QUANG NAM – Quang noodles served with a clay pot containing sauce are a new dish, helping diners both enjoy the specialty and experience Hoi An culture.
Mi Quang is a typical dish of the people of Da Nang – Quang Nam. But Quang noodles in clay pots, in addition to the bowl of noodles, also has a clay pot to hold the sauce.
This is a new dish created by Le Minh Canh (36 years old), introduced to the public from November 2022. During the Hanoi Fall Festival 2023 from September 29 to October 1 at Hanoi Children’s Palace, he and two colleagues demonstrated this Quang Nieu noodle dish.
Working as a chef in a military unit for 14 years, after being discharged from the army, Mr. Canh changed direction and returned to his hometown in Hoi An to do tourism business.
According to Mr. Canh, visitors to Quang Nam often only go to famous places such as Hoi An ancient town, paying very little attention to traditional craft villages. Based on the flexible ingredients of Quang noodles, Mr. Canh has integrated the typical cultural features of many communes and wards in Hoi An into the dish.
Mr. Canh said that Quang noodles do not have a common recipe, the ingredients can vary depending on the locality. However, the indispensable spice is the crushed head of the bulb (scallion).
The ingredients that make up the Quang Nieu noodle dish are all taken from Hoi An: Quang noodles from artisan Tam Thi’s oven in Phu Chiem village, fresh crayfish caught from the Bay Mau coconut forest in Cam Thanh village, vegetables from Tra Que vegetable village, Clay pots from Thanh Ha pottery village, wooden chopsticks from Kim Bong carpentry village. After enjoying, diners will have dessert with it gai leaf cake and herbal leaf juice from Cu Lao Cham.
Compared to regular Quang noodles, Quang Nieu noodles have a more elaborate preparation method. The mixture of pineapple juice, onions, tomatoes, pureed shrimp juice and crushed tuber heads are poured into a large clay pot, then scooped into small clay pots and boiled on the stove. Add quail eggs and crayfish and cook until cooked. The clay pot retains heat well, the shrimp meat is sweeter, chewier and absorbs more spices.
When the ingredients are cooked, the small clay pot used to cook the broth is placed into a round tray lined with banana leaves, containing raw vegetables to eat (sliced banana ears, lettuce, basil, baby mustard greens, bitter herbs). Put the hot blanched noodles into a deep ceramic plate. Add marinated pork, braise golden with compressed tubers, green onions, roasted peanuts and grilled rice paper. Before enjoying, diners pour sauce from the clay pot into the noodles, squeeze more lemon, break a piece of grilled rice paper, mix well and enjoy with raw vegetables with chopsticks engraved with the word “Kim Bong”.
Unlike the light taste of pho, the characteristic of Quang noodles is that both the flavor and taste are rich. “Although people in the Central region eat saltier than in the North, the salty taste mixed with a little sweetness is very strange,” said Vu Thi Quynh Chi (28 years old, Hanoi), who lived in Hoi An for about a year.
Visiting the booth at the festival on September 30, Do Thi Quynh Mai (27 years old, Hai Phong) commented: “Both the way of processing, the way of eating and the taste of Quang nieu noodles are all different from the Quang noodles I have eaten. many times in Hoi An. Normally the sauce will be poured directly into the bowl of noodles, not in a pot like this.”
According to Mai, Quang Nieu noodles still retain their basic flavor. The rich sweetness of the shrimp paste in the broth blends with the hot, flexible noodles, fragrant with the characteristic scent of compressed tubers. The shrimp meat is chewy, sweet, and the braised pork belly is rich in flavor and is dyed golden with cashew oil. Fresh, cool raw vegetables, crispy grilled rice paper and fatty, nutty roasted peanuts.
The most unique and groundbreaking point that impressed her was the cultural story integrated into the dish. “After enjoying Quang Nieu noodles, I learned about some craft villages in Hoi An such as Kim Bong carpentry village or Phu Chiem noodle village,” Mai said.
Quang Nieu noodles are served on a basket boat in the Bay Mau coconut forest, Hoi An. Photo: NVCC
Ingredients for Quang Nieu noodles. Photo: Quynh Mai
Mr. Canh and Quang Nieu noodles participate in a culinary event held in Da Nang at the end of 2022. Photo: NVCC
Pork and shrimp braised with spices and cashew oil, have a beautiful golden color. Photo: Quynh Mai
Quang Nieu noodle stall of Ms. Ly and Mr. Canh at the Vietnamese – International Cuisine Festival taking place in July this year in Da Nang. Photo: NVCC
Foreign tourists enjoy Quang Nieu noodles at Mr. Canh’s restaurant in Hoi An. Photo: NVCC
Quang Nieu noodles are served on a basket boat in the Bay Mau coconut forest, Hoi An. Photo: NVCC
In August, Mr. Canh’s Quang Nieu noodle dish won second prize in the competition for ideas and creative startup projects in Quang Nam province in 2023.
After the event, many diners came to the restaurant on Vo Chi Cong Street, Cam Thanh Village, Hoi An City to enjoy pot noodles and listen to Mr. Canh share about local culture.
Mr. Canh has registered to protect the trademark of Quang Nieu noodles. In the future, he hopes to be able to link with the government and tourism units, organize tours combining enjoying Quang Nieu noodles and experiencing craft villages to “increase people’s income and revive the economy.” maintain traditional craft villages”.
Photo,Video: Internet (Vinlove.net)