How to make Hoi An thick noodles cao lau

The Guardian newspaper praised Hoi An's cao lau as "the history of the city in a bowl." They highlighted how the dish has evolved over time, incorporating ingredients from foreign traders, yet still maintaining its quintessential Vietnamese essence.

The defining characteristic of cao lau is its noodles. To make these noodles, people in Quang Nam Province, home to Hoi An, use rice that has been soaked in water from the Ba Le Well and mixed with ash from Cu Lao Cham Island. The rice is ground into flour, kneaded into a block, and then rolled out into thin, square-shaped pieces. These pieces are steamed and then cut into individual noodle portions. These noodles are slightly brown, crispy, and chewy, distinguishing them from other types of noodles in the region.

This recipe serves about 4 to 6 people, takes approximately 75 minutes to prepare, and provides around 3,052 calories in total.

Ingredients

- 600 grams of collar pork, pork leg or pork belly

- 1 liter of pork stock (optional)

- 4 shallots

- 4 cloves of garlic

- Spices: salt, five-spice powder, soy sauce, sugar, stock powder

- Cooking oil, annatto oil

- Cao lau noodles, both thin and square-shaped pieces (if not available, you can substitute with thick, large-sized dried rice noodles)

- Green chili

- Basil, bean sprouts, baby mustard greens, chili, lime

Instructions

1. Preparation

- Slice the meat parallel to the long fibers of the muscle. By doing so, when the meat is cooked, the resulting pieces will become more tender and easier to chew.

Fresh meat with pinkish hues and firm fibers is preferred for the dish. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy

- Crush shallots and garlic for marination, extracting their juices. Reserved the pulp for later use.

- Wash and drain the herbs.

The liquid you get from the shallots and garlic has a cloudy appearance and is yellow in color. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy

- In a large bowl, combine the meat with 1 packet of five spices (approximately 5 grams), 4 tablespoons of soy sauce, 1.5 tablespoons of sugar, 1 tablespoon of annatto oil, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of stock powder, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and a pinch of chili powder if you prefer spicier food. Mix well.

- Allow the meat to marinate for at least 2 to 3 hours. For enhanced flavor, you can wrap the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate it overnight.

The marinated meat is enveloped in a rich, dark brown sauce. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy

2. Cooking process

- Heat cooking oil in a pan over medium-high heat.

- Fry the marinated meat until it turns golden brown on both sides. Ensure even cooking by occasionally flipping the meat to avoid burning.

- Once cooked, remove the meat from the pan and set it aside.

- In the same pan, using the remaining oil from frying, add the pulp of the crushed shallots and garlic.

- Fry them until they become fragrant.

- Return the fried meat to the pan along with any remaining marinade.

- Pour in enough pork bone broth or cold water to cover the meat.

- Season with a teaspoon each of soy sauce and sugar to taste.

- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.

- After about 10-15 minutes of simmering, turn the meat over to ensure even cooking and color on all sides.

- If desired, after 40 minutes, remove a portion of the meat juice to use as sauce for later.

- Allow the meat to continue cooking until it becomes soft.

- Once done, turn off the stove and let the meat cool slightly.

- Thinly slice the cooked meat before serving.

After simmering, the sauce will gradually thicken as it reduces. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy

- If you have square-shaped pieces of cao lau noodles, fry them until evenly golden brown. Otherwise, you can substitute with deep-fried crackers.

- For fresh noodles, you can either boil or steam them until they become tender.

- If the noodles are dry, soak them in water for 1-2 hours to allow them to soften. After soaking, blanch the softened noodles in boiling water until they become soft.

- Once cooked, drain the noodles and mix them with a little oil. This prevents them from sticking together.

Fried square-shaped pieces of cao lau noodles resemble crackers in appearance. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy

- To serve, layer bean sprouts in bowls followed by noodles and sliced pork. Drizzle with reserved meat juices. Garnish with chili sauce, and fresh herbs alongside green chili peppers.

3. Final product

The noodles are typically served with a variety of fresh herbs. Photo by VnExpress/Bui Thuy

- The noodles should be soft and chewy. The broth, infused with meat essence, offers a blend of sweetness, saltiness, and spiciness.