I grew up in Pleiku, Vietnam where I was fortunate enough to experience wonderful food from many regions in Vietnam. Being the youngest of six children, I was usually spoiled by my generous, loving and the most caring eldest sister who would always buy food for me everytime she came home from the market. One of my fondest memories was getting a piggy-back ride from my sister whenever she would stroll around town. Pleiku is a small city. We can practically walk or ride a bike to anywhere. There were some great eating places that you can only find in corridors and alleys, so the best way to get there was by walking.
The Quang noodle house was one of those places. In Vietnam, it's common to see people live and operate business in their homes. This Quang noodle place is a small house. We would sit down on cheap plastic small stools with a small plastic table just like the table set that the kids here in the US play with. The beautiful wide yellow tumeric noodles, covered with vibrant orange shell-on shrimps, fatty thin slices of pork belly, big chunks of spared ribs, fried fish paste, sesame rice crackers, roasted peanuts, fresh herbs, shredded banana blossom makes this bowl of noodle so appetizing.
The Quang noodle house was one of those places. In Vietnam, it's common to see people live and operate business in their homes. This Quang noodle place is a small house. We would sit down on cheap plastic small stools with a small plastic table just like the table set that the kids here in the US play with. The beautiful wide yellow tumeric noodles, covered with vibrant orange shell-on shrimps, fatty thin slices of pork belly, big chunks of spared ribs, fried fish paste, sesame rice crackers, roasted peanuts, fresh herbs, shredded banana blossom makes this bowl of noodle so appetizing.
I always remember this wonderful Mi Quang dish; it has a distinquished texture and flavor unlike other kind of noodle soups. I usually make it in the summer time as this dish is served with very little broth and almost like a dried noodle dish. I always like to add cha ca (fried fish patties) in Mi Quang but this time, I made this dish spontaneously, so there was no cha ca available in my fridge.
Mi Quang is a Vietnamese noodle dish that can be found in the provinces of Quang Nam, Da Nang, and in the South Central Coast of Vietnam. Wikipedia has a couplet describes a girl from Quảng Nam, a province on Vietnam's South Central Coast, who warmly invites her lover to drink a cup of tea and enjoy a bowl of mì Quảng to show him the depth of her love for him.
“ Thương nhau múc bát chè xanh,
Làm tô mì Quảng anh xơi cho cùng.”
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RECIPE: Mì Quảng
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IngredientsFor Broth
2 pounds of pork neck bones or pork spare ribs (ask the butcher to chop them into 2-inch chunks).
1/4 cup of vinegar, to clean the meat
2 teaspoons of salt, to clean the meat
1 onion
4 tablespoons of fish sauce
salt
sugar
msg, optional
For Sauteed Shrimps and Pork
1 pound small shrimps, shell on
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1 shallot, thinly sliced
1 onion, diced
1/2 bag of Mi Quang Seasoning or
For Annato Oil
1-2 teaspoons of annato seeds
2 tablespoon of oil
For Quang Noodle
1-2 teaspoons of tumeric powder
2 tablespoons of oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 bags of dried wide pho noodle or 2 packs of fresh noodle
Accompaniments
2 tablespoons of oil
1 shallot, thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 bags of dried wide pho noodle or 2 packs of fresh noodle
Accompaniments
Bean sprouts
Mint leaves
Banana blossom
Lime wedege
Cilantro, chopped
Green scallions, thinly sliced
roasted peanuts, coarsely crushed2 Black sesame rice crackers
Making Broth
In a stockpot, place bones or spare ribs, vinegar, salt and water just enough to immerse the bones. Bring water to boil then pour over a colander and clean the bones under running water. Put bones back to a clean stockpot, add an onion and water just above the bones. Bring it to boil. Reduce the heat and simmer it for about 45 minutes. Sauteing Shrimps and Pork Belly
Add oil to a pan and saute garlic, onion and shallots until it turns slightly brown. Add pork and stir for a few minutes, then add Mi Quang Seasoning or salt, paprika and sugar. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir it well and sautee it for about 10 minutes, add shrimps as they take less time to cook. Sautee it for another 5 minutes. Separate sauteed shrimps from pork and set it aside. Pour pork in the broth stockpot and add salt and fish sauce and sugar or msg to make the broth more flavorful. Continue simmering it for about 15 minutes.
Unlike pho, bun bo hue or hu tieu, Mi Quang broth needs to be a little bit saltier since it served with very little broth.
Tumeric Flavored Noodles
When eating Mi Quang, I like the tumeric flavored noodles. Tumeric powder imparts a great scent and flavor and therefore much preferred over food coloring.
The fresh wide noodles actually tastes better than the dried one. If using fresh noodles, separate the strings of noodles. Add tumeric powder in a pot of water and bring it to boil. Stir it up with a pair of chopstick. Add noodles for about 30 seconds, strain it.
Bring a pot of water, 1 tablespoon of oil to boil. Turn the heat off, then immediately add noodles and mix it up well. After about a minute, check the noodles to see if it's soft enough. Drain the noodles in a colander. Briefly rinse with cold water and toss with shallots oil. Making Annato Oil
Vietnamese cuisine often use Annato seeds oil to enhance the vibrant color of dishes. Annato seeds release a beautiful orange color when added to hot oil. To make annato seed oil, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a saute pan and add about 2 teaspoons of annato seeds. As the temperature rises, the red color will leach from the annato seeds. Strain and discard seeds.Preparing Accompaniments
Banana Blossom - Discard the first layer of banana leaves. Cut it lenghtwise. Discard the flowers in between the leaves. Shredded it into thin strings and soak it in water with a teaspoon of salt to prevent from discoloration.
Sesame crackers - microwave for about 2:30-3 minutes. Make sure to switch it on both side until it's crispy evenly.
Assembling Mi Quang
In a bowl, add noodles and the sauteed pork and shrimp and spare rib or pork neck bone. Then add just a little broth about 1/4 of the bowl. Drizzle annato seeds oil to enhance the vibrant color of Mi Quang Bowl if needed. Add cilantro, and green scallions. Top with toasted peanuts and black sesame rice crackers.
Serve lime wedge, chili pepper, bean sprout, mints and banana blossom on a side.
Enjoy!
4 comments:
Love this dish!
mi quang is the best! I'll have to dedicate a weekend to making this sometime!
Pho, spring rolls, banh xeo (a crispy crepe) and bun cha (skewered pork with noodles) are Vietnamese specialties. (www.gatchen.com)
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