Goong Ob Woon Sen

Goong Ob Woon Sen or proper name – Goong Ob Woon Sen Mo Din (literally, shrimp baked with mung bean vermicelli noodles in clay pot) is originally a Thai-Chinese dish (created by Chinese in Thailand). Goong Ob Woon Sen is well known and popular dish – it is a restaurant and food catering dish, you don’t see it at street vendors.

We have very famous and popular food catering businesses in Nakhon Pathom Province. Nakhon Pathom Province is one of the central provinces of Thailand, is about 58 km. away from Bangkok. When we talk about Nakhon Pathom we will think of 2 things from this province, one is Phra Pathom Chedi, a chedi commissioned by King Mongkut in 1870, it is one of the tourists’ destination and the other one is food catering, this style of catering is called “Dto Jiin” or Chinese Table means Chinese food with a set of 10 -12 dishes including dessert, are served at the round tables for 10 -12 people per table. I don’t know how many food caterers are in Nakhon Pathom exactly but it’s a lot. The caterers will carry pots, pans, chairs, tables and necessary utensils or kitchen wares with them in a big truck and they do it for any occasion across Thailand in a very reasonable price with fresh made food from scratch.

One of popular dishes on the food catering menus is Goong Ob Woon Sen. This dish normally we use the large size of Tiger shrimp or fresh water shrimp. The frozen tiger shrimp and fresh water shrimp from Thailand are available at Asian grocery stores.

*** If Chinese celery is not available, it can be replaced by coriander or cilantro.

For 4 servings

Ingredients

240 g                  (Dried) Mung Bean Vermicelli noodles

1 ½ lbs.               Shrimp (size 31 – 40 /lb or larger)

1 root                  Ginger 2 ½  inch long, slices

10 - 12 slices       Fat pork

1 cup                  Chinese Celery, cut into 1 inch long

1 tsp                   Ground peppercorn

6 roots                Coriander or cilantro

4 cloves              Garlic

2 tbsps               Soy Sauce

2 tbsps               Oyster Sauce

2 tbsps               Sesame Oil

½ cup                 Water

Instruction

1. Soak Mung bean vermicelli noodles in lukewarm water for ½ hour or until soft and drain, and cut into 4 inches long. Set aside.
2. Pound peppercorn, coriander roots and garlic in a mortar and pestle (chop coriander roots and garlic first before put in the mortar and pestle so that it’s easier to be broken in small pieces but not paste like yet)

   

   1. Lay fat pork and ginger over bottom.

3. In a mixing bowl (see picture), combine shrimp, Mung bean vermicelli, mixer from 2., soy sauce, oyster sauce and sesame oil, and mix well. Set aside.
4. In clay pot (see picture), lay fat pork over clay pot bottom and layer ginger slices on fat pork.
5. Transfer the mixer from the mixing bowl to the clay pot and let shrimp stay at the bottom (see picture) and noodles on the top, before put on the heat pour (spread) ½ cup of water on noodles and cover with the lid.

   

   1. Mix in a bowl. 2. Transfer to clay pot.

6. Bake on the stove burner over medium heat until steam coming out and continuing for another 2 -3 minutes or until shrimp is cooked. Stir in Chinese celery.
7. Remove from heat and serve immediately.