Quang Style Noodle-vietnamese foods

Mì Quảng (Quang Style Noodle)

Video guide to make IN here

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. 

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. 

Mì Quảng 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. 
                                     The mi quang song.very funny
                                                      the mi quang song

“ 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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Ingredients

For 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
1 small onion
4 tablespoons of Fish Sauce
Salt 
Sugar or Rock Sugar
1/3 bag of Mì Quảng Seasoning 
1/2 onion, to sautee the seasoning
1 tablespoon cooking oil, to sautee the seasoning

For Sauteed Shrimps and Pork

1/2 pound Pork Belly, thinly sliced

1 pound medium Shrimps, shell on

3 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
1 Shallot, thinly sliced
1 Onion, diced
1/2 bag of Mì Quảng Seasoning or
1 tablespoon Fish Sauce

2 teaspoons Paprika

2 teaspoons Garlic Powder

2 teaspoons Salt and Sugar

For Annato Oil
1-2 teaspoons Annato seeds
2 tablespoons Cooking Oil

For Quang Noodle

1-2 teaspoons of Tumeric Powder, if used white noodle

2 tablespoons of Oil
1 Shallot, thinly sliced
2 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
2 bags of dried wide Pho Noodle or Fresh Noodle
or dried Yellow Noodle

Accompaniments

Bean Sprouts

Mint Leaves

Banana Blossom

Lime Wedege

Cilantro, chopped

Green Scallions, thinly sliced

Roasted Peanuts, coarsely crushed

2 Black Sesame Rice Crackers

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Making Broth

In a stockpot, place bones or spare ribs, vinegar 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, a piece of rock sugar about the size of a tabespoon  and water just above the bones.  Bring it to boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer it for about 45 minutes. 

In a small pot, sautee oil and onion until they turn golden.  Add Mì Quảng seasoning and remove from the heat immedietly. Pour the seasoning into the broth pot.  Add fish sauce and salt.  Taste it and adjust sugar, salt or fish sauce to your liking. 

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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 Mì Quảng seasoning. Reduce the heat to medium.  Stir it well and sautee it for about 5 minutes, add shrimps as they take less time to cook.   Turn the heat to high and sautee it for another 5 minutes or until shrimps turn pink. Add fish sauce and sautee it for a couple minutes.  Test taste it and adjust the seasoning to your liking.  Taste it and adjust the ingredients to your liking. Set it aside.

Unlike Phở, Bún Bò Huế or Hủ Tiếu, Mì Quảng broth needs to be a little bit saltier since it served with very little broth.

Pork and shimps are in the broth pot but it's better when seperate them from the broth.
Shrimp cooks very quickly and can get rubbery if over-cooked in the broth.

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Tumeric Flavored Noodles 

When eating Mì Quảng, I like the tumeric flavored noodles.  Tumeric powder imparts a great scent and flavor and therefore much preferred over food coloring. 

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 10 seconds, strain it. 

If use dried yellow noodles which i much prefer as these chewy noodles are made for Mì Quãng, soak it in warm water for at least half an hour to soften them.  In the meantime, heat a tablespoon of oil over medium heat and fry the sliced shallots until golden brown.  Set it aside. 

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 and toss with shallots oil. 

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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, bring the heat to medium then add 2 tablespoons of  oil and 2 teaspoons of annato seeds in sauce pan. As the temperature rises, the red color will leach from the annato seeds. Strain and discard seeds.

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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.

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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. 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.
You can watch my video to mi quang IN HERE

Enjoy!