Mee Krob or Mi Krop (Thai noodle dish)

“Mee krob” (also “mi krop” or “mee grob”) is a Thai dish that literally means “crispy rice noodles.” Pork, tofu, bean sprouts, red bell peppers, cilantro and garlic chives are some of the ingredients that are often added to the dish. A tourist pamphlet of Thailand from the 1960s adedd that mee krob is “good for lunch or with whiskey, especially on rainy nights.”
 
“Mee krawb (fine rice noodles succulently fried in lard with pork and chicken)” was printed in the Ottawa (ON) Journal on April 2, 1952. “MEE GRORP   Crisp fried noodles” was printed in the book The Fundamentals of the Thai Language (1957). “Metrop (tiny rice noodles)” was printed in the El Paso (TX) Herald-Post on January 31, 1959.
 
       
Wikipedia: Mi krop
Mi krop (Thai: หมี่กรอบ, pronounced [mìː krɔ̀ːp]) is a Thai dish. The name means “crisp noodles”. It is made with rice noodles and a sauce that is predominantly sweet but can be balanced with an acidic flavor, usually lemon or lime. The sour/citrus flavor prominent in this dish often comes from the peel of a Thai citrus fruit called som sa (a variety of citron).
 
The dish has a legend, when King Rama V visited the people by boat in the Talad Phlu area and smell the noodles that a Chinese immigrant named “Chin Li” (จีนหลี) stir-frying at that time. He stopped the boat, ate it, and very much liked it. This led to the dish receiving another name: Mi krop ror ha.
 
(Oxford English Dictionary)
mee, n.
Etymology: < Chinese (Hokkien) mĩ flour, noodles, related to Chinese (Mandarin) miàn mien n.2
Chinese-style noodles. Also in compounds with a word denoting the other ingredients or method of cooking: a Chinese dish popular esp. in Malaysia and Singapore, consisting of noodles with various other ingredients. Cf. mien n.2, chow mein n.
1935   A. Dixon Singapore Patrol xiii. 107   We were confronted by a large dish piled with a startling mixture of spaghetti, bamboo shoots, sliced prawns, and tiny cubes of pork… Its name..was mee. Mee is a favourite dish of the Chinese, and is on sale at all hours of the day and night.
 
mee krob, n.
Etymology: < Thai miikrɔɔb < mii

mee n. + krɔɔb to be crisp.
A Thai dish consisting of crisp fried noodles served with prawns and pork or chicken.
1960   C. Ellis Mango Summer i. 14   A woman is frying mee-grop at the back—you can see the charcoal glowing, and the smell of hot oil and dom-yum mingle with the thick white scent of lilies.
1970   R. Brissenden South East Asian Food v. 248 (heading)  Mi Krob (Crisp Fried Noodles).
   
2 April 1952, Ottawa (ON) Journal, “Curried Rice, Meats and Fruits Enough for 3 and Only $1.40” by Bill Boss, pg. 2, col. 7:
Tastiest morsels to the Western palate are mee krawb (fine rice noodles succulently fried in lard with pork and chicken) and koong-lohn (prawn crushed in coconut milk and heated with sugar and spice). Chillis are added just before serving.
       
Google Books
The Fundamentals of the Thai Language
By Stuart Campbell and Chuan Shaweewongse
New York, NY: Sole distributors Paragon Book Gallery
1957
Pg. 394:
MEE GRORP   Crisp fried noodles
 
31 January 1959, El Paso (TX) Herald-Post, “Washington Discovers a Language” by William Cooper, pg. 4, col. 2:
A good rundown on the exotic food of Thailand at the Embassy’s reception honoring Pete Sarasin, the Thai who is Secretary General of SEATO.
 
Along the lavish table were dishes such as masamand (a chicken curry) metrop (tiny rice noodles) and yam (a delicious concoction of chicken, ginger and mushrooms).
     
25 June 1962, New York (NY) Times, “Thai Cooks Emphasize Hot Spices in Cuisine” by Craig Claiborne, pg. 2:
The mee krub is made with fried rice noodles, pork, prawns, bean curd, soy paste, chopped fresh garlic, chopped pickled garlic, chopped shallots, raw eggs, vinegar, fish sauce, sugar and—hot chiles.
 
9 February 1963, Pittsburgh (PA) Post-Gazette, “Something Doing: “Rappatan Arhan’ Is Signal To Come Eat—In Thailand!” by Zora Unkovich,
Among food descriptions which caught Mrs. New’s attention were (...) “Mee Grob: A crisp, fried rice-noodle garnished generously with a mixture of prawn or pork and vegetables. Good for lunch or with whisky, especially on rainy nights!”
     
Google Books
Woman’s Day Encyclopedia of Cookery;
Prepared and Edited by the Editors of Woman’s Day (Volume 11)
By Eileen Tighe
New York, NY: Fawcett Publications
1966
Pg. 1715:
Ml KR0B (Fried Noodles)
Fried noodles, like fried rice, can be made with almost any meat or vegetable and are a favorite dish in every country. A tourist pamphlet from Thailand says that mi krob are “good for lunch or with whiskey, especially on rainy nights.”
 
Google Books
Itinerary of Taste:
A guide to restaurants abroad with notes on markets and modern art
By Lester Gruber
Dayton, OH: E. F. MacDonald Co.
1966
Pg. 338:
Moo (pork), nua (beef), mee grob (crisp noodles w/ mixture of prawn or pork & vegetables), ...
 
31 August 1967, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “Marine’s Wife” She’s Gung Ho for Oriental Cookery” by Jean Murphy, pt. 6, pg. 14, cols. 2-3:
MEE KROB
1 lb. fine Chinese rice noodles, broken into short pieces
Fat for deep-fat frying
2 small onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 tbsp. oil
1/3 cup thinly sliced tofu (bean curd)
1/4 lb. lean pork, diced
2 or 3 prawns, shredded
1/2 lb. bean sprouts
1 tbsp. sliced pickled garlic
2 tbsp. chopped chives
2 tbsp. soy sauce
2 tbsp. water
4 tbsp. lime juice
1 or 2 tsp. sugar
2 eggs
Dip noodles in very hot water and drain well. Spread on cooky sheet or platter to let remaining dampness evaporate. Fry in hot fat until crisp and light brown. Drain and set aside. Brown onion and garlic in oil. Push to side of pan, add bean curd and brown. Remove bean curd and set aside. Add pork and prawns, mix with onion and garlic and saute until tender. Add noodles, bean curd, bean sprouts, pickled garlic, chives, soy sauce mixed with water, lime juice, and sugar. When sizzling stops, break eggs into center of mixture and cook, stirring gently, until the mixture is dry. Serve on platter garnished with more sliced pickled garlic, chopped red chiles and Chinese Parsley, if desired. Makes 6 servings.
   
30 November 1976, Los Angeles (CA) Times, “Thai one on” by Colman Andrews, Calendar sec. (?), pg. 8, col. 1:
Named for the famous river of Bangkok, Chao Praya (at 6307 Yucca—ed.) is one of the best. Exciting soups, good satays and curries and exquisite mee krob—a heavenly dish of fried rice noodles in a caramelized sweet-and-sour shrimp and pork sauce.
   
Google Groups: rec.food.recipes
[THAI] Mee Krob (Crispy Stir Fried Noodles)
Colonel I. F. K. Philpott
7/24/96
Mee krob is an easy dish that makes a pleasant snack or a useful accompaniment to hotter foods.  The tangy sweet & sour sauce is optional though certainly normal, and hardened vegetarians could easily leave out the pork and shrimp.
 
In Thailand this is almost always prepared in a wok.  If you feel nervous about deep frying in a wok, feel free to use a saucepan or electric deep frier
 
Ingredients:
6 ounces sen mee (rice vermicelli noodles)
2 eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons kratiem dong (pickled garlic), thinly sliced
3 tablespoons shallots (purple onions), sliced thinly
4 ounces belly pork, cut into small dice
4 ounces medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
 
Sauce:
1 tomato
2 tablespoons tamarind juice
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons palm sugar
1 tablespoon citrus zest (preferably kaffir lime)
1 tablespoon fish sauce
 
Garnish:
Thinly sliced green onions, and red and green chilies julienned.
1/2 cup hard tofu, cubed.
 
YouTube
#ThaiFood #ThaiRecipe #SpoonForkHeart
Thai Sweet and Sour Crispy Noodles Mee Krob หมี่กรอบ - Episode 182
Spoon Fork Heart
Published on Nov 11, 2017
Recipes, pictures, videos, blog, and more: http://www.spoonforkheart.com
♥♥♥ Ingredient List Below ♥♥♥
♥ Main Ingredients
8 ounces dry rice noodles (thin)
7 ounces firm tofu
2 eggs
2 lime peels (zest)
1 orange peel (zest)
4 cups cooking oil
 
♥ Sauce Ingredients
1 bulb pickled garlic + 1 tablespoon juice
2 shallots
3 cloves garlic (not pickled)
1 tablespoon soybean paste
5 tablespoons brown sugar
6 tablespoons palm sugar
3 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons tamarind paste
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons orange juice
3 1/2 tablespoons tomato sauce
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
 
♥ Side Ingredients
Garlic chives
Cilantro
Bean sprouts
Thin sliced red bell pepper
Cashew nuts