Among the other flamboyantly garnished and highly aromatic plates being handed around the table, this one seemed rather plain jane. An unassuming bowl of slippery noodles sprinkled with what looked like crispy pork and crushed peanuts? But one bite was all it took: it was love at first spicy-tangy-sweet forkful.

Since that fateful restaurant dinner, I've become rather obsessed with this Thai noodle dish. Its official name is yum woon sen and it encapsulates much of what I love about Thai cuisine. The fresh flavor of just-squeezed limes, a balance of crunchy and chewy, pungent fish sauce, and just enough heat to set your tongue tingling.
This dish is actually quite elegant in its simplicity. The seasoned noodles are the real star with the crispy pork and other ingredients just there to play back up. It's usually served cold or room temperature, and many versions include either dried or whole cooked shrimp to make it a more substantial meal. I chose to leave the shrimp out of my dish, but please feel free to add them if shrimp are something you like.
If you've never worked with them before, glass noodles require a little explanation. You'll find them in Asian supermarkets labeled as glass noodles, mung bean noodles, bean threads, saifun, or any combination of those names. They are made from mung bean starch and become transparent when cooked. They're not hard to work with—just soak in hot water then cook in boiling water for a few minutes—but I always find their stretchiness right out of the pot to be a bit surprising. Once cool, they become much more tender. I also usually cut them a few times with kitchen shears to make the long noodles easier to eat.
Love is a beautiful thing, and I truly love this dish. It just goes to show that sometimes the simplest dishes make the biggest statement.

Spicy Glass Noodles with Crispy Pork (Yum Woon Sen)
Serves 4 to 6 as a side dish1/2 pound ground pork
1 6-ounce package glass noodles (bean threads/saifun)
3 green onions, sliced into thin rounds
2 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro
1 bird's eye chili, ribs and seeds removed, minced (substitute 1/4 teaspoon dried chili flakes)
2 tablespoons peanuts, roughly chopped
2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons lime juice (from 1 lime)
Extra chopped peanuts for garnishing
Warm a teaspoon of canola oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pork and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently to break the pork into tiny crumbles. Cook for another 3-5 minutes, stirring less frequently, until the pork turns deeply golden and crispy. Set aside.
While the pork is cooking, set the noodles in a bowl and cover them with hot water to soak. Let them sit until softened, about 10 minutes or until the pork has finished cooking.
Bring a pot of water to a boil. Drop in the noodles and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the noodles are stretchy and tender. Drain and rinse under cool water. Use a pair of kitchen shears to cut the mass of noodles 3 or 4 times: this makes the long noodles easier to eat.
Combine the noodles, pork, green onions, cilantro, chili, and peanuts in a large bowl. Whisk together the soy sauce, fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice in a small bowl. Taste and add more of any of the ingredients to suit your tastes, then pour the sauce over the noodles. Use tongs or clean hands to lift the noodles, fold them over, and gradually work the ingredients into the noodles. Let stand at least 15 minutes before serving or refrigerate until serving. Garnish each dish with extra peanuts.
This dish is best on the day that it's made. For serving leftovers, make an extra batch of the sauce and add it toåç the noodles a few teaspoons a time, stirring the noodles until they loosen and become slippery again.
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(Image: Emma Christensen)
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Comments (14)
I am going to make this tonight. It looks really delicious! Should I go with crisp pork or something else? I had an outrageous experience RE: pork in Thailand:-) http://7th-taste.com/2011/06/13/pad-thai-with-dolcetto-dalba/
I think Thai food is sooo so good because it's full of bold, spicy, tangy, and sweet flavors~ahhh I hope to go there someday.
Looks delicious! I'm putting it on next week's meal plan. Thanks for the tip on how to seve left-overs.
Leftovers could also be rolled in rice paper wrappers with a bunch of fresh herbs Thai Basil, Mint, Cilantro.
I've made this for later tonight (we can't get ready-minced-pork here so I chopped mine in tiny tiny dice, and it seemed to work well) and I can't stop sneaking forkfuls! Yum!
This is really yummy! I ignored the leftover instructions (didn't want to add all that extra salt) and it reheated just fine.
I made this for dinner last night and it was super yum. It was the first time I've cooked glass noodles...the instructions should add a note that 1st timers should allow an extra 5 minutes of playtime while draining the noodles. ;-) Trippy noodles!
The author's description of the flavors were right on. A surprisingly simple recipe for such complex flavors.
My main gripe is that this dish turned out to be mostly noodles. I expected a greater variety of textures based on the picture. If I make this again, I'll halve the recommended amount of noodles and put in more green onions and cilantro.
We just made this tonight with rice noodles- totally delicious. We'll add shrimp next time, and it will definitely be on our easy-supper list!
P.S. Forgot to add- we added a pint of bean sprouts (a la pad thai) for crunch, since neither of us like peanuts.
Everyone loved this the other day when I made it. I was really skeptical about the amount of fish sauce, 2 Tbl. seems like a ton, but it came out great. I used 2 "thai" chili peppers which seemed much smaller than the one you have pictured, probably would have added more if I wasn't serving others. Well, I lied, the 9 year old who ate with us refused the actual dish and requested just the noodles with soy sauce, which she turned her nose up at because they were cold. Oh well, I liked it.
I made this for lunch today, and it is so tasty! I didn't have any ground pork on hand, so I used a block of extra firm tofu instead. I diced it into tiny cubes and marinated it in a mix of soy sauce, sesame oil, and garlic powder. Then I spread the tofu in a single layer on a foil lined cookie shet and baked it at 400 degrees for about a half an hour until the tofu turned golden brown.
I'll definitely make this recipe again!
Cant wait to make this tomorrow-- just picked up the ingredients. It's great when people post comments after they've made it so I already know I'll probably make extra sauce and add extra cilantro and peanuts--maybe shredded carrot too. And your comment as the opener for this feature is spot-on--I'm home between Christmas and New Year's and ready for a break from the traditional cooking I've had to focus on recently.
I made it last night-- it was delicious. For my own taste preferences, a little pungence goes a long way, and I love strong citrus flavors, so next time, I would reduce the fish sauce to one tablespoon, and increase the lime juice to 3 Tbs. I increased all the veggie ingredients--at least double the cilantro and peanuts and added a shredded carrot and bean sprouts because I like a lot of veggie color and crunch when eating any kind of starch.
This was a really fresh and easy recipe and very adaptable to personal taste. Next time I want to try julienned radishes.