Shrimp, Pork & Bean Thread Soup

Click to Enlarge	Shrimp, Pork & Bean Thread Soup Thailand - Kaeng Joet Wun Sen
	Serves Effort: Sched: DoAhead:	4 soup ** hr Yes	An easy to make soup with interesting Asian flavors and textures. Mung bean noodles don't get mushy so this soup is easy to hold and re-warms well.

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2
3/8
3
4
1
5
4
2
4
3
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2

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oz
T

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c
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Bean Threads (1)
Black Fungus (2)
Shrimp
Pork, lean
Cilantro stems (3)
Peppercorns
Garlic
Oil
Stock (4)
Fish Sauce
-- Garnish
Scallions

Prep

Soak BEAN THREADS in warm water for 1/2 hour, drain. Pile them on the cutting board and make a few cuts through at right angles so the pieces are 1-1/2 to 2 inches long. You should have about 1 cup.
Soak BLACK FUNGUS in warm water for 1/2 hour. Pinch off any hard attachment points and tear into convenient pieces. You should have about 2 ounces.
Cut SHRIMP or leave them whole depending on size and your preference.
Slice Pork fairly thin and cut into small pieces.
Chop CILANTRO STEMS fine. Crush GARLIC and chop fine. Mix with Peppercorns and pound to a paste in a mortar.
Slice SCALLIONS thin for garnish, white and green.

Run

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan or spacious sauté pan, heat Oil and fry Garlic mix until aromatic, then stir in Pork and fry stirring until it has lost all it's raw color, then stir in Shrimp for 2 minutes.
Stir in 1/2 cup Stock, the Noodles and Black Fungus stirring until well mixed. Stir in remaining Stock and Fish Sauce, then bring up to a boil, then take off the heat.
Serve hot, garnished with chopped Scallions.

NOTES:

Bean Threads: Also known as Glass Noodles and Mung Bean Noodles. Don't confuse them with rice threads which look the same dried but are white rather than transparent cooked, have a different flavor and start to break up if held hot very long.
Black Fungus: Also known as Wood Ears, Cloud Ears, Tree Ears and other names. Weight given here is before soaking. See my Black Fungus page for details.
Cilantro Stems: Actually this should be 1/2 T of Cilantro Roots, but those are hard to get even here in Los Angeles. Include no leaves.
Stock: Chicken or Pork is fine. Use an unsalted stock and add no salt as the fish sauce provides plenty.
U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch