Khmer Pan Fried Noodles

 KHMER PAN FRIED NOODLES 

(FUSION KHMER AND AMERICAN)

Recipe by: Robert and Siphannay Burnes 

    Khmer Pan Fried Noodles is a creation of our own design. It combines the universal asian noodle, Ramen, with common ingredients from Cambodia and the United States. This is a house with rich, mixed cultures and foods and there is nothing Siphannay and I love more than exploring the different styles of preparing the food, seasoning the foods, or even serving the foods. This fusion style isn't anything new and we're not trying to re-create the wheel here. We are just sharing our love for cooking and our love and respect for one another's culture in an attempt to keep the three cultures alive in a world where we are becoming increasingly endangered. 

 WARNING:  This is a dish that you will need to work with some high-heat so ensure that you have everything in place prior to cooking. Fires in the kitchen can get out of control very quickly so ensure you have the appropriate fire extinguishers as well and please, PLEASE watch children. Those little hands are quick. 

    It's all about the contrast in Khmer dishes. If it is soft, you need to add crunchy. If it is sweet, you need some spicy. So on and so forth. I'm sure this contrast in flavors and texture is common throughout the world, but nowhere more so than Cambodia. 

    BEFORE COOKING: Prepare the following and place the ingredients in separate bowls: 

1. Four cloves of freshly chopped garlic (Anyway you want this to appear in your dish. We prefer fine chopped, but it's perfectly fine to leave large, chunky garlic pieces in there as well). 

2. 1/4 cup green onion stalk; 

3. One shallot; 

4. Two tablespoons of cooking oil; 

5. Tablespoon of oyster sauce; 

6. Tablespoon of dark soy sauce; 

7. Two teaspoons of sugar; 

8. Teaspoon of chili; 

9. One jalapeño; 

10. 1/8 teaspoon of ground/dried ginger. 

11. A dash of fish sauce (MSG free); 

12. Salt and pepper to taste (We add the salt and pepper as finishing ingredients). 

    COOKING: The following is in the suggested sequence of introduction: 

1. Fill a separate pot with cold water (about 3/4 full) and bring this to a boil. Add the ramen noodles to the water after the water is boiling. You want these noodles to be close to finished, but not too soft. Al dente if you will; 

2. Once the noodles are done, drain the water and rinse the noodles under cold water, using a pair of chop stick or tongs to move the noodles around. The idea is not to let the noodles stick together. Continue to rinse until the noodles are easily separated; 

3. Set the noodles in the fridge. 

4. Use high heat to warm the large pan or wok; 

5. Add 1/2 of the cooking oil and wait for the oil to start to smoke; 

6. Add the garlic and cook until it is toast brown then remove it from the pan; 

7. Add shallots and repeat (toast brown) then remove from the pan and add to garlic; 

8. Add remainder of cooking oil to the pan and wait for the oil to smoke; 

9. Add noodles and stir frequently until the noodles start to form some toasted marks; 

10. Add: oyster sauce, soy sauce, chili, ginger, jalapeño sugar, and the toasted browned garlic and shallots and cook until the liquids have been absorbed/cooked off; 

11. The sugar will caramelize the other ingredients and make things a bit sticky so continue to stir. 

12. The jalapeño on this kind of heat will also invoke some scratchy throat. Get over it; 

13. Add the salt and pepper then remove from heat 

    SERVING 

     This is a dish that can be served alone or with other sides. We enjoy it as a bowl of noodles without sides, but we do garnish. 

    Place as many noodles as you want into a bowl and garnish with the green onions and a teaspoon of sesame oil. Siphannay loves to add a hot sauce to her noodles, but I prefer the sweeter hoisin sauce. Just a dash. 

ENJOY!!!! 

Robert and Siphannay 

The Bear and Dragon Experience