Boat noodles ( th, ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือ, , ) is a Thai style

noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, In ...

dish with a strong flavor. It contains both pork and beef, as well as

dark soy sauce In Chinese cuisine, dark soy sauce () is a dark-coloured soy sauce used mainly for adding colour and flavour to dishes. It is richer, slightly thicker, and less salty than other types of soy sauce. As the Chinese name () suggests, it is also ag ...

, pickled bean curd, and some other spices, and is normally served with meatballs and pig's liver. The soup is seasoned with pig or cow blood mixed with

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

and spices ( () or ()). The colour of the soup is similar to

beef noodle soup Beef noodle soup is a noodle soup made of stewed or braised beef, beef broth, vegetables and noodles. It exists in various forms throughout East and Southeast Asia. One of the oldest beef noodle soups is the Lanzhou lamian (兰州拉面) or L ...

( ()) but considerably thicker due to the blood added. It is commonly served in a small bowl. The other ingredients of boat noodles are

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Welsh onion and Chinese onion. It is native to South Asia, Central Asia and northeas ...

, fried garlic,

radish The radish (''Raphanus raphanistrum'' subsp. ''sativus'') is an edible root vegetable of the family Brassicaceae that was domesticated in Asia prior to Roman times. Radishes are grown and consumed throughout the world, being mostly eaten raw ...

cinnamon Cinnamon is a spice obtained from the inner bark of several tree species from the genus '' Cinnamomum''. Cinnamon is used mainly as an aromatic condiment and flavouring additive in a wide variety of cuisines, sweet and savoury dishes, breakf ...

bean sprout Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth. In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum'') is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to the central and eastern Mediterranean region (Sardinia, Lebanon, Israel, Cyprus, Turkey, southern Italy, Greece, ...

morning glory Morning glory (also written as morning-glory) is the common name for over 1,000 species of flowering plants in the family Convolvulaceae, whose current taxonomy and systematics are in flux. Morning glory species belong to many genera, some of ...

, and some Thai chilli flakes. Type of the noodles for boat noodle are several, thin rice noodles, egg noodles, ''sen yai'' (, literally – 'big noodles'), and ''sen lek'' (, literally – 'small noodles'). Boat noodles are commonly served with pork crackling and

basil Basil (, ; ''Ocimum basilicum'' , also called great basil, is a culinary herb of the family Lamiaceae (mints). It is a tender plant, and is used in cuisines worldwide. In Western cuisine, the generic term "basil" refers to the variety also k ...

or sweet basil.

History

Boat noodles were originally served from boats that traversed Bangkok's canals. In the past, a merchant who sold boat noodles would have been the only person working on a small boat, and would have had to do everything by himself from paddle a boat, scald the noodles, season the soup, serve the dish, handle money and wash the dishes. If the bowl was too big, it would be difficult to hand over to the customer on the land and might be easily spilled. This is the reason why the boat noodle's bowl is small, for the convenience and safety of the merchant. Nowadays the dish is also served in restaurants, but the dish's historical identity is maintained by it still being served in a small bowl, and often with a boat moored in front of the place. For notable boat noodles area in Thailand are Ayutthaya and

Rangsit Rangsit ( th, รังสิต, ) is a city and neighbourhood in Pathum Thani Province, Thailand. Rangsit is a metropolitan city that supports the expansion of Bangkok in the north. Rangsit has become a departure point for travel to provinces i ...

in central region, but presently the most notable is the Victory Monument neighborhood.

References

{{Soups Thai noodle dishes Noodle soups

History

See also

References