Tom yum dry noodles

Soak the small rice noodles in room-temperature water until fully pliable, 25 to 30 minutes; do not over-soak. Drain; they keep in the fridge up to a week.

Bring water to a boil in a pot, add the ground pork with a little fish sauce and stir until cooked and broken up. Lift out with a slotted spoon, keeping the cooking water.

Thinly slice lean pork and mix with soy sauce and a little sugar until no soy sauce pools at the bottom.

Cut the cooked meatballs into bite-sized pieces.

Heat neutral oil in a small pot over medium-high with one piece of garlic as a tester; when it bubbles, turn to low and add the rest of the evenly chopped garlic.

Stir frequently and take off the heat when golden, not brown; drain through a metal sieve, keeping the oil. Both keep in the fridge for a few months.

In each serving bowl put lime juice, fish sauce, white sugar, roasted chili flakes, optional chicken bouillon powder, fried garlic oil and a tablespoon of the pork cooking liquid.

Prepare toppings: coarsely ground unsalted peanuts, dried shrimp chopped and ground fine, chopped green onions and cilantro, fried garlic, bean sprouts and lime wedges.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; divide the noodles into equal portions by weight, separated with paper towel.

Heat the meatballs in the boiling water about a minute, until they expand.

Cook the sliced pork in a noodle strainer for about 20 seconds, until the outside looks done.

When everyone is ready to eat, cook one portion of noodles at a time at a full boil for 10 seconds; shake off the water.

Put the noodles straight into the seasoning bowl and mix.

Mix in bean sprouts, then top with sliced pork, meatballs, ground pork, plenty of ground peanuts, dried shrimp, cilantro, green onion and fried garlic; mix immediately and eat.

Taste the first batch; if undercooked put back a second or two, if overcooked shorten the next batch. Aim for slightly al dente.