Whether it’s fettuccine in Rome, pesto-drenched spaghetti in Lima or—in this case—savory-sweet rice noodles studded with chunks of chicken in Bangkok, we’ve learned the same lesson around the world: With noodles, less water often means more flavor.

That’s because cooks everywhere have taught us that the thirsty nature of noodles is a chance to use sauce—whether a basic tomato puree or a mix of tamari and Sriracha—to not just render them tender, but also infuse them with deeper flavor.

It works like this: Slightly undercooking—which amounts to underhydrating—noodles in water leaves them primed to absorb the moisture of whatever sauce they are paired with. And with that sauce comes flavor.

It’s a trick chef Piched Kaewhem put to good use when he taught me his take on kuay tiew kua gai, or stir-fried noodles and chicken, at his home on the outskirts of Bangkok.

He built his version of this classic street food in a wok, starting with slightly underhydrated thick rice noodles. After they charred just long enough to develop deep, smoky flavor, he doused them with oyster sauce, soy sauce, a bit of sugar and a splash of chicken broth. Quickly, all that liquid disappeared, sopped up into the noodles and taking all that umami-rich flavor with it.

It’s easy to see why the dish—tossed with sprouts, carrots, tender bits of chicken and scrambled egg—is a popular late-night snack. Comforting and over-the-top good, much of that due to the deeply flavored noodles.