''Mi krop'' (, ), also spelled mee krob, is a Thai dish consisting of deep-fried

rice vermicelli Rice vermicelli is a thin form of rice noodle. It is sometimes referred to as "rice noodles" or "rice sticks", but should not be confused with cellophane noodles, a different Asian type of vermicelli made from mung bean starch or rice starch r ...

noodles with a

sweet and sour Sweet and sour is a generic term that encompasses many styles of sauce, cuisine, and cooking methods. It is commonly used in East Asia and Southeast Asia and has been used in English cuisine, England since the Middle Ages.Clarissa Dickson WDickson ...

sauce. Mi krop means "crisp noodles". The citrusy, sour note in the sauce often comes from the peel of '' som sa,'' a Thai

citrus fruit ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the family Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Mandarin orange, mandarins, lemons, grapefruits, ...

similar to

citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick Peel (fruit), rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the Citrus taxonomy#Citrons, original citrus fruits from which al ...

. The dish consists of crispy fried thin rice noodles mixed with fried

tofu or bean curd is a food prepared by Coagulation (milk), coagulating soy milk and then pressing the resulting curds into solid white blocks of varying softness: ''silken'', ''soft'', ''firm'', and ''extra (or super) firm''. It originated in Chin ...

, fried

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

, or a combination, and sauced with a mixture of lemon or lime juice,

fish sauce Fish sauce is a liquid condiment made from fish or krill that have been coated in salt and fermented for up to two years. It is used as a staple seasoning in East Asian cuisine and Southeast Asian cuisine, particularly Myanmar, Cambodia, L ...

, tomato paste, kaffir lime leaves, chili, and sugar. The dish can be garnished with scallions, bean sprouts, cilantro, chili, and fried egg strips. The dish has a legend, when King Rama V visited the people by boat in the Talad Phlu area and smelled the noodles that a Chinese immigrant named ''"Chin Li"'' (จีนหลี) stir-frying at that time. He stopped the boat, ate it, and very much liked it. This led to the dish receiving another name: ''Mi krop ror ha''. In

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

, there are two restaurants notable for their ''Mi krop'': Talat Phlu in the Thon Buri side, and Phra Nakhon near the

Giant Swing The Giant Swing, also known as Sao Chingcha, (, ', ) is a 21 feet (21.15 meter) tall swing-shaped religious structure and a prominent landmark in Sao Chingcha Subdistrict of Phra Nakhon District in Bangkok in Thailand. Located in front of ...

and Bangkok City Hall. Both use old recipes from the reign of King Rama V. The dish was mentioned by Carrie Bradshaw in an episode of ''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO, based on Sex and the City (newspaper column), the newspaper column and 1996 book by Candace Bushnell. It premiered in th ...

''. It is listed as one of several items Sheldon Cooper from ''

The Big Bang Theory ''The Big Bang Theory'' is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Bill Prady for CBS. It aired from September 24, 2007, to May 16, 2019, running for 12 seasons and 279 episodes. The show originally centered on five charact ...

'' gets on The Gang's weekly Thai food night.

Eric Cartman Eric Theodore Cartman, commonly referred to as just Cartman, is a fictional character in the adult animated sitcom ''South Park'', created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone. He is voiced by Parker, and is one of the series' four main characters, ...

mentions the dish in the ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone, and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boysStan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand the ...

'' episode " It Hits the Fan", although he expresses a strong dislike for it.

References

{{thai-cuisine-stub Thai noodle dishes Fried noodles