Where's the beef?

'Kui tio nua' and its many variants have long been Thai favourites, but these days you're more likely to see it made with pork

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Where's the beef ? not with the noodles these days

'Kui tio nua' and its many variants have long been Thai favourites, but these days you're more likely to see it made with pork
 
Suthon Sukphisit

No one would deny kui tio nua, or beef noodles, a prime place as a favourite on the Thai table. This is true even though these days more and more people are avoiding beef. Recognising this trend, restaurants that specialise in the dish have been making some adaptations.

They serve a bowl of noodles that looks like the traditional beef noodles with soup, but the meat is pork that has been simmered until it is extremely tender. The seasonings used are those of the old-fashioned beef version of the dish, however. This dish, called kui tio moo toon, is designed to appeal to those who crave beef noodles but don't actually want to eat beef.

Unlike the pork version of the dish, beef noodles were originally eaten by people who worked very hard but earned little. Pork noodles were sold from boats that were paddled through canals of all sizes and sold in local communities in front of temples, or even to households set on the banks of canals.

PHOTOS BY SUTHON SUKPHISIT

People liked this arrangement because the pork noodles were a dish that they ate routinely. It made for an easy meal, and it was tasty. Furthermore, farming families did not like to eat beef. They saw cattle and water buffalo as good and helpful animals that worked with them in the fields and pulled their carts.

Beef noodles, on the other hand, were sold in towns, usually in neighbourhoods where labourers lived, near warehouses and rice mills where workers carried sacks of rice and shifted heavy goods. At first the vendors were exclusively Chinese and the dish was made with beef innards and the tough meat attached to beef tendons. To prepare it, the beef or water buffalo innards were boiled until very tender together with lemon grass, garlic, galangal and salt in a large pot that was portable and could be carried around suspended from a pole balanced on the shoulder.

variant – a thing that is a slightly different form or type of something else สิ่งที่ผันแปร, สิ่งที่แตกต่างกัน
favourite – something you like the best of all similar things ที่ชอบมากที่สุด, ที่โปรดปราน, ของโปรด
deny – to say that something is not true ปฏิเสธ
prime – main or most important ที่สำคัญที่สุด
avoid – to stay away from; to try to prevent something from happening หลีกเลี่ยง
recognise – to accept that something is true or important ยอมรับ
trend – a gradual change or development that produces a particular result   ทิศทาง แนวโน้ม
specialise – to concentrate on a particular subject or activity มีความชำนาญเป็นพิเศษ
adaptation – the process of changing something การดัดแปลง, การปรับ, การปรับตั
simmer – to cook something by keeping it almost at boiling point; to be cooked in this way ตุ๋น, เคี่ยว
tender – easy to bite through and cut อ่อนนุ่ม
seasoning – substances added to food to improve its flavor เครื่องปรุงรส
version – a particular form of something which varies slightly from other forms of the same thing – ชุด, เวอร์ชั่น
appeal – to cause someone to like or want something ดึงดูดใจ ทำให้สนใจ
crave – to have a very strong desire for something ปรารถนา, ต้องการ
paddle – to use a short pole with a flat wide part at one or both ends to move a small boat through water พายเรือ
local – in or related to the area that you live, or to the particular area that you are talking about  ท้องถิ่น
community – the people living in one particular area ชุมชน
household – a group of people, often a family, who live together  ครัวเรือน
bank – a raised area of land along the side of a river  ริมฝั่งแม่น้ำ
arrangement – a plan or preparation that you make so that something can happen; an agreement that you make with somebody that you can both accept  การจัดการ, ข้อตกลง
routinely – regularly, done often จำเจ, บ่อยๆ, ซ้ำซาก
tasty – having a nice flavour or taste อร่อย
furthermore – in addition; more importantly นอกจากนี้, ยิ่งกว่านี้, มากไปกว่านี้
cart – a small vehicle with two or four wheels that you push or pull to transport large or heavy objects on รถเข็นหรือรถลาก เกวียน
neighbourhood – a particular area of a city or town ละแวก, ย่าน
labourer – a person whose job involves hard physical work that is not skilled, especially work that is done outdoors กรรมกร, ผู้ใช้แรงงาน
warehouse – a large building for storing things โกดังสินค้า, คลังสินค้า, โรงพัสดุ
mill – a building fitted with machinery for crushing or grinding something โรงสี
vendor – someone who sells something, but not in a shop พ่อค้าแม่ค้าแผงลอย
exclusively – only used by or intended for one particular person or group; only given to one particular person or group เฉพาะ, แต่ผู้เดียว
innards – the organs inside the body of a person or an animal, especially the stomach เครื่องใน, อวัยวะภายใน
tough – difficult to cut or chew เหนียว, ที่เคี้ยวยาก
tendon – a strong band of tissue in the body that joins a muscle to a bone เส้นเอ็นที่ยึดกล้ามเนื้อและกระดูก
lemon grass – a type of grass with a lemon flavour that grows in hot countries and is used especially in SE Asian cooking ตะไคร้
garlic – a vegetable of the onion family with a very strong taste and smell, used in cooking to give flavour to food กระเทียม
galangal – a type of ginger which grows underground  ข่า
portable – easy to carry or move, so that you can use it in different places หิ้วได้, พกพาได้
suspend – to hang something from something else ห้อย
balance – the ability to keep steady with an equal amount of weight on each side  ความสมดุล, การทรงตัว
shoulder – one of the two parts of your body between your neck and the top of your arms ไหล่