Name: Mì Quảng (Turmeric Rice Noodles in a Little Strong Broth)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 300 g pork belly; 300 g shell-on prawns; 8 quail eggs; 3 shallots; 3 cloves garlic; 3 tbsp fish sauce; 1 tsp sugar; 1 tsp ground turmeric; 2 tbsp neutral oil; 800 ml chicken or pork stock; 400 g wide rice noodles; 4 leaves lettuce; 100 g bean sprouts; 1 handful mint and coriander; 50 g roasted peanuts; 2 sesame rice crackers (bánh tráng mè); 1 lime; 1 red chilli

Ingredients

4servings

Broth and toppings
pork belly · thinly sliced300 g
shell-on prawns300 g
quail eggs8
shallots · chopped3
garlic · chopped3 cloves
fish sauce3 tbsp
sugar1 tsp
ground turmeric1 tsp
neutral oil2 tbsp
chicken or pork stock800 ml
The bowl
wide rice noodles · fresh; 250g if dried400 g
lettuce · shredded4 leaves
bean sprouts100 g
mint and coriander1 handful
roasted peanuts50 g
sesame rice crackers (bánh tráng mè) · toasted2
lime1
red chilli · sliced1

Steps

Toss the pork and prawns with half the shallots and garlic, 1 tbsp of the fish sauce and the turmeric, and leave 15 minutes.
⏲ 15 min
Boil the quail eggs 4 minutes, cool them in cold water and peel.
⏲ 4 min
Heat the oil in a pot, fry the rest of the shallots and garlic, then add the prawns and fry only until they change colour, 2 minutes. Lift them out.
⏲ 2 min
Add the pork to the same pot and fry 5 minutes until it gives up some fat.
⏲ 5 min
Pour in the stock with the rest of the fish sauce and the sugar and simmer gently 25 minutes. When it is down to about 600ml, taste it: it should be too salty to drink on its own.
⏲ 25 min
Return the prawns and quail eggs and warm them 2 minutes.
⏲ 2 min
Blanch or boil the noodles as the packet says, rinse in cold water and drain (cooking noodles).
Line each bowl with lettuce, sprouts and herbs and put the noodles on top. Add the pork, prawns and eggs, then ladle on about 150ml of broth per bowl, only enough to come halfway up the noodles (fresh herbs).
Scatter the peanuts and break a cracker over each bowl. Serve with lime and chilli, and each person mixes it to the bottom before eating.

Variations

With chicken. Chicken pieces marinated in turmeric replace the pork and prawns, cooked the same way.
With fish. On the Quảng Nam coast, pieces of fish go on top.
With banana blossom. Shredded banana blossom goes in the bottom of the bowl with the herbs.

Tips

Only enough broth to half cover the noodles.
Season the broth far harder than a soup.
Fry the prawns briefly, lift them out and return them at the end. Simmered long, they turn rubbery.
Break the cracker just before eating. In too early, it goes soft.

More detail and the reasons why (2)

The broth is a sauce. The broth of pho fills the bowl and is drunk, so it is clear and long-simmered. Mì Quảng puts only a little in each bowl. That little has to season the noodles, the greens and the toppings together, so it is right for it to be too salty to sip on its own. Mixed through, the greens and noodles at the bottom share it out.
The herbs wilt only where the broth reaches. The raw greens and herbs sit under the noodles and only a little hot broth goes on, so the part it covers wilts and the top stays fresh. One bowl gives cooked leaves and raw leaves in the same bite.

The basics behind this dish

Cooking basics →

More of the same kind

Noodles →

More from this country

Vietnamese →