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Nam Vang southern-style noodle soup originated from Phnom Penh in Cambodia and was introduced to Vietnam over a hundred years ago. The dish has evolved with many variations, including pork intestines, quail eggs, and minced meat.
This recipe serves about 4-6 people, takes approximately 80 minutes to prepare, and provides around 3,200 calories.
Ingredients
- 1 kg pork bones
- 400 grams of white radish
- 50 grams of dried shrimp (optional: dried squid)
- Shallots, ginger, garlic
- 300 grams pork tenderloin
- 200 grams shrimp
- 200 grams of pork heart
- 150 grams of pork liver
- 150 grams of ground pork shoulder
- 20 quail eggs
- 10 grams dried shrimp
- Hu tieu noodles
- Vegetables and side dishes: Lettuce, celery, crown daisy (optional), bean sprouts, fried garlic, pickled garlic, lime, chili, chives, or green onions.
- Spices: Fish sauce, salt, sugar, stock powder, pepper, rice wine
Instructions
1. Preparation
- Chop the pork bones in half to enhance natural sweetness during stewing.
- Soak the bones in diluted salt water and then wash them.
- Cut the pork liver, remove tendons, and make a few slits.
- Soak the liver in diluted salt water or milk, and wash. The purpose of this soaking is to eliminate toxins or undesirable flavors from the liver.
- Wash pork heart and pork tenderloin.
- Boil a pot of water, add a little salt, crushed ginger, and a touch of rice alcohol for flavor during the blanching process.
- Once the water simmers slightly, add pork bones to remove impurities.
- Wash the bones thoroughly to ensure cleanliness.
- Continue by blanching the tenderloin, liver, and heart in the simmering water.
- Wash the dried shrimp and let it dry.
- Marinate ground pork with a teaspoon of salt and a teaspoon of fish sauce for seasoning.
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The fresh meat and pork liver display a vivid red color. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy |
- Wash the vegetables and let them dry.
- Divide the garlic into two parts for different uses in the dish.
One part for stewing:
- Use one part of the garlic, along with onions, in its whole form.
- Fry these whole cloves and shallots until they achieve a golden brown color.
- Add this fried mixture later into the stew. This contributes to an amber yellow color and imparts a fragrant aroma to the broth.
One part for garnish:
- Fry this portion until it becomes crispy, but it won't be added to the stew.
- Sprinkle the crispy fried garlic on the finished dish when serving.
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Green vegetables add vibrant color and elevate flavor with their essence. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy |
2. Cooking process
For the toppings:
- Roast the dried shrimp until they produce a clicking sound, signifying a fragrant aroma.
- If available, grill dried squid and add it to the stew for added deliciousness.
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Roasting the dried shrimps makes them firmer and brings out a brighter red color. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy |
- Boil pork bones, tenderloin, and heart in a pot of water to make the broth.
- Boil the liver separately to prevent cloudiness in the broth.
- Add onion, crushed ginger, and rice alcohol when boiling the liver for deodorization and fragrance.
- Once cooked, soak meat, heart, and liver in cold water before slicing to prevent darkening.
- Boil the quail eggs. Once they are cooked, soak the eggs in cold water for easy peeling.
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Slicing the meat after soaking in cold water ensures an even color and makes it easy to cut. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy |
- Roast dried shrimp, grind or pound finely, and mix with ground pork.
- Sauté shallots, add the mixture of ground pork and dried shrimp, stir-fry, and adjust seasoning.
- Cover the meat with a bit of water to prevent discoloration and set aside.
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The stir-fried ground pork should be light brown with a hint of redness from the dried shrimp. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy. |
- Boil another pot of water with crushed shallots, salt, and seasoning.
- Add shrimp, turn off the stove when the water boils again, and let the shrimp cook slowly for one minute.
- Soak shrimp in boiling water to keep the shrimp firm and naturally sweet without shriveling or drying.
- Peel off the shell.
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After boiling, the shrimps will curl up, forming a C-shape. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy |
For the broth:
- Add radishes, roasted dried shrimp, grilled ginger, fried garlic and shallots to the pot with the bones.
- Skim off foam when the water boils again, cook over low heat until the broth is clear.
- Season the broth with fish sauce, salt, and sugar to taste.
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The broth looks yellow because of the fried shallots and garlic. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy |
3. Presentation
- Cook the noodles in boiling water.
- Place the noodles in a bowl, topping them with shrimp, sliced pork loin, liver, heart, quail eggs, and ground pork.
- Ladle hot broth over the ingredients.
- Add the veggies, and a sprinkle of fried garlic.
- The dish is served with pickled garlic, lime, and chili.
Finished product:
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A bowl of Nam Vang noodle soup showcases red from shrimp, green from veggies, light brown from meat toppings, and the white of noodles. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy |
The finished dish presents a harmony of soft, chewy noodles, a rich broth, sweet shrimp, pork liver, and quail eggs, complemented by a crunchy pork heart.
