Guaydtiaao Moo Nam Sai (Thai Clear Pork Noodle Soup With Pork Meatballs)

If you’re walking down a street in Thailand and you see a noodle stand, it will likely be a vendor selling pork noodles in a clear broth, known as guaydtiaao nam moo. This is because Thais adore pork noodle soups, which are as ubiquitous as slices of pizza are in New York. Noodle soups are eaten at all times of the day in Thailand, and, like a slice of pizza, are generally understood to be a standalone meal. One wouldn't typically combine a noodle soup with rice or serve it as part of a multi-dish Thai meal. Once you make this recipe, I'm sure you’ll understand the appeal.

The foundation of this soup is a clear, savory pork stock that serves as a fairly neutral flavor base. Full disclosure: Many cooks throughout Thailand, especially street food vendors, use soup stock cubes or soup packets as a shortcut. But for the sake of experiencing the version of this soup that I think is clearly superior, I’m going to insist that you make the stock before proceeding with this recipe.  

Guaydtiaao nam moo can include pork in several forms, but this recipe features two of my favorites: marinated sliced pork and pork meatballs. The marinated pork is sliced so thin that it becomes seasoned with fish sauce and white pepper in mere minutes and it cooks in a matter of seconds.

The pork balls aren’t the Italian-wedding soup meatballs that you may be imagining, nor are they the bouncy meatballs commonly found in Thai soups or Chinese hot pot restaurants. These are more rustic and homey; you simply season minced pork with fish sauce, soy sauce, white pepper, and white sugar and pinch pieces of the mixture into boiling water to form irregularly shaped meatballs. I’ve eaten at many noodle shops that serve pork balls this way, and I adore how quick they are to flavor, form, and cook—it’s a very comforting and nostalgic experience.

Success with these meatballs relies on a vigorous mixing method that involves slapping and stirring the meat in a mixing bowl with the seasonings. As the meat is aggressively worked with its seasonings, the salt dissolves meat proteins, and then the proteins bind with each other to form a sticky meat paste. This sticky texture will yield a bouncy and juicy meatball once cooked, as opposed to a crumbly one—very similar to how a good hamburger patty tends to be loose and crumbly thanks to minimal handling and salting, while a sausage is tiger and bouncier thanks to salting and intentional mixing.

You'll notice in this recipe that the marinated sliced pork and the seasoned meatballs are cooked in plain boiling water. This may seem strange—won't the water wash the seasoning off? Well, it will, but just a little, frankly just enough to strip away any excess salt. But the overall flavor of the marinades will remain in the cooked meat. You might be tempted to cook the pork in the pork stock instead, but I'd warn you against it, as it can risk over-seasoning the broth, which already gets a healthy dose of fish sauce for flavoring just before serving.

When you order this noodle soup, you can pick from different varieties and sizes of egg noodles or rice noodles. While I’m calling for Chinese-style egg noodles (wonton noodles) known as bamee in this recipe, you should feel free to use any type of rice noodle you like. Either way, the noodles are cooked and then coated with garlic oil before transferring them to serving bowls and pouring the hot broth on top. I cannot stress how imperative it is to make the garlic oil, which coats the noodles, significantly enhancing their flavor and altering the sensation of eating them thanks to the slick of oil on each noodle.

As with all Thai noodle soups, guaydtiaao nam moo is not complete without condiments meant to be added to each individual bowl according to the diner's tastes—this particular noodle soup has a restrained flavor that requires adjustments to taste at the table. The common ones for this soup are Thai dried chile powder, chiles in vinegar, fish sauce, white pepper, and sugar. I provided a base seasoning for each bowl just to get them on the right track, but I recommend that you add additional seasonings to your liking for the full experience.