The Beach Restaurant

Sen Mee Neua Poo

(Thin rice noodles with poached crab meat in homemade yellow curry)

Serving: 1

Ingredients for yellow curry paste

• 7 large dried red chili
• 10 dried bird’s eye chili
• 1 cilantro root
• 1 ½ tbsp thinly sliced lemongrass
• 1 ½ tbsp thinly sliced galangal
• 4 shallots, chopped
• 5 cloves garlic
• 1 ½ tsp thinly sliced kaffir lime zest
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground white pepper
• 1 ½ tbsp roasted ground black pepper
• 1 tsp roasted coriander seeds
• 1 ¼ inch piece fresh turmeric, peeled and chopped
• ½ teaspoon shrimp paste

Other ingredients

• 400g dried vermicelli
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cups coconut milk
• 1 ½ tsp palm sugar or soft light brown sugar
• 1 ½ tsp fish sauce
• 2 kaffir lime leaves
• 100g betel leaves, thinly sliced
• 250g crabmeat
• 10 betel leaves
• 1 red finger chili, finely sliced lengthwise

Method
Step 1: Soak the vermicelli in a bowl of water for 5 minutes. Drain and set aside. For the curry paste, soak the dried chili in a bowl of warm water for 15 minutes then drain and chop.
Step 2: Pound the chili and the remaining curry paste ingredients in a mortar with a pestle until smooth. Set aside.
Step 3: Fill a pan halfway with water and bring to a boil over medium heat. Add the vermicelli and cook for 1-2 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water, then let stand in a strainer to drain completely. Use your hand or a fork to roll the vermicelli into small rolls. Place on a serving plate.
Step 4: Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat, add 3 tbsp of the curry paste and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes or until fragrant. Gradually pour in the coconut milk and bring to the boil. Season with the fish sauce, sugar and lime leaves, then add the sliced betel leaves and cook for 1-2 minutes. Add the crabmeat and gently stir for 1 minute.
Step 5: To serve, ladle the curry into serving bowls and place each vermicelli roll on a betel leaf and top with coconut milk cream and kaffir lime leaves thinly sliced.

(Khun Saroch Watthananukoon (Chef Roj), Thai Chef de Cuisine)

Chef Roj
Chef Roj grew up in the kitchen and started working in a restaurant at a young age, learning the culture and understanding about food.

He then decided to try pushing beyond his early experiences as a young teenager in the restaurant, and went to go to culinary school where he discovered that food can be an artistic medium as opposed to just feeding people.

He has started his cooking adventure at the The Surin Phuket in 2017 having developed professionally with guidance from industry leaders, working at well-known luxury restaurants and hotels before joining the team at The Surin Phuket.

Chef Roj loves to cook, talk about cooking and improve his already fantastic skills by studying food. “I’m always learning and trying different things,” he says. It brings him endless joy to see guests enjoying his dishes at The Beach Restaurant, the Thai signature restaurant at The Surin Phuket.

The cooking style focuses on the product, extracting the best from the ingredients, focusing on locally sourced products as much possible, but especially Thai herbs.

Chef Roj’s unique method starts from understanding the culinary roots and culture of where he is, the history and traditional techniques that were used, then sourcing local ingredients and preparing the dishes with ultra-modern cooking practices. His philosophy is about creating a memorable dining experience which will leave a lasting impression. Once you're exposed to that potential, it's very exciting.

From Chef Roj
“Cooking is an Art! Thai cuisine is not only food but is considered scrupulous in cooking methods and delicate in dish decoration, making it an exquisitely graceful culinary art”.