Kung op wun sen is a Thai dish whose name translates as "baked noodles with shrimp." Sauce-soaked funchoza is baked in a clay pot with pork belly and large shrimp. Despite its complex flavor, this dish represents a more refined side of Thai cuisine than the well-known fiery curries. This dish is best cooked outdoors in a clay tao (or tandoor).

Ingredients:

• 9 g coriander roots, thinly sliced
• 0.5 tsp black peppercorns
• A good pinch of coarse salt (1/4 tsp)
• 1 tbsp + 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 110 g chopped yellow onion (about 1 cup)
• 1/4 cup thin stalks of Chinese celery, cut into 4 cm pieces
• 1 piece ginger (14 g), cut into strips (about 2 tbsp)
• 60 g of skinless pork belly, cut into 0.3 cm thick and 6 cm long slices.
• 180 g large shrimp in shells (about 4 pcs.), preferably with heads
• 1/4 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• Soak 90g of glass noodles in hot water for about 30 minutes until soft, dry, then cut with scissors into pieces about 10cm long.
• 0.5 tsp Thai black soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce (Chinese soy sauce for wok and cooking)
• 1.5 tsp Thai oyster sauce
• 1.5 tsp Thai soy sauce (recommended: Golden Mountain Seasoning Sauce)
• 1.5 tsp Shaoxing wine (cooking rice wine)
• 1.5 tsp sugar
• 0.5 tsp quality sesame oil (look for brands that offer 100% sesame oil)
• 1.5 teaspoons of water
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped Chinese celery leaves
• Nam-jim sauce (a spicy, tart seafood dipping sauce), for serving
• Special equipment: granite mortar, clay pot

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Preparation:

Step 1
• In a mortar, combine the cilantro roots, peppercorns, and salt and pound into a coarse paste, about 15 seconds. In a wok or skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Reduce heat to medium and add the onion, celery, ginger, and cilantro root paste. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion is slightly wilted, about 90 seconds. Turn off the heat. Pour the remaining 1 teaspoon of vegetable oil into a clay pot and spread it evenly over the inside. Place the pork belly in a single layer in the bottom of the pot, then top with the onion mixture in an even layer. Using kitchen scissors, trim off all the pointed tentacles from the shrimp, then cut the shell down the back of the shrimp and lightly score the flesh to expose the vena cava. Remove the vena cava and arrange the shrimp in a single layer in the pot. Sprinkle with ground black pepper.
Step 2
• In a medium bowl, toss the noodles with black soy sauce until they're an even amber color, then spread them into the pot in an even layer. You can stop cooking at this point and finish cooking in an hour, or cover the pot and refrigerate overnight. Let it come to room temperature before cooking.
Step 3
• In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, soy sauce (seasoning sauce), Shaoxing wine, sugar, sesame oil, and water. Measure out 3 tablespoons of this mixture and drizzle it over the noodles. Top with celery leaves.
Step 4
• Cover the pot with a lid and cook until the noodles and shrimp are fully cooked, 9–12 minutes, without opening the lid for at least the first 9 minutes. You won't know until you stir, but the pork belly should be lightly browned. If it's not, turn up the heat a bit next time you make this dish. Stir well before serving. Serve with nam-jim sauce for dipping the shrimp.
Step 5
• Chinese celery (leaves and stems), is a variety of leafy bunch celery grown in East Asian countries, used in cooking for its aromatic leaves, which are consumed fresh and frozen in various dishes, marinades and pickles, and in dried form as a seasoning.
  
  Nam Jim Jiu - This dipping sauce enhances the flavor of any meat, especially grilled meat. It contains fish sauce, lime or tamarind juice, sugar, dried chili pepper, toasted rice powder, and fresh herbs.

Recipe author - Food Network