Cooking in
Prince George
Thai · Thailand
Yam Wun Sen — Glass Noodle Salad / ยำวุ้นเส้น
Glass noodle salad (yam wun sen) combines soaked-then-briefly-cooked mung bean vermicelli with minced pork, prawns, dried shrimp, celery, shallots, dried wood ear mushrooms, and a lime-fish sauce-chilli dressing. The technique for the noodles is critical: soak dry until just pliable, then briefly blanch in boiling water for 30–45 seconds — they must be cooked through but still have bite. Over-cooked glass noodles become gelatinous and cling together in a mass. The dressing is applied while the noodles and protein are still warm, which allows the noodle strands to absorb the dressing rather than repelling it.
‹Swipe for the next dish›
Two shipped · two not yet within reach.
How the 4 are reached
- Shipped to you
- 2 · dried shrimp, dried wood ear mushrooms
- Not yet within reach
- 2 · mung bean vermicelli (glass noodles), roasted chilli jam (nam prik pao)
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
200 g
mung bean vermicelli (glass noodles)
dry weight
Not yet within reach of Prince George · each reach is counted
150 g
minced pork
Your own market
150 g
raw prawns
peeled and deveined
Your own market
30 g
dried shrimp
Origin · VietnamShipped to you · Wismettac →
20 g
80 g
celery
thinly sliced, leaves included
Your own market
60 g
shallots
thinly sliced
Your own market
For the dressing
60 ml
lime juice
freshly squeezed
Your own market
45 ml
fish sauce
Your own market
1–2
fresh red or green chillies
finely sliced
Your own market
1 tbsp
roasted chilli jam (nam prik pao)
optional, for smoky depth
Not yet within reach of Prince George · each reach is counted
Within reach counts in town, delivered, shipped and the nearest city. A staple counts once it has a local seller. Charted from each shop's own pages; not yet vouched by a cook who shops here.
The larder of Prince George →Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.
II
The Method
1
Place the glass noodles in a bowl and cover with cold water and soak for 15–20 minutes, until fully pliable but not soft — cold water hydrates them gradually so they absorb the dressing later rather than having already swollen shut. Meanwhile, soak the dried wood ear mushrooms in a separate bowl of cold water until supple, then drain and slice. The noodles are ready when they bend without resistance but still feel firm between the fingers.
2
Bring a pot of unsalted water to a full rolling boil; the water is left unsalted so the noodles do not take on extra seasoning that would throw the carefully balanced dressing off later. Drain the soaked noodles, lower them into the boiling water, and blanch for 30–45 seconds exactly, then lift them out immediately, drain, and cut the bundle into 10–15 cm lengths with scissors. This is where the dish lives or dies: ten seconds beyond the window and the noodles collapse into a gelatinous mass that no dressing can rescue — they are done when cooked through but still carrying distinct bite, translucent, slippery, and springy to a gentle press.
3
In the same or a separate pan of boiling water, cook the minced pork, breaking it up as it poaches, until just cooked through, then add the prawns and cook until they have turned pink and opaque throughout, and drain both so that no residual cooking water dilutes the dressing when the salad is assembled. The proteins are ready when no grey or translucent flesh remains.
4
Whisk together the lime juice, fish sauce, sliced chillies, and nam prik pao in a large bowl to form the dressing, whisking rather than stirring so the nam prik pao dissolves evenly and does not sit in clumps that would give some mouthfuls a concentrated hit of smokiness. Taste: the balance should be sharply lime-forward with a full savoury underpinning from the fish sauce.
From the canon — Fish sauce — nam pla — is the universal salt of the Thai kitchen. Fish Sauce (Nam Pla): Selection and Use →
5
While the noodles and proteins are still warm, add them to the dressing bowl along with the shallots, dried shrimp, and wood ear mushrooms, then turn everything together thoroughly so each noodle strand is coated — the warmth opens the noodles slightly so they drink in the dressing rather than letting it pool at the bottom of the bowl. A properly dressed batch will smell fragrant with lime and fish sauce rising together, and the noodles will appear glossy and evenly coloured rather than pale and undressed.
6
Add the celery at the last moment before serving and toss briefly, keeping it separate until now so its water does not bleed into the dressing and thin the seasoning. Transfer to a platter; the celery should be audibly crisp when bitten — if it has softened, the salad has been held too long.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Wild-harvested, hand-peeled dried shrimp from a specialist Thai supplier; hand-pressed lime juice used within the hour; artisan nam prik pao without added stabilisers; glass noodles from a single mung bean variety with consistent strand diameter.
02
Estate — Good-quality dried shrimp from a Thai or Vietnamese grocer with clean, briny aroma; fish sauce from a named single-estate producer (Tiparos, Megachef, or equivalent); fresh chillies chosen for fragrance as well as heat.
03
Market — Standard supermarket glass noodles and fish sauce; dried shrimp from a general Asian grocery; jarred nam prik pao; freshly squeezed lime juice.
04
House — Pre-cut glass noodles; bottled lime juice; dried shrimp of unspecified origin; chilli flakes substituted for fresh chilli. The dressing balance becomes harder to control and the textural range narrows, but the dish remains coherent.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Touch. Soaked raw noodles bend without resistance but feel firm and springy — not slimy or fully soft — between the fingers.
◇Touch. Blanched noodles are translucent throughout and springy under gentle pressure, with no starchy, opaque core remaining.
◇Sight. Dressed noodles are evenly glossy and lightly coloured by the dressing; no pale, uncoated strands remain pooled at the bottom of the bowl.
◇Smell. The assembled salad gives off a sharp, aromatic lift of lime cutting through the deep savoury note of fish sauce — the two should be simultaneous, neither dominating.
◇Sound. Celery yields a clean, audible snap when bitten at the moment of service.
◇Where it lives or dies. The noodle blanch of 30–45 seconds is absolute: beyond it, the noodles become gelatinous and cohesive, and no subsequent technique can restore their individual bite or capacity to absorb the dressing.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sake
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
The working kitchen
Sourced through Provenance