ก๋วยเตี๋ยว (guoi dtiao) is one of the most ubiquitous street foods in Thailand and is a kind of noodle soup. It’s probably one of the most customizable Thai dishes out there, from start to finish. You get to choose the noodle size, whether you want broth or not, the kind of broth and the meat. Plus, at the table you can add flavorings to your bowl as you like it.
Guoi dtiao is a dish that is Chinese influenced, as so it is one of the rare things in Thailand that you eat with chopsticks (there’s also an Asian-style spoon for the broth). This dish is pretty strictly eaten at street stands, and so rather than give you a recipe for guoi dtiao, I’ll give you the steps to ordering your own bowl.
Step 1: Decide What Kind of Soup You Want
First you should decide what kind of soup you want, and if you even want it to be a soup or if you just want the noodles. Your typical options include:
ก๋วยเตี๋ยวน้ำ (guoi dtiao naam), which is noodles in a clear broth with meat, bean sprouts, and some other vegetables and herbs. This is the standard option.
ก๋วยเตี๋ยวต้มยำ (guoi dtiao dtom yam) is similar to guai dtiao naam, but includes chili paste, peanuts, lime juice, chili powder, sugar and fish sauce.
ก๋วยเตี๋ยวเรือ (guoi dtiao ruea) is one for the more adventurous eaters out there, as its base is cow or pig’s blood and includes liver pieces in addition to the veggies and herbs. You can order without the blood (mai ow naam dtok) if that part really squicks you out.
เย็นตาโฟ (yen dta foe) is a typically served with seafood and the broth is mixed with red bean curd paste or ketchup, making it slightly sweet, salty and sour.
If you don’t want a soup, you just want noodles, you can ask for it to be แห้ง (haeng).
Step 2: Choose Your Noodle Size
This is all up to personal preference. Your noodle options are typically:
- เส้นใหญ่ (sen yaai) which are wide rice noodles
- เส้นเล็ก (sen lek) which are skinny rice noodles
- เส้นหมี่ (sen mii) which are round, Vermicelli rice noodles
- เส้นบะหมี่ (sen ba-mii) which are yellow egg noodles
- วุ้นเส้น (woon sen) which are glass noodles
I prefer sen lek. You can also get soup without noodles; just as for เกาเหลา (gao lao).
Step 3: Choose Your Meat
There are usually a couple of options: fish balls, shrimp ball, pork, red pork. Rarely you’ll find beef, chicken and seafood. Look in the case and see what’s available and ask for that. I’m a vegetarian, so I always get my noodles with no meat.
Step 4: Season to Taste
Thai food is based on the four main flavors: sweet, salty, sour and spicy. On the table, there will be some cups or jars with sugar, fish sauce, vinegar and chili powder for you to add the respective flavors to your soup as you like it.
Word of warning, the spice from the chili will marinade as you eat making the dish spicier as you get to the end.
Step 5: Enjoy!
Grab a set of chopsticks for your right hand and an Asian spoon for your left and dig in!
