A nutritious way to start the day - with carbohydrates for energy and greens for vitamins and minerals. This soup is served all over Laos and seems to be a national staple. Unfortunately for the vegetarian traveler, however, it usually contains chicken or pork (or some other animal). But not always. I found a cafe in Luang Prabang which had a vegetarian version on the menu and this is how they did it.
The same cafe, incidentally had fried Mekong riverweed on the menu, which is also vegetarian, and goes really well with a cold beer Lao. So, it's maybe not for breakfast. Or maybe it is... it depends on what you had the night before. My Russian friend advises that beer is only for the morning or evening. But anyway, I'm not going to post a recipe for the fried riverweed as the process of turning it from unappetizing, smelly, hairy clumps into delicious, delicate, crispy sheets flavoured with toasted garlic is a long and complex one. And the main ingredient is also difficult to obtain unless you live near ther Mekong River.
So, we'll stick with the breakfast soup recipe, which has all the qualities of a recipe suitable for publication in the cookbook: it's easy, quick and the ingredients are widely available. And, hey, if you fancy a beer with it, go right ahead.
Ingredients
About 50g of dried noodles for each person
A couple of handfuls of fresh watercress
A couple of handfuls of beansprouts
A bunch of green coriander
A few spring onions
A couple of cloves of garlic
A lump of tofu
A little oil
Salt
Cook the noodles in plenty of salted water (that's going to be your broth) until they are soft. While they are cooking, slice the garlic and chop the tofu into small cubes and fry together until the garlic begins to turn golden.
Take your soup bowls and half fill each with beansprouts, watercress and corriander (no need to chop them). divide the noodles and cooking water between the bowls and add the fried tofu and garlic. Sprinkle some chopped spring onion on top and serve.