The Story of Boat Noodles: The Herbal, Meat-Filled, Blood-Doused Snack that has Thailand Hooked
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- Опубліковано 17 чер 2024
- Baffled by a mess of confusing origin stories, we set out to find the true origin of Boat Noodles, the quintessential Bangkok dish that's as much a competition as a meal. And we found help from the most unlikely of places- a boat-noodle-loving taxi driver who turned off the meter and spent his day making sure we didn't miss out on any of the best places to find the dish along the canal where it was probably first created.
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0:00 - Introduction
1:14 - Boat Noodle Alley
5:17 - The Confusing History of Boat Noodles
7:44 - Rangsit
10:18 - Boat Noodles on the Rangsit Canal
13:04 - The Good and the Bad
14:37 - Driver Ning's Best Day
17:38 - Understanding Rangsit
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Video credits:
Bangkok Floating Markets 1965
• Bangkok Floating Marke...
I am from Siam 1930
• I am from Siam 1930
I am a Thai millenial and I didn't even know Rangsit is well-known for boat noodles. Boat noodles are already so common in Bangkok since I was a kid. Rangsit is today more like a college town and older generation industrial sites. Rangsit will be changing for sure in the near future since the Red line train system has just opened last year. It is now much easier to commute into Bangkok.
Yeah- I've met several people who live in Rangsit and had no idea about the history. I think since the airport opened it's just slowly become a part of suburban Bangkok
Hey I’m Thai and I live in Bangkok . I’m gonna to say that this is a best food show on UA-cam so far . The history and knowledge that u present are amazing most of them I don’t even known about it. สู้ๆนะครับ ถ่ายเยอะๆ จะรอดูทุกตอน 😊
Thank you! Really nice to hear and glad you’re enjoying it.
I'm Farang. Been here since 1970 when BKK was indeed full of khlong - even along Sukhumvit. And this guy is great.
The taxi driver's wife said to her husband Ning on the phone that(16.20) "Now are you meeting with a European Husband? You are 50-60 years now, you know"🤣🤣🤣
Haaaah! Missed that. Thanks for the catch.
When I was a child 60+ years ago, Kuay Tiew Rua Rangsit (Rangsit Boat Noodles) was already famous and later over the years it just shifted on land but still calls boat noodle. Some shops even put a real boat up inside the shop and prepares boat noodle with ingredients/hot water container placed on the landed boat!
Watch to the end- the last place we visit does that! They had the old sampan boat inside the restaurant where the cook would sit to prepare the noodles. Awesome.
My opinion : this is the only channel to experience Thai food. No chef influencer messing around. Thank you for the learning and experience.
This one is a masterpiece. Any Thai my age would live our lives with two favorite boat noodle shops, one around the Victory Monument area and one from childhood memories where their entire family went on a trip to Rangsit. One can never return to the latter since things have changed so much in that part of Bangkok. You only end up heart broken learning after visiting a few that the one in your old family photo was forever gone.
This generation, however, would remember those franchise boat noodles at shopping malls instead. No granny sitting on the boat cooking but, at lease they have air con.
I love this message. Thanks so much and glad you found the video!
It may not be boat noodles, but I bet most people in modern countries could say the same.
Beautiful video and great research!
Thank you!
Personally as a farang my favorite boat noodles are the stands outside 711s with plastic tables set up. And yes it is always a nice old lady serving it. I thought i hated thai food till i tried that and now its one of my favorite foods. Americanized thai food can't hold a candle to boat noodles.
Twist! K.Neng is an awesome co-host!
Ha! You should have come with us to Rangsit....it definitely didn't go the way we thought it would. Thanks for your contribution and hope you enjoyed the video!
@@OTRontheroad I know! Totally missed out! @17.17 is so chaotic, I love this!
Rangsit is my hometown and to be honest finding the good boat noodle place is either a hit or miss situation even for the locals like me. But what I can say is that Sommai-Orn and the last boat noodle place are the real OGs of the Rangsit boat noodle. You've got a great boat noodle guide!!!!
No kidding!
Yes, I ate a few Thai blood boat noodles back in Calif. It might sound intimidating, but they were delicious. Thanks for this video, tracing back the origin of these dishes.
The uncle driver cracks me up lmao! 😂
Wish he’d be a permanent co host
I love this. It is on my list for my next visit at the end of the year. My favorite part of Thailand is meeting incredibly friendly locals and letting them show off their town or city. I see and learn more than from any guidebook or self tour.
I consider myself a noodle soup alficionado, and a noodle snob. And I love my authentic Hanoi Vietnamese Pho Bo. But what I love and worship even more is the Thai Boat Noodle. Heaven is a bowl of boat noodles with some pickled jalapeno, dried chili pepper, driee shallots, and fresh fried pork rinds on top.
I love Vietnamese food- to me it’s one of the highest-floor places to eat in the world....like even mediocre food is amazing. Hanoi is a pantheon city for food, so is Da Nang and Hoi An, and in general I cannot wait to film in Vietnam. But if I can say something controversial- pho gets way too much credit compared to other Asian noodle soup dishes. I absolutely agree with you about boat noodles. Proper Thai kuai teow is up there as well. A few noodle soups from Yunnan and Guangxi. Indonesian soto. So many great forms of soup noodles- it’s a shame that overseas, pho gets all the press.
@@OTRontheroad Growing up as a SE Asian American, I can honestly say that I am spoiled. I have come to realize over the years that SE Asian cuisine is an adventure, and even though I grew up on it, I am still discovering new dishes and flavors. Thank you for appreciating our foods, culture, history, and beautiful countries.
Thai boat noodle quite popular in Hong Kong (we don't have problem with blood LOL). The spices are just phenomenal.
22 bowls of noodles in one day you beat my Thai wife's record. There is a big shopping mall in Rangsit where the bus stops. Love your videos you are making want to move back to Thailand,
What on earth who think the most best idea of making and filming this kind of food vlogs , so enjoy waching and admiring your creative new level food vids!! , huge thanks..
Ha! Thanks so much.
Love this episode. Your cohost and his FaceTime call was an awesome addition. Even more than the food locals in a place make the experience when traveling. You killed this one!!!
Two baht, three, four baht back in the day? When I was there it was maybe a half to one baht. Another great episode.
You really made a fantastic day for the taxi driver, he seems to really missed that boat noodle and wanted to go there, and you accepted the recommendation. Nice video, make me wanna go there and try it. Never had boat noodle in Rangsit.
That looks delicious!!! I don’t really understand the “controversy” over blood though. My family has been using blood as a thickener for generations and they were in North America before the USA was the USA. I have never heard of something being wrong with it….
I really appreciate the research you put in to really explore the history of food. I’m a history geek and a foodie, you’ve got me hooked! 💕
This is the best video I have seen on boat food. I think have seen about 6 now! they all focused on the current boat markets, but none on the actual noodles. Thanks!
Driver Neng is quite a character.
Legend
This was amazing Adam!Seeing you get your stride in front of the camera is so cool.The content is captivating and the quality of the videography and production is incredible. I see the OTR team flourishing and coming of age right in front of my eyes.......it feeds my foodie soul.
Loooove this video. Moved to Bangkok almost a year ago and this has been very helpful in learning more about this place. Ning's wife talking over the phone was definitely my favorite part thank God you put it in. I hope he took her to those places tho!
Your video is very educational. I personally loves your research information and how you deliver certain information. Keep up a good work man. I am definitely subscribing to your channel.
Thank you!
Your sense of adventure shines through. It was fun seeing the excitement of your driver/cohost. "Adam can really eat!"
Thank you! And yeah, he definitely made the video.
I hope you get lots of subscribers. You put a lot of work in these quality vlogs.
Kuhn Neng is OG!!
I’d have him along everywhere. What a legend
Very well video I see how much you guys love food and history 😀 Thank Adam and your team 👍🏻
Thank you very much!
Wow this Video really brings back my childhood memories. Our family used to have a pomelo farm in Nakorn Nayok near SARIKA waterfall. I was around 8 years old then. To get there and back we always used the RANGSIT-NAKORN NAYOK road. In 1966 this road was just a dust blasting gravel road. All the bridges over the side canals were all wooden. On the Rangsit canal itself they were rice laden barges. And yes, also some Noodle Boat. When the road was widen and paved the barges gave way to trucks and totally disappeared.
So fun to watch.
Thanks...Fun to film, too!
As a Thai living overseas, I often miss the Thai Boat Noodles. In Singapore, there are several places selling boat noodles but blood is prohibited in cooking here so there’s something missing in the soup. Your video makes me want to go to Bangkok just to eat the Boat Noodles!
Loving the “side ways”. Lots of discovery. 👏
Super cool and interesting
Amazing research. The first time I had boat noodles growing up was the boat noodles from Rangsit.
Awesome! And thanks a lot. Such a fun one to film- absolutely loved going to Rangsit for boat noodles.
I came here to eat at the boat noodle alley in 2019.. but i first learned about Boat Noodles from Bourdain... at Sapp in Thai Town LA. This was back in 2007!
One of my favorite dishes here.
I'd choose Thai Boat Noodles over Pho any day of the week. It's that good.
Really hard to compare but I’m with you on this one. Agreed. (Now...bun cha on the other hand....)
you out of your damn mind. Both are made very similar. Between the two i can eat pho everyday due to different beef toppings. Boat noodle is pretty limited so it will be hard to eat it day in and day out.
@@vnxdragon Boat Noodles taste way better. Especially with cow blood or pigs blood in it. As for Pho, it's usually a hit or miss when you're eating at a restaurant. I can only eat one bowl of pho and that's it for the week or two.
@@vnxdragon I'm glad that we don't actually have to make this choice
Why not both😊
Thumbs up, for real, a topic that any Thai UA-camr can do, but no one did ? XD
That speaks volumes. Anyway, great job
Commonly found in good Thai restaurants in LA. Or Wat Thai on weekends 😊
New subscriber here. I love you content.
thank you!
great video keep it up.
Thanks! Yeah this was a fun one.
Oh, what an awesome video! 22 bowls! "Im Law mak mak!" One of my favorite Thai dishes though I only had a few in Bangkok and not down at the canals so, it might not count. There ARE some good ones in Chiang Mai, that I've been searching out. There's even one that the cook is in the boat too, right across from the moat where it (supposedly) used to be. Love this.
Thanks! And I’m sure the ones you had in Bangkok were just as good as the ones on the canal (though Rangsit is something else)...there’s good versions all over the place. Glad you enjoyed the video, was one of my favorites to make.
I am clearly late to discover your channel- WOW! It's the BEST. So informative and interesting. I'm here all summer with my Thai Wife-- we're in Dusit by all the universities-- there is GREAT street food around here. Have you been?
Glad you found us! Only filmed once in Dusit, though it's one of my favorite areas to walk around. That's where we filmed the first place after the opening title cards in the Hor Mok video! Let me know if you recognize the place. Cheers.
@@OTRontheroad I will check that video out! Please let us know if come back this way. We would love to show you our favorite places? Have you been To Home Bakery? Or the food courts inside the Universities? They are fantastic and sooo cheap!
@@bagelsandmash Would actually be quite interested in checking out the food courts at the universities! Shoot me an e-mail at otrbkk@gmail.com ....might be late in June before I'll have a free day to come up that way though, hope school isn't out of session at that point?
Also just clicked over to your channel. Watched the Springsteen bit video (as someone who's been to a dozen Bruce concerts, that got my attention). Laughed out loud, awesome stuff.
Nice video… as always. Please list the restaurant map locations. This would make a great day quest.
Edit: Just finished the video and saw the restaurants listed in the credits. Thank you!
Cheers, if you are looking for a specific place and can't find the pin, you're always welcome to let me know in the comments and I'll attach it.
The most famous boat noodle in Rangsit Area is Ko Hub, very welknown for Thai people in my generation (60+).FYI
The noodle boat that the boat is on the canal,In present there are in the canal in the float market near Bangkok and in the province around Bangkok etc. Talad Bang Numm Pung Prapradaeng, Klong latt Mayom.
This is my very favorite noodle dish! I have eaten it from a real boat on a canal. It was more common in the 60's and 70's growing up in Pattaya and Bangkok back then. You can keep the pad Thai. There is a theory in CA (US) that real Thai people do not eat pad Thai, esp. overseas.
I remember the first time I had boat noodles. It was incredible! Straight up killed my love for Pho.
You can love both 😅
I would kill for a bowl of boat noodles right now!
The origin in Rangsit answers my 30-years old question why a boat noodle stall in Chaing Mai I saw as a child had a sign Boat Noodle Rangsit.
Wow- haha glad I could help put you at ease after all those years! Can't believe that memory stuck with you.
Wow! Amazing. In your research, did you uncover how boat noodles got to Ayutthaya a few miles north? Seems that is the current center of boat noodles today. - Jim (living near Don Mueang) 😊
Cheers Jim and I've been trying to figure that out- one day we'll take a drive up there and see what we can put together. But the best I can guess is- Ayutthaya was a city of canals, and there would have definitely been foods served like this; small portions in bowls passed from boat to boat. Probably soups and meat stews and stuff like that. Over time, when boat noodles (in current form) became massively popular, those would have replaced most of the other khlong foods pretty much right away, as that's what customers would have wanted....especially in a place like Ayutthaya, which was built on canals AND by the 20th century, dependent on tourism and making customers happy. Anyway that's completely just a guess, but the best I can figure at this point.
@@OTRontheroadI second investigating boat noodles in Ayutthaya! As a Thai, when you think about a place that's famous for boat noodles, 2nd place is probably Rangsit, but the 1st place that always comes to mind is Ayutthaya.
_Kuai Tiao Ruea Ayutthaya_ (Ayutthaya Boat Noodles) is one of the associated words when boat noodles or Ayutthaya are mentioned.
P.S. speaking about Ayutthaya got me thinking about _Roti Sai Mai!_ Maybe you should do a video on that as well?
i think you'd better find good boat noodle from ayutthaya, as well, there are sooooooo many good ayutthaya boat noodle stalls (or even boats), there
We enjoy eating many small bowls, piled up to compete others. It create a history
Mr Ning's accent is so strong! I can tell where he lives lol!
my favor dish
Boat noodles is one of my favourite dishes ever. It's such a shame that it never caught on outside of Thailand. When I was in Thailand last (a few months ago) that's what I ate about 80% of the time.
Been binging all your videos for the last couple of days. I really appreciate the research and effort that goes into each video. Random video request, can you make a piece about why Thai people use so many freakin spoons when they eat? Literally, on every table, there are like 6 serving spoons, spoons for sauce, spoons for individuals, etc. WHY SO MANY SPOONS?
it's call 'middle spoon' for prevent Hepatitis B. In the past Ministry of Public Health of Thailand launch campaign to use 'middle spoon' for prevent people use spoon that direct contact to their mouth to food to prevent spread of Hepatitis B.
Most food ❤
Making me hungry for some boat noodle
About spreading abroad.. it has, in a way. All over KL, in shopping malls, are boat noodle restaurants - most are part of a chain. The version they sell here is halal, and I'm pretty sure they leave out the blood. I've tried it, it's OK, though it isn't something I would crave. Not super cheap, either. I remember they had two varieties of noodle, can't remember what they were though.
Took a different turn at the mall yesterday and came across the boat noodle shop. And suddenly remembered I had been wanting to try it again. The two different types they had were Ayutthaya and Pathum Thani. Pathum Thani noodles are (according to the menu) sour. Ayutthaya noodles are, I think, what you normally what you would get around Bangkok. I wasn't that hungry so I just tried a bowl of the Ayutthaya noodles. You have a choice of regular noodles (more or less just ramen) and rice vermicelli (interestingly enough, known as "mee Siam" around here), and a choice of chicken or beef. I am pretty sure they don't use blood in the broth (the food is halal) but the broth definitely LOOKS like it's got blood in it. Pretty tasty, I will try the Pathum Thani noodles next time. They also have Khao Soi and something called Nam Khon (no idea what this is, looks like noodles with black broth). Everytime someone posts a video about boat noodles, there will be a bunch of queries in the comments from Malays asking about whether there are any halal boat noodles in Bangkok.. at least now we know we can get them in Kuala Lumpur. 😁
I first had boat noodles maybe 25 years ago whilst on Koh Samed. Tasted even better with the drizzle of fresh pigs blood with the long-boiled pork and dried pigs blood. An acquired taste, but would would love to see you do a vdo about "REAL" (Isaan/Lao) village food. I'm talking pigs intestines, raw beef, spicy fermented fish sauce...cooked silkworms, ....The list is inexhaustiable.
100%.
The town core of Rangsit is still alive and well, but it's west of the highway 1 (Phahonyothin road, put there by none other than Phibun in the 30s). You should visit sometimes as it's on the new commuter rail Red line. As for the Rangsit you visited, that's where all the farmland used to be. That area is still known for its canals (Khlongs), which are all numbered outward from the river. After WWII where cars became more available, Bangkok started to suburbanize and the former farmland in Rangsit was the perfect place. These suburban developments, like in the rest of the world, are less self sufficient and sustainable, so the oldest ones around Khlong 1 where you were have started to fall into disrepair. That road alongside Rangsit Canal is also notoriously busy during rush hours.
Any good restaurant recommendations in Rangsit west of Highway 1?
@@OTRontheroad Sadly no, I need to spend more time over there myself. I visit the suburb area often but not the town itself. There is not much parking and very limited public transit to get there from the east side, unfortunately. (There was a plan to run boat service down the canal with piers already built, but that got cancelled. There have been talks about running a BRT line down next to the canal. Let's hope that happens.)
Khun Ning made his daily report with his wife. Then she asked, why are you eating another lunch? (Who are you with? Are you cheating?)
That's why k. Ning turned on a video call as an evidence of honesty.
Then his wife said,
"Are you cheating on me with your new "ผัวฝรั่ง" (white lover)??"
She was hilarious 😂😂😂
I imagine she'd have to have a good sense of humor to be Mrs. Ning- I'm pretty sure they're both fantastic characters. Maybe next time we can invite her instead.
Hey question to people….can you make boat noodle with duck blood also?
can't see any mention of what the places you went to were call or where they were :(
I cannot believe that you are eating twenty two bowls of noodles soup ,
I wish you would put the address to these places or at least mention their names.
It’s always in the closing credits! If you want a google pin, let me know which place specifically and I’ll send it here.
@@OTRontheroad Yes, please. Pin drop Sommai and Nai Lek. Of all the locations that you went to, which location has the best taste and quality ingredients?
@@heythave here you go:
Sommai:
goo.gl/maps/z1VgWhfw4E3uCq2VA
Nai Lek:
goo.gl/maps/WeNrkKPoHJftciHN8
The atmosphere at the places along the canal was pretty incredible. But for the food itself, Nai Lek (or Nai Lert according to Google Maps) was the one that really stood out I think. There were many places in Rangsit that we didn't get to visit- I'm sure it would be worth doing some exploring to find something even better.
@@OTRontheroad I'd love to see you do a Rangsit Boat Noodles Marathon and just rank them!
there's a saying that if you have a pork boat noodle, It's like driving a yellow Ferrari.
I find it odd that Chinese would be interested in blood infused broth since often they would boil meat to remove blood and floating impurities as the first step before making a meat broth. But then again I think it’s the Chinese who made coagulated blood cakes that are often seen in many Thai dishes, including soups. Go figure.
เมืองที่เกษตรกรช่วยให้กรุงเทพเฟื่องฟูประสบความสำเร็จอย่างดี เมืองนี้ไม่เป็นที่ต้องการอีกต่อไป น่าเศร้ากับคำนี้ 🥺
Bangkok, Oriental City
But the city don't know what the city is getting
Perfect story.
All wake me up with old memories.
Including the song having noodle story inside by Waipoj Phetsupan.
ua-cam.com/video/OZ-YfICt2fA/v-deo.html
The thing that would be interesting to know is why are they served in a very small portion. Is it because they have always been like that since a low-paid laborer was the target customer and then turned into a gimmick today?
We explain that in the video! Small portions in big bowls so that it doesn't spill when passed from boat-to-boat
Damn that taxi driver sounds drunk 🤣
Nah but I can vouch for about a half dozen cups of coffee
Just accent man, you be calling all Jamaicans drunk based on their accent. It's not a normal Thai accent it's more like Muslim ethic accent.
😆 *promo sm*
The driver's name is "เหน่ง (Neng)" not "Ning". 😅
Unfortunately because there’s no standardized spelling from Thai to the Roman alphabet- there’s no right and wrong, sounds do not perfectly align with letters and all we can do is make our best effort. We sent him the video, he was satisfied, that’s good enough for me
@@OTRontheroad No worries! Your works are excellent.
@@ksrithan Thank you! And no issue with you pointing it out, I do want to always get it right, it's just frustrating as since there's no standardization, we've actually switched subtitles before when people have pointed out mistakes, and then OTHER commentors tell us we're wrong. So basically we just do the best we can on English spellings and don't worry about it.
You've got it all wrong about boat noddle in Rangsit! That book no doubt that you eat in your program it's called Ayutthaya boat noddle. That real long seaboard new do is a minced pork noodle and the famous one is called"Ko Hub"so famous that they make movie out of. You should try to investigate this
Most of thai people today can not tell the different of boat noodles and common noodles. I think it would be better if you dig it deeper in this matter. And (The Herbal, Meat-Filled, Blood) that not the definition of boat noodles.
I fixed wikipedia so boat noodles are more accurate
Thai is Thai and Siam is Siam or ( Shan ) or ( Thai Yei ) They are different.
FANTASTIC! Again…..xoxo
I love boat noodle. When I was a student, my friend and I used to compete who can eat more and I won 😊.
Better than the Ayutthaya plotline. Well done, again!