Prawns and Glass Noodles in Claypot (Goong Ob Woonsen)

Cookbook Challenge Week 33

Book: Thai Street Food by David Thompson Theme: Seafood Recipe: Prawns with Glass Noodles

This is one of those well known Chinese-Thai seafood dishes that simply aren’t heard of here in Melbourne. Since it’s really simple to make (and I want to show off my newly purchased claypot) I thought I might give it a go. There are a couple of ways to approach this Thai dish of Chinese origin. One way is to strip this dish down to the bare minimum – essentially the Thai way or add a couple of Chinese ingredients to make this more of a Chinese-style hot pot type dish.

I consulted David Thompson’s Thai Street Food and it seemed like he went with the bare minimum Thai approach, so I figured I might just give it a go. This dish is originally made with pork fat (of course) but the new modern Thai twist calls for smoked bacon so I went with that. It didn’t make me happy to be bastardising it in such manner but Josh loved it. So I guess it wasn’t a bad go.

You’ll need (for two):

4-6 large-ish prawns
1 small pack of glass noodles (made from mung beans) – about 50g.
2 strips of streaky smoked bacon, cut to fit to claypot
3 coriander roots, cleaned
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp white peppercorns
1/2 cup chicken stock*
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1/2 light soy sauce
1/2 tsp sugar
Extra ground white pepper to serve

Soak the glass noodles in warm water (not hot) for about 5 minutes or until slightly softened. Peel prawns but leave the heads and tails attached. Mix the sauces, sugar and stock together. Crush the garlic and coriander roots lightly and add to the sauce mixture.

Place the streaky bacon at the bottom of the claypot (or saucepan). Place on medium for a few minutes until the bacon starts to sizzle and begin to render.

Place the noodles and pour over the sauce. Arrange the prawns on top. Close the lid and cook for about 5-10 minutes until the prawns are cooked through. Serve topped with chopped fresh coriander leaves and more ground white pepper.

* I use Thai-style stock powder. I recommend it for all your Thai dishes.