“Phnom Penh” is one of our favourite Vancouver eateries; my friend “PPQ” came up with this “lazy” version (without soup) and recently I have fine tuned this easy recipe. The ingredients are simple and easy to prepare, it is also fun to prepare this for a “buffet” or potluck party, all you have to do is prepare the toppings and everyone can assemble their own noodle dish and spark an interesting dinner conversation! Enjoy (OO).
Ingredients: (Serves 2 – 4 as light meal/appetizer)
1 package of fresh Chinese rice noodle “Cheong Fun” roll (650g, with scallions and dried shrimp) (available at most Asian supermarkets), Tiger prawns (approximately 3-4 each person for each serving, shelled, deveined, boiled), lean pasture raised ground pork (250g), fish sauce (for seasoning the pork), cilantro, fresh lime, 1 package of bean sprouts, green scallions (chopped), fried garlic and fried onion (you can make your own or purchase prepackaged product from Thailand), fresh Thai chilies (seeded and finely chopped, optional), Chinese “Tianjin” preserved cabbage (small handful)
For the sauce: Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce, low sodium chicken stock, dark soy sauce (1-1-1 ratio)
Other condiments: Store bought Sambal Olek Chilli Sauce, chopped Thai chillies mixed with white vinegar (optional), Homemade prawn oil (optional)
Preparation:
– Cut the rice roll into bite size (approximately 1 inch lengthwise); then slice through the middle to make them thinner; sprinkle with cold water and reheat in rice cooker (leave them in rice cooker under “keep warm” mode”).
– To prepare the sauce: mix all ingredients and bring to boil, adjust sweetness and saltiness according to your liking
– Instead of oil, add a little water to skillet and saute the ground pork in high heat, add a little fish sauce for seasoning, set aside
– To prepare the prawns: shelled and deveined (with tail intact), add water to medium size pot (enough to cover the prawns), add a slice of lemon and a few black peppercorn and bring liquid to a boil; add prawns and cook until just opaque throughout. Have an “ice” bath ready; when prawns are cooked, pour the prawns into strainer and “shock” in ice bath immediately to stop the cooking process. Strained and set aside.
– Parboil the bean sprouts quickly, strain and set aside.
– Prepare the preserved cabbage – soaked in cold water for at least 15 to 20 minutes, squeezed dry and chopped finely; chop green scallions, cilantro, slice the limes.
– To serve, Place each ingredient in individual serving bowls, prepare a condiment tray and set up the self-serve noodle bar. Enjoy!
Notes:
You can adjust the meat/vegetable quantity and taste according to your taste and dietary needs. Steamed pork belly slices are also good addition to this dish.
Indonesian Sweet Soy Sauce – the brand which I’ve used is called “ABC”, it’s available at T & T Supermarket. When making the sauce, I diluted the sweet soy sauce with low sodium chicken broth to lessen the sweetness.
I used the prawn shells and prepared my own oil (It’s simple and easy to prepare).
My Golden Apron 