KY cooks – Thai Minced Pork Cucumber Soup

This Thai minced pork cucumber soup is something that we came across while staying over at Khaolak for degassing purposes after a satisfying live-aboard diving trip at Similan Islands.

The soup was so good that when we came home, Haze and I tried to re-create the same dish at home, and I think she got it pretty close. Here’s the resulting soup that is somewhat healthy, simple to make, and may I say, quite delicious.

Thai Minced Pork Cucumber Soup

Ingredients:

• big fresh cucumber
• fish sauce (or salt)
• white pepper
• minced meat (300 gram or enough for stuffing)
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

ingredients are simple, we use fresh cucumber

Instructions:

• While heating up 3 bowls of water, remove cucumber skin, cut in halves, then into bite size, remove the seeds
• mix minced meat with generous amount of pepper, a teaspoon of fish sauce (or a dash of salt), and a teaspoon of sesame oil
• apply minced meat on cucumber where the seeds used to be (you can 1/2 teaspoon of corn starch to make the mixture more sticky)
• carefully put the cucumber into boiling water with meat side on top
• boil for 15-20 minutes or until cucumber is soft
• serve while hot

minced meat and cucumber is a great combination

This soup usually comes with tong fun (glass noodle) so if you wanna add that, do go ahead. For even more flavorful soup base, feel free to add chicken/pork bones too.

Happy cooking!

Soong Kee Beef Noodle at Lot 10 Hutong food court

I’ve been wanting to blog about this place for the longest time. First I went there without a camera, pictures taken with BB wasn’t good enough in that low light condition. On second trial, we were robbed before I transfer the photos from Haze‘s camera. So I guess 3rd time is the charm.

Lot 10 Hutong Food Court

After the recent renovation, Lot 10 Hutong became some sort of a minority in the food court business. The people from YTL (who owns Lot 10, Starhill, and others) managed to convince some of the best hawker foods around KL to operate at the once iconic mall’s basemen and keep to their original and traditional way.

This means that while there’s a definite upgrade in hygiene and ambiance, the foods’ still prepared with original recipe, down to using charcoal fire, if it was originally cooked with charcoal.

And oh, a lot of the food stalls are non-halal.

Soong Kee beef noodle set for RM 8.90

I was recommended over twitter (follow me @kyspeaks) to try the Soong Kee beef noodle the first time I stepped into the newly renovated food court. I’ve never been to the original shop at Pudu, but after having this several times, I’m convinced it is on par with one of my other favorites – Ngau Kei at Tengkat Tong Shin.

A set of beef noodle + mixed beef soup + oily vegetable + chinese tea goes for only RM 8.90. For KL pricing that’s practically a steal, and this is in a fully air conditioned and comfortable dining location. Bravo to Lot 10 for pulling this off. Of course, you can also order ala carte for cheaper, but I almost always go for the set.

KY & Haze enjoying some beef noodle for early dinner

The bowl comes with beef balls, meat, and tripes all soaked in savory broth. However, the best part has got to be the generous amount of minced meat on top of the noodle and oily vegetable. They are actually minced pork! yums!

While Soong Kee serves decent chili sauce to go with the beef noodle, I still favor the version at Ngau Kei simply because it packs more kick and has actual chili texture. The Soong Kee’s version is just a bit like bottled chili sauce.

At the end, both places has their pros & cons. Soong Kee at Hutong Lot 10 wins in cleanliness, comfort, and offer great value with their set; Ngau Kei has better chili sauce and serves beef tendon, and opens pretty much around the clock. Take your pick.

Address:
Soong Kee at Hutong food court
Lower Ground Floor
Lot 10 Shopping Mall
Jalan Bukit Bintang
GPS: 3.146462, 101.711758