Creamy Khaub Poob Fawm/Creamy Kapong Pho

I love Nqaub Poob (kapong). It's a curry noodle soup dish made with chicken and coconut as well as other Thai ingredients. It is a Thai dish, but has become a traditional dish in many Hmong families. It comes in a variety of spicyness: mild, medium, and hot. I also love Fawm (pho) which is a Vietnamese dish that has become a traditional dish to many Hmong families also. I've combined some ingredients from Pho/Fawm and some from Kapong/Nquab Poob. I couldn't figure out what I really wanted to eat that day...I craved for some curry and craved for beef at the same time. So this recipe came to me at the last minute. I added peanut butter because my husband loves adding peanut butter to his kapong and I fell in love with it too. I didn't have any toppings to make this dish really great...I used what I had on hand only. But feel free to add mint leaves, bean sprouts, and thinly sliced cabbage as toppings.

My Pho and Kapong combination creation.
The beef and onions are from the pho recipe.
The curry and peanut butter is from the kapong recipe.
(I will post up the kapong recipe soon) 

Meat:
Beef chuck roast, thin slices
2 tsp soy sauce
¼ tsp magi’s seasoning sauce
½ tsp sugar
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 garlic clove, minced

Soup:
1 lbs oriental style vermicelli noodles
¼ tsp grated garlic
¼ tsp grated ginger
1 onion, sliced
3-4 lime leaves
2 star anise
½ stalk lemon grass
4 oz can curry paste
½ cup peanut butter (I used crunchy peanut butter)
5 cups water
2 Tbsp sugar

Start with the meat. Use as much or as little beef as you like, but be sure they're thinly sliced. Mix all ingredients together and set aside.
Meanwhile, boil a huge pot of water to cook the noodles. The noodles will take about 10 minutes to cook, but this depends on the thickness of the noodles. They are done when you try one and it’s not chewy. Constantly stir to prevent stickiness from one another and the pot. When noodles are cooked, immediately drain out some of the hot water and add cold water to stop the cooking process. Repeat this process until the water is cooler. Drain and set aside.

Heat up a pot with 1 tsp of oil. Add in the beef mixture, the grated garlic and ginger, and stir until beef starts to brown. Then slowly add the curry paste and onions. (Curry paste comes in a mild, medium, and hot flavor. Choose which ever flavor you desire. I’m using a medium flavor.) Cook the curry until it darkens in color. Next, you will add the 5 cups of water and bring to a boil. Then add the peanut butter, sugar, lime leaves, star anise, and lemon grass. Stir and let simmer for about 30-45 minutes.

Grab some noodles into a bowl and spoon some of the creamy curry over your noodles. Top off with bean sprouts and mint leaves. Serve.

It was delicious!! Tastes like kapong and pho, but it was too spicy for my hubby.
Next time, I will have to go with mild. It's lighter in color and not spicy.
The peanut butter is just delicious with curry.