Guay Tiew Khua Gai (Chicken Noodles)

I sometimes have the tendency of overlooking noodles in favour of rice as generally it’s easier to cook and less likely to end up a sticky mess (as sometimes happens with rice noodles) but in reality, noodles- particularly the wide rice noodles are eaten just as commonly in Thailand, particularly at lunch time and especially as street food.
You’ll notice there’s not a whole lot of ingredients or time involved with making this dish and that is because it’s a classic Thai street food dish. For a street food seller you need to be able to get your cart/pitch set up with the minimum of fuss and be able to fire out dishes to hungry customers as fast as they arrive. As ever in Thailand, you are expected to adapt the basic dish to your personal tastes and it would be rare for a Thai customer to eat a simple noodle dish like this without adding an assortment of flavourings from the condiment caddy (seen here in the background). To my plate I added a pinch of sugar, a generous sprinkling of chilli flakes and a ladle of naam pla prik gratiem (chillies and garlic in a fish sauce/vinegar mix) which together add that perfect Thai blend of hot, sweet, salty and sour.

For two portions use:

• Half a pack (or just over) of the widest rice noodles you can get- fresh or dried
• two small chicken breasts/ four thighs, sliced thinly
• 2 eggs
• 2/3 spring onions, finely sliced
• a big splash of light soy sauce
• another splash of light soy sauce
• a small splash of Thai fish sauce
• a big pinch of ground black pepper
• a big splash of vegetable oil for frying
• optional (but recommended) chilli flakes, chilli slices in vinegar/fish sauce, sugar- see my last post about Thai seasonings here

Start by marinating the sliced chicken in a bowl with the big splash of soy sauce and black pepper, it doesn’t need long- deal with the noodles while it marinades.
If using dried noodles as I did here (my local Asian supermarket was out of fresh noodles) start off by soaking them in cold water for 15-20 minutes or until you can wrap a noodle around your finger without it breaking. If using fresh, spend a bit of time loosening the bundle and gently pull the noodles into individual strands.
Heat a big splash of oil in a wok (rice noodles have a tendency to stick so use a little more oil than you would normally use when stir frying) until it’s nice and hot. Add in the chicken and stir fry for 2/3 minutes until fully cooked. Shove the chicken off to one side and crack in the eggs- let them sit and start to set before scrambling, then set, then scramble etc. When the eggs have fully cooked stir everything back together.
Next add the (drained) noodles and quickly after, the soy and fish sauces. Toss everything well and cook for a few minutes before throwing in the spring onion.
Season to your liking.