Thread: Laotian Spaghetti

The debatable common wisdom is that the concept of noodles originated in Asia, and was brought back to Italy by Marco Polo. In all my years of eating Asian noodles, I never had a moment when I thought that they were at all similar to the Italian variety. That was until yesterday, when I went down to a Hmong restaurant and had their Kaopoon Noodles. My first taste and my thought was that this was a Laotian version of Spaghetti Bolognese. And a very tasty version at that.


In this restaurant's version they claim the only ingredients in the sauce were coconut milk, chopped chicken, bamboo, basil, and red curry, served over rice noodles (the ones very similar to a thin spaghetti). Unfortunately I ate it in such a hurry I didn't think to take a photo.


The recipes I found on-line all seem much too complicated and use the very fine vermicelli. Here are a couple examples:

Khao Poon Nam Phik - Laos Vermicelli with Chilli Sauce - Wokme Asian Cooking Guide

Khmu khao poon | Food From Northern Laos


Since this restaurant (inside the Sun Foods Market) is in St Paul, Minnesota and it is the winter, the recipe may have been simplified out of necessity because of a lack of fresh ingredients. But I really liked it just as it was, not too spicy with a great flavor. I am going to try recreating it at home.

Originally Posted by Borey the Bald

Unfortunately I ate it in such a hurry I didn't think to take a photo.

Well thats a shame because threads like these really improve with pics

^^have you tried Kow Soi? A very popular northern dish with noodles and coconut milk etc

I don't recall ever eating that while in NE Thailand, but it looks good. I will have to look for it my next trip to St Paul. Central Minnesota has a huge population of Laotians. The 2010 census showed over 60,000 resident Hmongs alone, so there are a couple of huge markets catering to immigrants from that area. We travel down there about once a month to find the best food.

A world of produce at Hmong market | StarTribune.com

Kow Soi is a Northern Dish in Thailand and maybe northern laos.....never saw it in the NE of thailand.Orig came from Burma I think.

In Chiang Mai they also garnish the top of the curry with crispy noodles.

^
That stuff's the bollocks

^ dog's or donkey's?

Originally Posted by Bettyboo

dog's or donkey's?

Either - the meat is often inedible gristle as it is in most Thai 'cuisine'.

Khao Sawy is, I'm pretty sure, a Shan dish. You don't get it in Laos (unless there are Shan restaurants there now).

The Laos don't usually cook with coconut milk.

All I've ever seen of Hmong food is boiled pork fat with sticky rice and a bottle of rice wine.

^But the best of the northern cuisine PP, is Gang Hanglay. Fcuking yum!

Ohn no khao swè - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ohn no khao swè (Burmese: အုန်းနို့ခေါက်ဆွဲ; MLCTS: un: nui. hkauk hcwai: IPA: [ʔóʊɴ no̰ kʰaʊʔ sʰwɛ́]; also spelt ohn no khauk swe, on no khauk swe, ohn no khauk sway, ohn no khau sway, ohn no khau swe) is a Burmese dish consisting of wheat noodles in a curried chicken and coconut milk broth...

One of the "not to miss" in Chiang Mai is Sai-Ua. Yummy.

Originally Posted by Little Chuchok

Kow Soi is a Northern Dish in Thailand

My wife entered it in a pub curry cook off here in the UK and won hands down. The response was fantastic; helped because it's more novel here.