Gado Gado (1963) and Mee Krob (1973)

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   Here are the top number of country recipes on www.recipesource.com
(formerly SOAR at Cal-Berkeley), with many other countries left out after
Thai:

Chinese  899 recipes
Mexican  806 recipes
Italian 663 recipes
Indian & Pakistani  607 recipes
Cajun  549 recipes
Greece  409 recipes
Thai 354 recipes
German  234 recipes
French 110 recipes

   Is that right?  French is all the way down there?
   For what it's worth, Thai is an impressive number seven.   You'd think
that would at least get "Pad Thai" into dictionaries, but I don't have a say
in this.
   Here are two recipes found in SUNSET magazine, which is known for its
cooking columns for western American readers.


May 1963, SUNSET
Pg. 192:
The menu comes from a family from Bandung now living in California.  They
have served it to their Western friends with great success. (...)
_Sate Ajam_
(Grilled Chicken on Skewers)
_Gado Gado_
(Salad)
_Soto Ajam_
(Chicken and Vegetable Soup)
_Kerupuk_
(Puffed Shrimp Chips)
_Nazi_
(Rice)
_Lapis_
(Coconut Dessert)

Pg. 194:
The salad most popular in Indonesia is called Gado Gado.  It is made in
layers of cooked qand raw vegetables topped with some of the Peanut Sauce
above.
_GADO GADO_
   2 quarts water
   2 2/3 teaspoons salt
   1 cup bean sprouts, stringy ends removed
   1/2 medium-sized head of cabbage. leaves cut in 2-inch squares
   1 1/2 cups green beans in 1 1/2-inch pieces (or 1 package 9 oz., frozen
cut green beans)
   1 large potato, peeled and in thin, halved slices
   3/4 cup Peanut Sauce (recipe above)
   2 hard cooked eggs, in quarter-inch slices
   In a large kettle, bring the salted water to a boil; add bean sprouts and
cook just until tender crisp, about 3 minutes; remove with a strainer or
slotted spoon and drain.  Chill in the refrigerator.
   in the same water, cook the cabbage until tender (about 4 minutes), remove
from water, drain and refrigerate.  Cook green beans in same water just until
tender (8 to 10 minutes); remove, drain.  Reserve vegetable stock for the
soup.  Allow vegetables to cool.
   Layer vegetables on the platter in this order: Cabbage, diced potatoes,
cucumbers, grean beans, and bean sprouts.  Pour over Peanut Sauce.  Arrange
hard cooked egg slices over top.  Refrigerate a few minutes before serving.
Serves 4 to 6.


March 1973, SUNSET
Pg. 164, col. 1:
   _Almost everybody_
   _likes her crunchy_
   _Thai noodles_
_Literally translated,_ _Mee Krob_ means crunchy noodles, an apt description
of this fried noodle dish from Thailand.  But to many Thais there's something
more in the name--the word _krob_ sounds like the crackly noise you make when
eating the brittle, puffy noodles.  The textures and contrasts of flavors
make this a rather exotic dish, but most people like it the first time they
taste it.  Begin by frying the rice noodles in hot oil.  It's a dramatic
procedure: Just a small handful swell so quickly in hot oil they look like
they're going to burst.  Mix them into a rich, slightly sweet and sour sauce
laced with pork, chicken and

Col. 2 photo caption of Thai woman cooking noodles:
_Crunchy Thai noodles_ to mix with pork, chicken, and shrimp in a rich sauce.

Pg. 166, col. 2:
shrimp.  Then serve the noodles with crisp fresh bean sprouts, lengths of
green onions, and cool lime wedges.
(...)
You will need to shop at an Oriental market for the rice noodles, yellow bean
sauce, and fish soy.  The noodles are often called rice sticks, but may also
be called long rice, _py mei fun_, or _mai fun_.
(...) (Col. 2--ed.)
_Thai Crunchy Noodles_ (Mee Krob)
   About 4 cups salad oil
   1/4 pound rice noodles (rice sticks)
   1/4 cup _each_ sugar, lime juice, yellow bean sauce, and catsup
   2 tablespoons fish soy or soy sauce
   4 cloves garlic, minced or mashed
   1 small onion, finely chopped
   1/2 pound lean boneless pork, cut into strips 1/8 inch thick, 1/2 inch
wide, by 2 inches long
   1 chicken breast (about 1 lb.) skinned and boned, cut into strips 1/4 inch
thick, 1/2 by 2 inches
   1/2 pound medium-sized raw shrimp, shelled and deveined
   1/2 pound bean sprouts, washed and drained
   4 green onions, cut into 4-inch lengths
   1 lime, cut in wedges
   Pour the salad oil to about 1 inch deep in a wok (steady the wok in a ring
stand) or in a 12-inch frying pan; heat the oil to 375 degress, then drop in
a msall handful of the noodles at a time.  As they puff and expand, push them
down into the oil, then turn the entire mass over.  When all the noodles are
puffy and stop crackling, about 15 seconds, remove and drain.  Skim any bits
of noodles out of oil before frying the next handful.  Keep warm in a 200
degree oven until serving or let cool and package airtight up to one day
before serving.
   To reheat fried noodles, place uncovered, in a 200 degree oven for about
10 minutes while cooking the meat and sauce.
   In a small bowl stir together the sugar, lime juice, bean sauce, catsup,
and soy; set aside.  Have all remaining ingredients chopped and measured
before beginning to cook.
   Just before serving, heat 2 tablespoons salad oil in the wok or 12-inch
frying pan over high heat until hot.  Add the garlic and onion; cook,
stirring constantly, for 1 minute.  Add the pork and continue stirring: cook
about  3 minutes.  Add the chicken and shrimp, stirring constantly; cook 4
minutes or until shrimp firms and turns pink.  Stir in the sauce mixture and
cook 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cool 3 minutes.
   Gently fold in fried noodles a portion at a time, until all the noodles
are lightly coated with the sauce.  To serve, mound noodles in the center of
a large platter and surround with bean sprouts.  Garnish with green onions
and lime wedges.  Makes 4 servings.

(Compare OED's Italian noodle entries with its Thai noodle non-entries...This
is too complicated for me.  I'll just marry the beautiful Thai woman in the
photo---ed.)