Kuai tiao pak mo — Thailand

Kuai tiao pak mo is a Thai rice-noodle soup finished and served in the pot it is cooked in, mo being the everyday word for a cooking pot, so that the broth keeps bubbling gently while it is eaten, rather than being ladled once into a bowl and left to cool. It is reported from across Thailand as a stall and roadside-kitchen dish, most often after dark, where a small burner is set on or beside the table so the pot can be kept at a simmer throughout the meal. It sits within the broad guaytiew family of Thai noodle soups, which covers a wide range of broths, noodle widths, and toppings built around the same base. The broth, usually a pork or chicken stock, is built up in the serving pot itself: garlic is fried until fragrant, sliced pork and pork or fish balls are added and simmered, then flat rice noodles and soaked glass noodles go in along with leafy greens such as morning glory. Fish sauce and white pepper season the broth, and a beaten egg is often stirred in at the end so it sets into soft ribbons. Compared with other guaytiew served in a plain bowl, this version keeps cooking gently at the table, so the noodles continue to absorb broth and the greens stay only just wilted by the time the last portion is served, a difference of serving method more than of ingredients from its bowl-served relatives.