*Kanom jeen nam ngiew *ขนมจีนน้ำเงี้ยว is the ultimate comfort food of northern Thailand that is painfully underrated. Rice vermicelli served in a light pork and tomato curry broth loaded with fresh herbs and umami. It’s easy to make, just takes a bit of time to simmer. I make it on the weekend to enjoy throughout the week, and it even tastes better as it sits - perfect for meal prep! It can be easily made gluten free!

Cultural Context: Kanom Jeen Nam Ngiew in Thailand

You can easily visit Thailand 5 times and never come across kanom jeen nam ngiew, so I consider it a truly hidden gem. *Kanom jeen refers to round fresh rice noodles commonly referred to as Vietnamese rice vermicelli. Nam ngiew *refers to the pork and tomato curry broth that is poured over the noodles.

It’s a dish available almost exclusively in northern Thailand, or at restaurants that specialize in northern Thai food. Even I, who lived in Thailand until adulthood, never had it until recently. And I wish I knew about it sooner as I was instantly hooked by its comforting deliciousness!

It’s worth noting that in some northern cities like Chiang Rai, nam ngiew is served over a different kind of fresh rice noodles that are flat. In this case the dish is called guay tiew nam ngiew.

In Thailand, you can find *kanom jeen *served with various other types of sauces, and each region has its own local variety. For example, in the south where I’m from, we have kanom jeen namya whose sauce is a creamy coconut fish curry. In central Thailand (Bangkok), you can commonly find kanom jeen served with green curry chicken. But for now, let’s focus on this northern specialty!

Ingredients and Notes

I hope this section answers all the questions you have about potentially unfamiliar ingredients. I’ve divided them into 3 parts: the broth, the curry paste, and the noodles and toppings. For amounts, see the the full recipe card below.

Nam Ngiew Broth Ingredients

• Asian-style cut pork ribs. These pork ribs are cut across the bones into roughly 1-inch pieces. Sometimes they are sold in long strips, other times they are sold separated into individual bones. They are common at Asian butchers and are available as both spare ribs and back ribs. I prefer back ribs as the pieces are more consistent. If you are using spare ribs (aka side ribs) be sure to cut any meat-only part into small pieces no thicker than ½ - inch thick. If not available, uncut back ribs can also be used, but it is not ideal as there is less exposed bones and it would yield a weaker stock. See more on this above blog post.
• Ground pork, lean or regular works, but I always opt for regular as it’s more fatty and tender.
• Unsalted pork or chicken stock, though water is ok in a pinch. I like to simmer the ribs in pork stock to create a double strength stock. I do this because for a water-based curry that will be diluted by the addition of noodles, I find that if the stock isn’t rich it can taste a bit weak. If you’re using uncut ribs, definitely use stock.
• Cherry tomatoes. Sour ones will actually work better to provide acidity, but whatever you have will work!
• **Blood tofu (optional) **aka blood cakes or cooked blood. These are pork or chicken blood that has been steamed into a solid block with a texture similar to tofu. It is highly nutritious with lots of iron and protein, and in this dish it provides a lovely textural variety. It doesn’t have much of a taste aside from a slight iron flavour, but it absorbs flavour well from the broth after it has had time to sit overnight. They can be found at some Asian grocery stores in the meat department. If you like liver, you can substitute pork or chicken liver, which will also add flavour and richness to the broth. Alternatively, I’ve also seen people stir in liquid blood at the end to add richness to the sauce, the way it’s done in the popular boat noodles).
• Fish sauce
• Sugar
• **Neutral oil **for stir frying the curry paste.

Nam Ngiew Curry Paste Ingredients

• Dried mild chilies such as guajillo or puya. If you want to make it spicy, add a few spicier chilies such as arbol.
• Cilantro stems or roots, chopped
• Lemongrass, bottom half only, finely chopped. Read more about lemongrass here.
• Galangal. If galangal is not available you can substitute 1.5 inches of turmeric root. They don’t taste the same, but it is a variation of this dish that also tastes great. Read more about galangal here.
• Garlic, chopped.
• **Shallots, **chopped.
• Thai fermented soybean paste (tao jiew) or miso. I use Healthy Boy Brand fermented soybean paste which comes in a glass bottle. Traditionally, Northerners use *tua nao, *fermented soybean crackers, but it is very difficult to find outside of Northern Thailand, so we can substitute other fermented soy products for the umami. Use gluten free miso for a gluten free dish.
• Fermented shrimp paste (gapi). Thai fermented shrimp paste is a purplish grey paste that comes in a tub and smells rather funky. I always recommend it for all Thai curries, but in this dish it is super important for adding depth and umami, please try not to skip it!

Noodles and Optional Toppings

Nam ngiew is great without any toppings, but Thai people LOVE our noodle toppings and they can really take the dish to the next level! Feel free to pick and choose which you want to add.

• Dry Vietnamese rice vermicelli. These are round noodles that come in different sizes; I prefer small or medium. You can cook them straight from dry, but I prefer soaking the noodles in room temp water for about an hour until pliable and they’ll cook much faster.
• Pickled mustard greens (highly recommended). Adds pops of tartness and crunch that I love. You can buy it at most Asian grocery stores in clear plastic packages shown in the photo. Give it a rinse and then chop into small pieces. PS. It’s the same stuff used in khao soi.
• Fresh lime. Adds a nice little zing especially if the tomatoes are not sour.
• Beansprouts
• **Chopped cilantro, **or green onions if you’re opposed to cilantro.
• Fried garlic. Store bought can be used, but homemade fried garlic is so much more aromatic, and you get tasty garlic oil that you can drizzle over the noodles as well.

Dok Ngiw - An Iconic Ingredient I’m Not Adding

Dried dok ngiw. Photo credit

**Some will have me crucified for omitting an ingredient that’s iconic, and even eponymous, to kanom jeen nam ngiew: dok ngiw, **sometimes called dok ngiew.

Dok ngiw is the dried core of the flowers of the red cotton tree, and if you happen to have them from your market trip in Chiang Mai, you can add them to the curry along with the ground pork and let them rehydrate in the curry. While they maybe iconic, they actually don’t add any flavour to the dish. They add a fibrous texture, and honesty it is a texture that I don’t find particularly pleasant, but that’s a personal preference.

There is no other dish that I can think of that uses *dok ngiw, *another reason I don’t want to go out of my way to get it. I supposed that goes to show you that it’s not something people enjoy so much that they want to throw it into everything!

So, I think the dish is not improved by adding it which is why I omit it, but it must be talked about because if you have nam ngiew in Thailand, you will likely find it in your bowl!

Step-By-Step

Here’s a bird’s eye view of the steps, and I recommend reading it through before you start are there are a few moving parts to this recipe. I also I highly recommend watching the video tutorial first so you get a good idea of what needs to happen when. The full instructions with ingredient amounts are in the recipe card below!

1. Add the ribs to a large pot, then cover with stock. Add fish sauce and sugar and bring to a gentle simmer. Let it simmer for 1.5 hours. While the ribs are cooking, start making the curry paste right away as you want to add it to the ribs sooner than later.
2. For the curry paste, grind the dried chilies into a powder.
3. Blend the remaining curry paste ingredients into a fine paste. An immersion blender is best for this, but you can also pound it in a heavy duty mortar and pestle (instructions in the recipe card). You can also use a regular blender, but if you need to add water to get it to blend, add as little water as possible.
4. Add the ground chilies and blend to mix.

1. In a wok or large skillet, saute the curry paste in oil for a few minutes (this is why you want as little water as possible in the curry paste, because the paste will boil and splatter rather than fry during this stage.)
2. Add the ground pork and stir to mix with the curry paste, breaking up lumps with your spatula.
3. Keep cooking the ground pork until there are no more lumps and remove from heat. The pork does not have to be fully cooked, it just needs to be broken up.
4. Add the ground pork mixture to the simmering ribs. (Ideally, you should add the ground pork to the ribs within the first 45 minutes of simmering so the ribs have lots of time to simmer WITH the curry paste.)

1. Let the ribs continue to simmer gently until they have had a total cooking time of 1.5 hours. While you wait, now is a good time to prep all your toppings and soak the noodles.
2. Add the tomatoes and blood tofu (if using) and simmer for 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes are soft but still intact. Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce or tao jiew, making sure it is strongly seasoned as it will be diluted by the noodles.
3. Cook the noodles in boiling water until tender with a very slight chew (7-10 mins cooked from dry; 2-4 mins if soaked). Place them in a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking and drain. Divide them into serving bowls while they’re still wet and easy to separate.
4. Top the noodles with *nam ngiew *and all the toppings. Enjoy!

Pro Tip: It Tastes Better The Next Day

Nam ngiew is one of those dishes that hugely benefit from sitting overnight. The flavours will penetrate fully into the meats, tomatoes and the blood tofu. So it’s worth planning ahead and make it the day before you want to serve!

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Advance Prep Tips

This is a recipe that feels quite involved but there are a few ways to spread out the work so it feels much less tedious.

• I usually make the curry paste while the ribs are simmering, but **the curry paste can be made ahead of time. **If using within a few days you can just keep the paste in the fridge, for longer term storage, the paste freezes very well.
• Soak the noodles while you make the curry. You can boil rice vermicelli straight from dry, which can take 7-10 minutes depending on the size, but I prefer to soak them first in room temp water until pliable (about 1 hour) and they’ll cook in only 2-4 mins. They’ll also be pliable, which allows you to use a smaller pot than you otherwise would need.

Storage and reheating

You can keep the curry sauce in the fridge for up to a week, and it can be reheated in the microwave or on the stove. The tomatoes may disintegrate after reheating, but this is okay. The curry can be frozen, but if that’s the plan do not add blood tofu as they don’t freeze well.

The noodles can be refrigerated for 3-4 days (longer is fine but I find the texture will start to suffer a bit). To reheat, they can be microwaved until steaming hot or blanched for 5-10 seconds in boiling water and drained well.

**Before you start, if this is your first time, be sure to watch the video tutorial to ensure success! **

Thai Pork & Tomato Curry Noodles (Kanom Jeen Nam Ngiew)

A hidden gem of northern Thailand. Rice noodles are served with a light-but-flavourful pork and tomato curry broth, topped with beansprouts and pickles. It’s the ultimate Thai comfort food.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Course Main Course

Cuisine Thai

Servings 6 servings

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• ▢ 1.5 lb Asian-style cut pork ribs, (see note 1)
• ▢ 6 cups unsalted pork or chicken stock, water is ok in a pinch
• ▢ 2 tablespoon fish sauce
• ▢ 1 teaspoon sugar
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons neutral oil
• ▢ 14 oz ground pork, regular or lean
• ▢ 7 oz blood tofu , (see note 2)
• ▢ 1.5 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes
• ▢ 12 oz dry Vietnamese rice vermicelli, (see note 3)

Nam Ngiew Curry Paste

• ▢ 0.7 oz mild dried chilies, such as guajillo or puya
• ▢ 3-4 spicy dried chilies, optional, to taste
• ▢ 15 cilantro stems, chopped
• ▢ 2 stalks lemongrass, bottom half only, finely chopped
• ▢ 8 thin slices galangal, finely julienned (see note 4)
• ▢ 10 cloves garlic, chopped
• ▢ ½ cup chopped shallots
• ▢ 3 Tablespoons Thai fermented soybean paste (tao jiew), or sub miso (see note 5)
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon fermented shrimp paste (gapi)

Toppings (All optional)

• ▢ Pickled mustard greens, rinsed and chopped
• ▢ Fresh lime wedges
• ▢ Beansprouts
• ▢ Cilantro or green onions, chopped
• ▢ Fried garlic
• ▢ Roasted chili flakes, for extra heat

Check Out Ingredients and Kitchen Tools I Use

1. These pork ribs are cut across the bones into roughly 1-inch pieces. Sometimes they are kept in long strips, other times they are already separated into individual bones. They are common at Asian butchers. Spare ribs are fine, but I prefer back ribs. If not available, full back ribs can also be used. See more on this above blog post.
2. Blood tofu are pork or chicken blood that has been steamed and have a texture similar to tofu. They can be found at some Asian butchers. You can substitute liver, which will also add flavour and richness to the broth! Alternatively, you can stir in about ¼ cup of liquid blood at the end (a la boat noodles).
3. Vietnamese rice vermicelli are round and come in different sizes; I prefer small or medium.
4. If galangal is not available you can substitute 1.5 inches of turmeric root. They don’t taste the same, but it is a variation of this dish that also tastes great.
5. Traditionally, Northerners use tua nao, a fermented soybean cracker, but it is very difficult to find outside of Northern Thailand.

All my recipes come with step-by-step video tutorials with extra tips not mentioned in the blog post, so make sure you watch the video to ensure success. If you enjoy them, consider subscribing to the YouTube Channel to not miss an episode. Thank you!

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If the pork ribs come in a long strip, cut in between the bones to separate them. If there are meat-only parts, cut them down to ½ inch thick slices. Place the ribs in a large pot and cover with the stock or water.

1.5 lb Asian-style cut pork ribs, 6 cups unsalted pork or chicken stock

Add the fish sauce and sugar and bring to a simmer. Once the ribs come to a simmer, adjust the heat to maintain a gentle simmer for 1.5 hours. While the ribs are cooking, make the curry paste and cook the ground pork.* *

TIP: Start making the curry paste right away as we want to add it to the ribs as early as possible to give them plenty of time to simmer with the curry paste.

2 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar

To make the curry paste, grind the dried chilies into a powder using a coffee/spice grinder.

0.7 oz mild dried chilies, 3-4 spicy dried chilies

If using an immersion blender, place all remaining curry paste ingredients into a glass measuring cup, putting moist/liquid ingredients on top. Blend into a fine paste, lifting and changing position as you go, and stopping to scrape the sides once in between. Then add the dried chilies and blend to mix.

15 cilantro stems, 2 stalks lemongrass, 8 thin slices galangal, 10 cloves garlic, ½ cup chopped shallots, 1 Tablespoon fermented shrimp paste (gapi), 3 Tablespoons Thai fermented soybean paste (tao jiew)

If using a mortar and pestle, first pound the lemongrass, galangal, and cilantro stems into a fine paste. Then add the garlic and shallots and pound into a fine paste. Add the ground chilies, shrimp paste and tao jiew and pound to mix.

15 cilantro stems, 2 stalks lemongrass, 8 thin slices galangal, 10 cloves garlic, ½ cup chopped shallots, 1 Tablespoon fermented shrimp paste (gapi), 3 Tablespoons Thai fermented soybean paste (tao jiew)

In a wok or a large skillet, add the oil over medium high heat then add the curry paste. Saute constantly for about 3 minutes until the paste is aromatic. Add the ground pork and cook, breaking up the lumps, until the ground pork is is no longer clumpy, though it doesn’t need to be fully cooked. Remove from heat.

2 Tablespoons neutral oil, 14 oz ground pork

Pour the ground pork mixture into the ribs pot, and keep it simmering together until the ribs have had a total simmering time of 1.5 hour.

*The ribs should have at least 45 minutes to simmer WITH the curry paste mixture. If you were late to add the curry paste, extend the cooking time to give the ribs the 45 minutes.

After the ribs are done simmering, add the blood cubes (or liver, if using) and tomatoes, and simmer gently for another 3-4 minutes until the tomatoes are soft but still intact.

7 oz blood tofu, 1.5 cups halved cherry or grape tomatoes

Taste and adjust seasoning with more fish sauce or tao jiew as needed. It should be salty and umami with a little sweetness to balance, and make sure it is strongly seasoned as the noodles will dilute it. It should also have plenty of liquid, enough to be “soupy,” so if it has become too dry, you can top it up with a bit of water.

Ideally, serve nam ngiew the next day so the flavours have time to mingle.

Cook the noodles by adding them to boiling water and cooking for about 7-10 minutes for dry noodles, and 2-4 minutes for pre-soaked noodles. Timing varies depending on the size so check them often; they should be tender with a slight chew but they should not be al dente. Meanwhile, prepare a large bowl of cold water for the noodles to cool.

12 oz dry Vietnamese rice vermicelli

Once done, scoop them out and place them into the cold water to stop the cooking. Drain into a colander and immediately divide them into serving bowls while they’re still wet and easy to separate.

To serve, ladle a generous amount of nam ngiew broth over the noodles, then top with any toppings of your choice. You can squeeze a little lime onto your plate for an extra zing.

Pickled mustard greens, Fresh lime wedges, Beansprouts, Cilantro or green onions, Fried garlic, Roasted chili flakes

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