Mi Quang - Quang Nam Noodles

Whoever came up with the idea for mi quang, thank you!  Mi quang originated from Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, hence the name mi quang.  According to my dad mi quang was created during tough times when food were very scarce.  People made the most out of whatever ingredients they have at home.  For that reason, there are many different ways you can make mi quang.  I guess that's why I love this dish so much because you can can throw whatever you want in the pot.

Mi quang is eaten with a lot of fresh vegetables another reason why it appeals to me because i'm a veggie lover.  It is not exactly a soup but it's not like hu tieu kho either.  You add just enough broth to the bowl so you can easily mix all the ingredients together and slurp that thick noodle.  Because you add very little broth, it is important that you season your broth and meat very well.  That's the one thing I notice when I eat a bowl of mi quang from Vietnam versus a bowl from the states.  Mi quang from Vietnam is seasoned very well and I find the mi quang I've had from the states to be too bland.  You almost want to over salt your broth and meat because the vegetables and noodles will balanced everything out.

The most common version of mi quang contain shrimp and pork belly.  Chicken mi quang is a close second.  I've tried it with king crab and beef as well.  Honestly, anything will work!  One day i'm going to have to experiment with fish.  To me the most important part about mi quang is the broth.  It doesn't matter to me if you use pork or chicken to make the broth, the deal breaker is the shrimp head.  I always use shrimp with the head to make mi quang because it gives the broth so much flavor.  I also like using fresh pineapples to give the broth a very subtle tart.

Ingredients:  

1/2 cup of shrimp peeled
1 cup of dried shrimp (tom kho)
2 lb of pork belly
1 lb of shrimp w/ head unpeeled

6 purple shallots

1 cup of riped pineapple cut in chunks
paprika
tumeric powder
salt
sugar
rock sugar
fish sauce
black pepper
mushroom seasoning
cooking oil


dried mi quang noodles
quail eggs
whole roasted peanuts
seasame rice cracker
green onions
your choice of veggies (banana blossom, romaine, cabbage, bean sprouts, water spinach
your choice of herbs (mint, cilantro)
lime
chili

1.  Thoroughly clean and wash pork belly.  Then cut into slices.  Marinade with 1/2 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 tablespoon of paprika, 1 teaspoon of turmeric, and 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. 
2.  Smashed or minced 1/2 cup of peel shrimp
3.  Rehydrate 1 cup dried shrimp in warm water.  Then use a food processor to ground it. 
4. Thinly sliced the purple shallots. 
5.  In a soup/stock pot, heat up some oil.  Fried 1/2 of the sliced purple shallots.  Add the fresh minced shrimp and the dried shrimp to the pot and sautee a long with the shallots. 
6.  Add 5 quarts of water and let pot come to a boil.
7.  Remove any scums and reduce heat.
8.  Season broth with  2 teaspoon of salt, rock sugar, and 1 tablespoon of mushroom seasoning.
9.  Heat up oil in a pan, add 1/2 of the remaining sliced shallots. Brown the shallots and then add the shrimp w/ heads.  Season with a sprinkle of salt, a couple sprinkle of sugar, a sprinkle of black pepper, and 1/2 tsp of paprika.  Sauteed until shrimp is cooked and flavorful, remove and set aside. 
10.  Heat up more oil, and the remaining sliced shallots.  Add the marinated pork belly.  Stir fried the pork belly.  Add about 2 tablespoon of sugar.  As liquid release from the pork, reduce heat to allow pork belly to absorb all the flavors. 
11.  Add pineapple chunks to the pork and let it braised in the pork for about 10-15 minutes.  The pork belly should be slightly salty and very flavorful. 
12.  Add pork belly, pineapple, and all the liquid into your broth.  This will flavor your broth and give your broth that vibrant orange color.  Again the broth should be slightly saltier than most broth because you don't need a lot of broth when you eat Mi Quang.  Season with addition sugar and fish sauce if needed.  Let pork belly marry with the broth.

13.  Remove scum if necessary.
14.  Boil your Mi Quang noodles, drain, and let air dry.
15.  Prepare all your veggies and herbs of choice.

How to prepare your bowl:


1. At veggies and herbs of choice to your bowl
2. Add the noodles.
3. Add the sauteed shrimps,  quail eggs.
4. Add pork belly from the pot and ladle enough broth to fill 1/2 the bowl. 
5.  Top off with green onions, roasted peanuts, and sesame cracker.
6.  Squeeze some lime and add chili to your liking.
7.  Mix everything together and enjoy!!