Beef Noodle Soup - Kuay Teow Neua Nam Khon

Ingredients
A 2 -lb. package of fresh rice noodles
1/2 kg. tender cut of steak, thinly sliced in bite-size strips (optional)
8-10 beef meat balls, cut in half or leave whole (optional)
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
4 cups bean sprouts(too-a ngork)
4 cups morning glory (poong fai daeng) cut into pieces
1 cup short coriander(puk chee) sprigs
4 big onions(hom yai), cut in thin rounds
Fried garlic oil - 8 cloves of chopped garlic fried in 1/4 cup of oil

Beef Soup
A whole beef shank (about 1 to 1 1/2 kg)
8 cups water
2 star anise
2 stalks lemon grass(ta krai), cut in 2-inch segments and crushed
2-inch section galangal (kah), crushed
4-5 kaffir lime leaves
1 garlic clove, crushed whole
20 white peppercorns, cracked
1/2 cup coriander roots and stem sections, crushed
5 shallots(hom lek), leave whole
1 tbsp. palm or brown sugar, to taste
1 tsp. salt(gleua)
4 or more tbsp. fish sauce(nam pla), to taste

Chilli Sauce
10 red and green Thai chillies, chopped
2 red chillies, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1/3 cup lime juice (nam manao)
2-3 tbsp. fish sauce, to taste
2-3 tsp. sugar(nam dtan), to taste

Place the whole beef shank and all the herbs, spices and flavour ingredients in a large pot. Add water and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the shank is tender (4 hours). Remove shank and strain the broth. Slice into bite-size chunks and return to strained broth.

Separate the noodles as much as possible into single strands.

Make the fried garlic oil and prepare the remaining ingredients.

When the soup is ready, boil a large pot of water. Toss the beef meat balls into the pot and while it is cooking, blanch the noodles, bean sprouts and morning glory for just a few seconds - a handful at a time, enough for one serving. Drain quickly and place in an individual serving-sized bowl and spoon a few pieces of stewed beef and broth over the noodles.

Next, blanch a few pieces of the sliced steak in the hot water, just enough to cook to medium rare. Arrange beef slices over the noodles and spoon one or more pieces of meat balls into the bowl.

Sprinkle with sliced onions, dust with white pepper and top with fried garlic oil (both garlic pieces and a little oil) and coriander sprigs.

Repeat to make more bowls of noodles.

Chilli sauce

Pound the chopped chiles and garlic to a paste with a mortar and pestle. Combine with the remaining sauce ingredients and let sit to allow the flavors to blend and mingle. Sauce should be equally sour and salty with a hint of sweetness.

Serve immediately.

Makes 8-10 servings.