Vegan kway chap (Thai rice noodle rolls soup)

This vegan kway chap recipe ticks a lot of boxes. It's a robust, peppery, five spice soup packed with braised mock meats. In other words, a warming treat at any time of day.

A quick housekeeping note: you'll see I use kway chap and kway jap (kuay chap, guay jab – the list goes on) interchangeably. They have the same meaning but are two different styles of converting the Thai writing system to an English equivalent sound.

Also, apologies for the wordy explanations that follow. I know I can go on a bit with my posts, but I really do try to keep everything I write relevant, rather than pen text purely as an exercise in SEO (save the use of both transliterations mentioned in the previous paragraph). I loathe empty writing.

Types of kway jap noodle soup

To avoid confusion, there are two contrasting variations to kway chap, plus another dish by the same name.

• Kway jap nam kon is the recipe I've made for this post. Nam kon translates to "cloudy," and refers to the thicker, darker broth used in this style of kway chap.
• Kway jap nam sai contains a lighter, clear broth (nam sai means "clear liquid").
• Kway jap yuan, a different type of noodle soup altogether, is primarily associated with the Isaan (Northeastern) region of Thailand, especially nearby the Mekong river. Yuan is a colloquial term for Vietnam/Vietnamese, and refers here more to the type of noodles used and the inclusion of a type of bouncy Vietnamese sausage called moo yor.

Substitutions and ingredients in kway chap

I know it can be daunting to come across a list of ingredients in a recipe that are either unfamiliar (hence daunting) or inaccessible. I like to teach specificity when I share Thai recipes, but I think it's important to be able to adapt them when possible.

Substitutions for rice flake noodles

While rice roll noodles, or sen kway jap (เส้นก๋วยจั๊บ), are traditional, there are other options if you can't find them or can't be arsed to look.

It's not unheard of to use a similar style of noodle called kway tiao siang hai (ก๋วยเตี๋ยว เซี่ยงไฮ้), which tranlates to Shanghai bean sheet noodle. These noodles are made from mung bean starch and look similar when dried. They're a lot easier to work with, in my opinion, than the rice flake noodles, and perhaps easier to find at Chinese grocers. Bean sheet noodles are transluscent when cooked, whereas the rice flakes are opaque.

Another option is to use rice noodles, whether the thinner style typically reserved for dishes like pad thai, or another favourite type. It might not be traditional, but it will taste just as good.

Instructions and tips for cooking rice flake noodles

That they don't roll up is a common complaint pertaining to the cooking of rice flake noodles. Here are a few tricks to ensuring the flat sheets roll up while cooking:

1. Add them individually, one sheet at a time, while stirring the pot of boiling water.
2. Don't overcrowd the pot.
3. Stir regularly while cooking. This is the most important step.

You may still have a few sheets that don't roll up, but that's ok. They'll still taste good. Alternatively, use the bean sheet noodles mentioned above.

Mock meats

Kway jap typically contains a variety of pig derived ingredients. Vegan versions in Thailand tend to replicate and/or replace these with various soy or gluten based products. I intentionally keep the ingredients list a little bit vague here because some of the ingredients I use are not easily obtainable outside of Thailand and even if all you have to hand is tofu puffs it's still going to taste great.

Some options I recommend include:

• Tofu puffs
• Dried bean curd sticks either as is or deep fried before adding to the stock
• Bean curd sheets (yuba), torn up and deep fried before adding to the stock
• Fresh firm tofu
• Sliced rehydrated dried shiitake mushrooms (just save the ones from making the stock)
• Rehydrated TVP
• Seitan made with the washed flour method (or an unseasoned vital wheat gluten preparation). Some ESEA shops sell gluten intestine, which works particularly well.
• If you have access to a food dehydrator, cut tofu into ¼ inch batons, dry it completely, and then deep fry them before adding to the stock.

You can use as few or many of these as you'd like. As for quantity, I always eyeball it. The entire recipe is for 8 people, so I aim for a handleful of mock meats per bowl.

Variations

Unlike many other noodle soups on offer in in Thailand, bean sprouts aren't a traditional inclusion in kway chap. Buuut I love them anyway. They're great for bulking bowls out and adding something vegetable-y without taking away from the personality of the dish too much. I've not included them in the kway chap recipe below but feel free to add a blanched handful to each bowl if it strikes your fancy.

The stock contains both sichuan peppercorns and white peppercorns, to the extent that the soup is a little spicy. If this doesn't spark joy (as collecting multitudinous ingredients until my cupboards no longer close properly does for me), either lessen the quantities or leave them out altogether. It will alter the flavour, but the dish will remain tasty. You can always pop some ground white pepper on the table for diners to add their own. In Thailand it's pretty usual to add a shake to the bowls on serving anyway.

Equipment

I used my Instant Pot to make this, purely as a time-saving measure.

If you don't have one, that's fine. The recipe also works on the stovetop, but it'll just take a little while longer. With regards to the stock, cook it for 60-90 minutes on a low simmer. You'll end up with a wee bit stock less due to evaporation (the Instant Pot is a sealed unit so you retain almost all liquid). Consequently you might want to use just a wee bit more water.

Then discard the solids as per the recipe and add in the faux meats. Cook on low until they soften and take on some colour from the stock.

Storage

This will keep in the fridge for a week or so, but if you can't get through it then it freezes great. You can freeze the stock with the mock meats included or freeze them separately.Remove this block, and replace it with the recipe card here

📖 Recipe

Print Recipe

Vegan kway chap nam kon ก๋วยจั๊บน้ำข้นวีแกน

This guay jap recipe makes approximately 8 servings, give or take, but the instructions dictate making the stock and then preparing the bowls one at a time. What this means is everything under the "noodles" heading is designed for one serving.

A lot goes into make Thai noodle soups and this is no exception. When taking all of the condiments, stock, add ins, and toppings into account there's a whole lot of prep. I always recommend people make the fried garlic oil (gratiem jeow) and the condiments first, because they'll keep for a long while. That way, once the stock and mock meats are cooked, all you've got to worry about is boiling the rice flakes and chopping some herbs to dish up.

Servings: 8 servings

Equipment

• Instant Pot

Ingredients

Soup

• 25 grams garlic, chopped (4 very large cloves)
• 15 grams coriander root or stems, chopped
• 2 teaspoons white peppercorns (8 grams)
• 1 ½ tablespoons vegetable oil
• 30 grams palm sugar or light brown sugar (1 ½ tablespoons)
• 2 ½ litres water
• 2 tablespoons seasoning sauce See notes¹
• 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons thin soy sauce See notes¹
• 2 tablespoons sweet dark soy sauce See notes¹
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sichuan peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon Thai five spice powder e.g. Lobo brand
• 7 grams cinnamon stick
• 1 black cardamom
• 1 star anise
• 10 grams galangal cut into slices and lightly bruised (with a knife handle or pestle)
• 2 pandan leaves knotted
• 65 grams dried salted radish See notes²
• 2 corn cobs corn removed (save it for another dish)
• 20 grams 2 large dried shiitake mushrooms

"Meats" (See notes)

• Firm tofu
• Tofu puffs
• Seitan
• Fried yuba sticks
• TVP meats

Noodles (per serving - see notes)

• Dried rice noodle rolls 60 grams per person
• 625 millilitres water
• 2 tablespoons rice flour or tapioca starch mixed with 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl

Toppings

• Coriander leaf
• Chinese celery
• Spring onion
• Gratiem jeow See notes³
• Ground white pepper

Condiments (see notes)

• Chilli vinegar prik nam som
• Sugar
• Prik bon kua
• Prik nam plaa

Instructions

Stock

• First make the stock. Pound the garlic, coriander stems/roots, and white peppercorns into a paste using a pestle and mortar. Heat your instant pot on saute to low. Add the oil and fry the paste for a few minutes, until you can no longer smell raw garlic. Scoop the paste out into a bowl.
• Add the palm sugar and cook for another couple of minutes, stirring constantly, until it turns a few shades darker. Don’t let it burn.
• Add water and all remaining soup ingredients, including the garlic/coriander root/white peppercorn paste. Turn the instant pot to slow cook on low heat (sealed), pop the lid on, and cook for 8-10 hours.
• When the soup is finished, use a fine mesh strainer to remove the solids. Set the shiitakes aside to cool. When cool, chop and return to soup. Discard everything else.
• Add the faux meats (approximate handful per person) and pressure cook on high for 1 minute. Let the pressure release naturally.

Noodles

• Bring water to the boil. Give the slurry of starch/flour and water a stir to loosen it up and pour it into the boiling water. Stir. The water will thicken and turn cloudy.
• Add the rice flake noodles one sheet at a time, while stirring, until they're all in the pot. Continue to stir, nonstop, for a few minutes until the noodles roll up. If some don't roll up, it's fine. When the noodles are cooked (5-10 minutes), strain and place into serving bowls.

To serve

• Add around 250 millilitres (1 cup) stock to the noodle bowls, along with some of the stewed mock meats.
• Top with 1-2 tablespoons worth of herbs and 1-2 teaspoons of fried garlic oil. Serve with suggested condiments.

Notes

1. For an explanation of soy and seasoning sauces, look to my Thai soy and seasoning sauce primer.
2. Dried salted radish comes in two varieties: sweet and salty. Here you want to use the latter.
3. Fried garlic oil is a condiment you'll want to use on everything.

 

Meats: As mentioned in the body of the post above, I intentionally kept this list vague because different folks are going to have access to different items, and it's hard to provide measurements for disparate ingredients (hence suggesting a handful per bowl). If all you can get your hands on is fried tofu puffs, it's fine to just use those. Or you can use fresh tofu too. I note you should deep fry some the ingredients first, but that's not a requirement (but it will improve texture and aid in soaking up the stock). Whatever you do, don't fret too much about this.

Noodles: To make more than one serving at a time, increase the water to 1,250 millilitres plus ¼ cup rice flour or tapioca starch mixed with ¼ cup water. You can make up to 4 servings of noodles in this amount of liquid.

Condiments:

• Chilli vinegar recipe is here.
• Prik bon recipe is here.
• Prik nam plaa is here.