Learn all about how to make authentic Mee Ka Tee, a Lao and Thai coconut noodle with pork recipe. This is a delicious noodle soup that has the flavor of coconut with a beautiful balance of flavor that provides a hearty meal.
Mee ka tee is a coconut curry, noodle soup that is a common dish made in Laos and Thailand.
It's a noodle dish that provides an amazing array of delicious flavors, from tart to sweet with the earthiness of the soybean sauce.
While Thailand is known for its pad thai, there are so many other Thai noodle dishes that I believe has more flavor, texture, and takes it to umami.
If you loved my authentic khao poon recipe, panang curry, or khao piak sen, you will absolutely love mee ka tee. There are subtle flavors and textures from each of those dishes that you'll find in mee ka tee.
It is generally classified as a soup dish, and is often used as a comfort food. You'll definitely want to add this to your dinner menu rotation.
All About Mee Ka Tee - Lao and Thai Coconut Noodles with Pork
Mee Ka Tee is a Lao and Thai noodle soup that provides the contrast of a coconut milk broth, with springy noodles and an added layer of delicious garnishes.
The coconut milk in this recipe provides a thick creaminess to the broth that does not overwhelm the dish, but provides a balance of fragrance and deep flavor.
Where does mee ka tee originate from?
Mee ka tee is a soup dish that originates from Laos and Thailand. Often, each region's version of mee ka tee may have a flavor this is more prominent. Thailand often has a sweeter broth than that of the Lao version.
What does Mee Ka Tee taste like?
It is like the creamy version of Pad Thai. Mee ka tee shares similar ingredients as Pad Thai, but it is different in that a deeply rich coconut gravy is pork over vermicelli rice noodles.
The texture provides a subtle nod to peanut sauce, but the combination of the coconut milk and soy bean sauce provides the characteristics of peanuts. It's tangy, but delicious.
Other Names for Lao Coconut Noodle Soup
As with most Lao and Thai dishes, Mee ka tee is often a dish that is translated into various ways and phonetically spelled out in English.
Mee ka tee can be found by the following various monikers:
- mi kathi lao
- mee ka tee
- me kathi
- mee ga thai
- mee ga ti
- mee ga-ti
- mee ka tee
- pad mee kati
- mee kati
Mee, mi, and me means noodles. Ka tee, ga-ti, ga ti, kati means coconut milk.
When is mee ka tee served in Lao or Thai culture?
Mee Kat Tee is often served to celebrate a Lao festival (called buon) or family gatherings.
Tips and Tricks for Making Mee Ka Tee Recipe
Before you get started on this recipe, I wanted to share with you some tips in order for you to have the best results, even though this recipe is fairly easy.
Don't let the number of ingredients and garnishes intimidate you.
- Make sure that you prepare the vermicelli noodles as the first step. Prevent the vermicelli noodles from sticking together by adding a teaspoon of cooking oil and wrapping them into small rounds with your hands.
- Mee ka tee when simmering over less time may be spicier because of the red curry paste. If you want a less concentrated spice, cook it longer to allow the heat to dissipate into the creamy broth.
- If you allow the broth to cook for a longer period, it allows for flavor development as well as time to prepare garnishes, accompaniments and the noodles.
- Mee ka tee is a soup that tastes better over time. The flavors become more concentrated and the broth thickens as it sits in the refrigerator.
- If you want to make a healthier version, you can use lean ground pork.
- There are some versions that use vinegar, but my recipe doesn't use it.
- Truly authentic recipes use pork blood curd (also known as blood tofu or blood pudding), but I've omitted it here.
Ingredients to Get At the Asian Grocery Store
Below are the ingredients that you'll probably want to get at the Asian grocery store.
- Palm Sugar
- Soybean Sauce
- Fish Sauce
- Coconut Cream
- Vermicelli Noodles
- Thai Basil
- Kaffir Lime Leaves
- Fresh Herbs for Garnishes:
- Banana Blossom
- Mint
- Bean Sprouts
- Cabbage
- Cilantro
- Arrow Mint
- Thai Basil
- Red Serrano Peppers
How to Make Mee Ka Tee Noodle Soup
Ingredients for Mee Ka Tee Noodle Soup
- 1 package of vermicelli noodles, prepared
- 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons of palm sugar
- 3 tablespoons of whole soybean sauce
- 2 tablespoons of granulated white sugar
- 3 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoons of tamarind paste
- 1 can of coconut cream
- 1 lb of ground pork
- 3 eggs
- 1 can of curry
- 6 Kaffir Lime Leaves
Garnishing for Mee Ka Tee Coconut Noodle Soup
- dry roasted peanuts, crushed
- 1 banana peel
- shredded cabbage
- bean sprouts
- Thai Basil
- cilantro
- shredded lettuce
- mint
- lime wedges
Instructions on Making Thai Mee Ka Tee Noodle Soup
Prepare the vermicelli noodles according to package instructions and set aside with a damp cloth covering it to keep it from hardening.
In a soup pot, heat up the cooking oil and add in the curry paste.
Slowly pour in ¼ cup of the coconut cream and continue stirring the curry paste until the sauce blends together. Continue slowly adding in the coconut cream until the curry and cream are blended together.
In a bowl, beat the eggs together. Carefully pour the eggs into the pot, allowing the mixture to continue melding together. The goal is to avoid chunks of cooked eggs, you'll want the eggs to thread or create long strings in the soup.
Next, add in the ground pork. When the pork is halfway cooked through, add in the palm sugar, whole soybean sauce, sugar, fish sauce, tamarind paste, and salt. Add the kaffir lime leaves.
Allow it to simmer for 45 minutes.
While it simmers, wash and clean the garnishes to accompany the soup bowl.
Banana blossoms should be sliced thinly like so.
Serving Mee Ka Tee
The serving size is as much noodles as you want. When placing the noodles in the bowl, it's generally about two handfuls.
To serve, put the vermicelli noodles into a serving bowl. Ladle the broth into the bowl with the pork meat.
Add the garnish of crushed roasted peanuts, cabbage, bean sprouts, banana flower, Thai basil, cilantro, shredded lettuce, and mint.
Squeeze a lime over all of it and serve.
Notes
You can also enjoy this with dried chilli peppers.
Leftover and Storing Mee Ka Tee
Mee ka tee can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. It is one of the soups that taste better the following day as the flavors becomes more concentrated and allows the broth to thicken up even more.
Vermicelli noodles should be stored separate than the soup base. Vermicelli noodles should honestly be cooked fresh versus being stored in the refrigerator.
Summary About Mee Ka Tee
Mee Ka Tee is a Lao and Thai coconut noodle soup with pork that is easy to make, delicious, as well as satisfying. It is a dish where you can find most of the ingredients in your local market. This dish is an authentic Southeast Asian recipe that you'll definitely enjoy making as well as eating. Thin rice noodles steeped and drizzled in coconut milk is absolutely divine, and I hope you love it as much as our family does!
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Other Lao Noodle Recipes You Might Love
If you liked this recipe for Mee Ka Tee, you might like these other recipes:
- Khao Poon (Coconut Red Curry Noodle Soup)
- Khao Piak Sen (Tapioca Chicken Noodle Recipe)
- Thai Fermented Soybean Paste Coconut Cream Dipping Sauce
- Best Kaeng Kari Kai Curry Yellow Chicken
Authentic Mee Ka Tee Coconut Noodle Soup
Ingredients
- 1 package of vermicelli noodles, prepared
- 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
- 2 tablespoons of palm sugar
- 3 tablespoons of whole soybean sauce
- 2 tablespoons of granulated white sugar
- 3 tablespoons of fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon of salt
- 1 tablespoons of tamarind paste
- 1 can of coconut cream
- 1 lb of ground pork
- 3 eggs
- 1 can of curry
- 6 Kaffir Lime Leaves
Garnishing for Mee Ka Tee Coconut Noodle Soup
- dry roasted peanuts, crushed
- 1 banana peel
- shredded cabbage
- bean sprouts
- Thai Basil
- cilantro
- shredded lettuce
- mint
- lime wedges
Instructions
- Prepare the vermicelli noodles according to package instructions and set aside with a damp cloth covering it to keep it from hardening.
- In a soup pot, heat up the cooking oil and add in the curry paste.
- Slowly pour in ¼ cup of the coconut cream and continue stirring the curry paste until the sauce blends together. Continue slowly adding in the coconut cream until the curry and cream are blended together.
- In a bowl, beat the eggs together. Carefully pour the eggs into the pot, allowing the mixture to continue melding together. The goal is to avoid chunks of cooked eggs, you'll want the eggs to thread or create long strings in the soup.
- Next, add in the ground pork. When the pork is halfway cooked through, add in the palm sugar, whole soybean sauce, sugar, fish sauce, tamarind paste, and salt. Add the kaffir lime leaves.
- Allow it to simmer for 45 minutes. The serving size is as much noodles as you want. When placing the noodles in the bowl, it's generally about two handfuls.
- To serve, put the vermicelli noodles into a serving bowl. Ladle the broth into the bowl with the pork meat.
- Add the garnish of crushed roasted peanuts, cabbage, bean sprouts, banana flower, Thai basil, cilantro, shredded lettuce, and mint. Squeeze a lime over all of it and serve.
Notes
You can also enjoy this with dried chilli peppers.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 10 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 266Total Fat: 14gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 1132mgCarbohydrates: 17gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 18g
