What To Expect When You Order Dry Thai Noodle Soup

No matter what time of year, a hearty bowl of soup brings a sense of warmth and comfort in every spoonful. Whether you look at the best bone broth recipe for a homemade cold remedy or a rich and healthy bone broth for regular sipping, it would seem that the heart of a soup is in its liquid content. Taking a page from Thai street food, however, the variety of dry (or "hang" in Thai) noodle soups available present a range of unique options for delicious noodle dishes that, while not sippable, are still delightfully slurpable and nonetheless comforting. Of the myriad traditional Thai dishes you should know about, dry noodle soup is an especially wonderful treat.

With a dry Thai noodle soup, you should expect the same type of noodles, accompaniments, and sauces as a regular Thai noodle soup, just sans the broth. Typically made of rice (though sometimes made of egg), the noodles will often vary in thickness and shape from flattened to round and thin. The proteins are usually chicken, pork, fish, or thinly sliced beef depending on the specific dish. Standard vegetable accouterments are bean sprouts and bok choy among others, but they do not play as significant a role in dry Thai noodle soup as the proteins and sauces. When it comes to the coating, you'll usually find chili vinegar and fish sauce to top off your dish.

When ordering a noodle soup on the streets of Thailand, asking for it "hang" means that you want the dry version of the dish. Among the wide variety of dry Thai noodle soup offerings, one of the most popular types is called ba mee hang. This style of dry Thai noodle soup is made with pork, garlic, and egg noodles and is topped with scallions, fried garlic, and soy sauce. You can also modify versions of your favorite Thai noodle soups and make them in the dry style of Thai street food to experiment with what flavors you find most pleasing.

Take a simple Thai chicken noodle soup recipe, for example. Excluding the chicken stock that the recipe calls for, you can make a version of these noodles that includes the curry paste, sauces, and seasonings in a more convenient format. You can try a similar approach with a spicy Khao Soi recipe, too, if you feel so inclined. Looking over a selection of the best Thai recipes, it's easy to imagine all of the different ways to play with flavors, textures, and combinations to make the dry Thai noodle soup of your dreams -– or simply to have in mind what you want to order the next time you go out for Thai food!