nam thit heo

i first tasted this much loved noodle dish in Jekoy's, a vietnamese restaurant that used to be situated on top of a hill here in davao. they later transferred to the middle of the city, changed the name of the resto to Nah Trang, but sadly they did not last long. probably due to neglect, i dunno, the place seemed rundown and the food deteriorated.

they called the dish 'nam thit heo' but i can't find anything similar to it in the internet. the most similar one is 'pho ap chao' which one blogger said is any stir fried noodle dish with meat and veggies. in taste it does not stray far from the malaysian 'char kway teow' or the thai 'pad thai'.

but since i tasted it in jekoys and they called it nam thit heo, i'm sticking to the name.

anyways, i got hold of a pack of flat rice noodles in a culinary fair i visited and decided to try my hand at replicating it. this is my second attempt and i am happy to say that this time it tasted the same and my version even looked a lot better.

ingredients:
1 pack flat rice noodles [ho fan]
straw mushrooms [i skipped this cause i couldn't find fresh ones]
thinly sliced lean pork strips
scallions [ i didn't have this too]
bean sprouts
peanuts

those are the main ingredients of the vietnamese restaurant version, the ones i recognized at least.

i added the following in the hopes that i would get the right flavor, which by the way, i did. =D

ordinary cooking oil, about 1 tablespoon
minced garlic cloves, i used 4
minced red onion, 1 small bulb
2 eggs, beaten
carrots, small, cut into small strips
green beans, 4 pcs., sliced diagonally and thinly
bokchoy, separate the stem from the leaves
soy sauce, about 2 tablespoons
hoisin sauce, 1 tablespoon
oyster sauce, about 2 tablespoons
kecap manis [ indonesian seasoning- thick, sweet soy sauce], about 1 tablespoon
sesame oil, about 1 tablespoon
salt and pepper to taste

i also added diced mandarin sausages and quartered squid balls as i had them on hand [skip this if you want to stay true to viet-style cooking]

steps:
1. prep the noodles according to package directions, this is vital to the outcome of your dish
2.saute the following in the cooking oil: minced garlic, minced onion, squid balls, mandarin sausages, pork strips.
3. when cooked, add the carrots, bokchoy stems and the green beans. then add the bean sprouts.
4. let them all dance in the pan a little, not too long and add your sauces, one after the other.
5. when the veggies start oozing their water, add the flat rice noodles and then the bokchoy leaves.
6. mix gently just to incorporate ingredients and evenly distribute the flavorings. 7. add salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle in the sesame oil and the peanuts.
8. pour in beaten egg, mix for the last time, cover the pan and switch off flame.

tips:
- cooking time is quite quick as we do not want to overcook the veggies especially the bean sprouts as they will get soggy if you do.
-check the taste of the cooked sauce before adding the noodles, it should taste a little too strong as the noodles will later absorb all of it
- don't over mix so the noodles wont get mushy or pasty
- add the bokchoy leaves last as the residual heat is enough to cook it and so the leaves remain bright green. the eggs will also cook in the remaining heat.
-do not add water
-sprinkle more peanuts on top to garnish and serve hot