blood noodles

This is a good time of year for me to use up odds and ends, partly because gardening produces a lot of odds and ends - a bit of herbs, a handful of greens that isn't enough for a full serving - and partly because it clears space from the freezer which will later be filled with corn, okra, shell beans, and tomato puree.

From the garden: bloody dock (a sorrel-like green that's a little sour), basil, rau ram (Vietnamese coriander), tarragon, culantro.

From the pantry: Thai rice vermicelli, star anise, cinnamon, soy sauce.

From the fridge: lamb stock, leftover duck confit, sriracha, ginger, turmeric.

From the freezer: pork blood, galangal.

Thus: blood noodle soup.

This is inspired by Thai boat noodles, a pho-like dish with rice noodles and meat in a spicy broth thickened with blood. But I didn't have many of the things you would traditionally serve with that, nor the beef broth you would ordinarily use, so I just made do.


The lamb stock was simmered with sriracha, soy sauce, star anise, cinnamon, ginger, galangal, and turmeric until it was good and fragrant, and then strained. The rice vermicelli was dropped in boiling water for about a minute, and then I combined everything in a bowl: cooked noodles, chopped herbs, leftover duck, and pork blood, with boiling stock poured over it to cook the blood, which thickened everything up a bit as I stirred it up.

The blood thickens it and makes it richer - most of what you taste is the herbs and the spice.