Dish
Kuy Teav
គុយទាវ
Cambodian rice noodle soup in pork bone broth, eaten mainly at breakfast with pork, seafood or offal toppings.
Kuy teav (គុយទាវ, kuy teav) is a Cambodian rice noodle soup in pork bone broth, eaten mainly at breakfast.[1][2] Its toppings may include pork, duck, seafood or offal.[3]
Cultural context
In Cambodia, kuy teav is still mainly a breakfast dish. It is sold at markets, street food stalls and simple eateries across the country,[1] and some noodle soup places sell out a few hours after opening.[4] In Phnom Penh, breakfast shops and street stalls serve it from early morning until lunchtime, and it is found in almost every province.[5] Khmer Times counts it among the comfort foods Cambodians want on a rainy afternoon.[5] Kuy teav is also served at celebrations such as Lunar New Year, when noodles stand for long life.[2]
Much of the flavor comes from what each diner adds at the table.[1][4] The table may hold lime, pepper, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar and several kinds of chili.[1] Diners often squeeze in lime, add a splash of fish sauce and sprinkle on chili flakes or chili sauce.[4]
Tuk Tuk Box published the kuy teav of Chantha Nguon, a Cambodian refugee and Khmer Rouge survivor. For her, cooking the dish is a way to stay connected to her family's roots after loss.[6]
Ingredients and preparation
At its simplest, kuy teav is pork stock, dried rice noodles and seasoned ground pork.[4] Recipes cook the noodles briefly in boiling water and drain them,[7] and one tosses them with garlic oil.[2] The broth is made from pork bones, with dried squid, sugar and fish sauce.[4][6] Pork bones give the broth body as they release gelatin over a long simmer.[8]
In the markets of Phnom Penh, some cooks start the stock around midnight and simmer it for four to five hours before breakfast service.[4] Some season and brown the minced pork and others do not. The stock may be made from scratch or from pork powder, bouillon or stock cubes.[4] Prawns are cooked by dipping them in the hot stock until they turn orange.[4]
A more elaborate home recipe chars onion, carrot, bok choy, sweet potato and daikon before they go into the stockpot. Its broth also holds chicken drumsticks, dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked dried shrimp, dried squid and pickled radish.[2] Ground pork is cooked separately, and more dried shrimp are fried until crisp for a topping. The noodles are laid over lettuce and finished with meat, shrimp, mushrooms, fried garlic and bean sprouts.[2]
Kuy teav can also be eaten as a dry noodle dish, which The Domestic Man suggests for hot days.[7]
History and origins
Kuy teav names a cut noodle made from long-grain rice, and the breakfast soup made with it.[3] In Vietnam a related soup is called hủ tiếu.[4][6]
The origins of kuy teav are debated. Tuk Tuk Box credits its creation to Cambodians of Teochew Chinese descent.[6] Another account holds that it began among Chinese immigrants living in Cambodia and later spread through the country.[7] Thida's Kitchen holds that the dish began in Cambodia and spread to Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia.[9] Cooks also disagree over whether it came before Vietnamese pho and whether the original used beef or pork.[10] The Phnom Penh version was born in the capital's markets.[4]
Cambodia's Ministry of Commerce planned to make Phnom Penh kuy teav a brand name with a collective trademark. It studied the dish to set an official recipe and prepared an official cookbook. Once the trademark was registered, sellers were to register with the ministry and follow that recipe.[11] A Phnom Penh Kuyteav Association was formed to set standards for the recipe and promote the trademark.[11] Op Rady, the ministry's director of intellectual property, said the dish is popular with the Khmer diaspora in Europe, North America and other parts of Asia.[11] As of 2023, the ministry had recognized kuy teav as a collective mark that identifies its Cambodian origin and a quality standard.[9]
Regional and household variations
Hello Angkor lists toppings for the Phnom Penh version such as pork belly, ground pork, congealed pig's blood, liver and other offal, roasted duck, prawns, fish cake and squid.[3] It is a more abundant form of the plain rice noodle soup found across Cambodia.[4] Romaine lettuce is the favored green for it in Cambodia, and lime wedges come with the bowl.[4]
Menus may name chicken, pork and beef versions kuy teav sach moan, kuy teav sach chrouk and kuy teav sach ko; sach moan means chicken meat in Khmer.[1] The plain market and street-stall style rests on a clear, flavorful stock rather than many ingredients.[1] Grantourismo Travels finds that recipes made in the Cambodian diaspora tend to be richer than the restrained bowls sold at Cambodian stalls and eateries.[1]
Families near the Mekong add prawns and fish cakes. Newer versions may use beef, seafood or chicken in place of pork.[8] The southern Vietnamese relative, hủ tiếu Nam Vang, takes its name from Nam Vang, the Vietnamese name for Phnom Penh. It often adds salted cabbage, boiled quail eggs, Chinese celery or chrysanthemum leaves, and garlic in vinegar.[4]
Preparations and recipes
- Chantha Nguon, published by Tuk Tuk Box
- Pork bone broth simmered for hours with daikon, onion and carrot, ladled over rice vermicelli with sliced pork and fresh toppings.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Grantourismo Travels, Cambodian Kuy Teav Recipe for a Classic Chicken Noodle Soup (August 20, 2020)
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Food Network, Kuy Teav Recipe by Deana Saukam (January 18, 2022)
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Hello Angkor, Rodney Charles LHuillier, An Uncommon Guide to Cambodian Cuisine (August 15, 2019, updated May 1, 2020)
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 Grantourismo Travels, Phnom Penh Noodle Soup Recipe for Kuy Teav Phnom Penh (March 10, 2021)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Khmer Times, Top comfort foods Cambodians crave on rainy days (August 2, 2026)
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 Tuk Tuk Box, Chantha Nguon's Kuy Teav: A Pork Noodle Soup
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 The Domestic Man, Kuy Teav: Cambodian Pork and Seafood Noodle Soup (July 15, 2014)
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 196 Flavors, Kuy Teav (January 6, 2022)
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Thida's Kitchen, Kuy Teav Recipe: Make Phnom Penh's Signature Noodle Soup at Home (November 11, 2023)
- ↑ Sous Chef, Cambodian Breakfast: Kuy Teav Recipe (July 16, 2020)
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Khmer Times, Turning the local noodle soup into a household name