, is the entire class of rice noodles. Sn yi, or wide rice noodles, are just one type of kũay tĩaw.

There's a version of rat na* pictured, TonyC. To my eyes, it sure looks alot different than kũay tĩaw kha ki. Go back and read the ingredient lists and the stir-fry directions for each. That was the reason that I took the time** and the care to list them in the first place. At any rate, as the name kũay tĩaw kha ki implies, it is made with chicken (ki). Some versions, like that at TAC, include squid. And, as I think it is evident from the above photo, kũay tĩaw kha ki is a relatively "dry" stir-fry. In contrast, "rat na," loosely translated, means "smothered in gravy," so--by definition--it is always going to be a "wetter," more "saucy" stir-fry. The "gravy" for rat na is made from fermented yellow beans and is thickened with starch. Lastly, rat na always includes a bitter green like Chinese broccoli.

Erik M.

Addendum: 12 + hours later, I would like to apologize to TonyC for my tone in the above post. It is more than likely TonyC did not see my transliteration, "rat na", for his (far more common) transliteration, "lard nar." I take so much of this stuff for granted, and it was presumptuous on my part to think that my tranliterations would be perfectly transparent. At any rate, I hope that the contents of the above post were otherwise informative. And, no, this is not the result of a reprimand or discussion with anyone on the matter. I simply had an "epiphany" in the parking lot at Walgreen's, today.

* This particular version of rat na differs from the standard form in that it "wears egg" (si khi).

** It took roughly two hours to set and format the OP.

Erik M. wrote:** It took roughly two hours to set and format the OP.

Thank you for those two hours Erik, plus all the education and dedication that led up to them. I feel like this is "Thai food for the rest of us." (I considered "Thai food for dummies" but that didn't sound quite right ) Those photos make me very hungry.

Mâi pen-rai, Erik, and khòp khun mâak for the continued edification.