Khanom Jin Nam Ya with Chicken Feet (ขนมจีน)
This is a classic Thai dish often served at celebrations such as an engagement, weddings, or other auspicious occasions.
Khanom
Jin (ขนมจีน) are fresh, thin rice noodles. It made from rice which is
fermented for three days, boiled, and then made into noodles by forcing
the resulting "dough" through a sieve directly into boiling
water.
Although Jin (จิน) means "Chinese" in Thai, this type of
noodle originated from the Mon people who inhabited the region which is
now central Thailand. The word khanom chin is probably derived from the
Mon words hanom cin which means "boiled noodles."
It's time-consuming and often prepared by a well-trained expert. The unique, fragrant aroma of krachai adds to the mystique.
Khanom
Jin is served in many kinds of stock: coconut milk, fish curry, and
chilli. You can
use a sweet peanut-based sauce (Nam Prik), green chicken
curry sauce (Geang
Kiaowan), or perhaps a local favorite here in northern
Thailand a sauce containing pork blood (Nam
Ngiao, pictured to here)
We will be makig a Khanom Jin nam ya, which is a hot and spicy fish-based sauce, though you can adjust the spice.
For 4 Person(s)INGREDIENTS
- 2 Cups Coconut Milk
- 4 Ounce Red Curry Paste
- 1 1/2 Tablespoon Sliced Krachai
- 2 Tablespoon Fish Sauce
- 1 Pound Fresh Fish Filet (or 2 boneless chicken breasts if you prefer)
- 2 Bundles Somen Noodles
- 4 Cloves Garlic
- 4 Shallots
- Garnish Pickled Mustard Green
- Garnish Fresh Thai Basil
- Garnish Fresh Long Beans
- Garnish Fresh bean sprouts
Boil the fish for 10 minutes, drain and set aside. If you prepare this with chicken feet, boil and reduce heat, let cook 45 minutes.
Saute garlic and shallots in a frying pan over medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant. Transfer this to a mortar and pestle, add krachai powder and whole krachai and red curry paste. Pound until smooth. Add the cooked fish. Continue pounding until very well mixed. Set aside.
Heat coconut milk over medium heat in a saucepan. Add the pounded mixture a little bit at a time and stir slowly, bring to a boil. Add fish sauce and stir, then remove from heat.
In separate pan, boil three cups water and 1/2 tsp salt, then add somen noodles. Cook 2 minutes, drain and rinse in cold water.
Place the noodles on serving plate. Spoon curry sauce over noodles and serve with a Garnish of the fresh green vegetables. We suggest generous amounts of Thai basil, bean sprouts, chopped long beans. We also suggest serving this with a hard-boiled egg and garnish with fresh chile peppers.
