Thin, fresh round rice noodles (khanom chin — produced by a fermentation-and-extrusion process) served with a thick, pungent fish curry sauce — the sauce made from fish cooked with the nam ya paste (galangal, lemongrass, kaffir lime zest, fresh turmeric, dried chillies, shrimp paste, and the aromatic root krachai). The cooked fish is mashed into the sauce, which is then thinned slightly and adjusted for the four-flavour balance. A selection of fresh and blanched vegetables, herbs, and raw accompaniments are served alongside.
**The nam ya paste:** Distinguished from standard red curry paste by the inclusion of krachai (Boesenbergia rotunda — Chinese keys/fingerroot) and fresh turmeric — producing a paste that is earthier, more medicinal-aromatic, and more pungent than red curry paste. **The fish:** Cooked in the paste and coconut milk until it completely falls apart — then mashed thoroughly into the sauce. The fish becomes part of the sauce's texture and flavour rather than a separate protein component. This is the specific character of nam ya: the fish is dissolved into the sauce. **The assembly:** - The room-temperature nam ya sauce (it is served at room temperature or slightly warm, not hot) - Over the khanom chin noodles (fermented rice noodles with a slightly sour, clean character) - With fresh vegetables: bean sprouts, long beans, cucumber, sweet basil, kaffir lime leaf chiffonade - Hard-boiled egg on the side
David Thompson, *Thai Food* (2002); *Thai Street Food* (2010)