It's very simple, that bowl of noodles must express all the local pride of Quang Nam people, with unique indigenous ingredients.
Cook what you have
As a land with both coastal plains, semi-mountainous areas and mountainous forests, Quang Nam's products are quite unique. That has created the richness of Quang noodles, surpassing other typical dishes of other regions. For example, a bowl of pho usually only uses beef and chicken.
Meanwhile, Quang noodles have a much more diverse and varied filling. The most common fillings are fresh shrimp, pork and quail eggs. These are common ingredients in a standard bowl of Quang noodles. Chicken is also a common ingredient used to cook, creating a bowl of chicken Quang noodles.
But if there is no pork, chicken, or shrimp, then cook whatever is available. Chicken can be replaced with duck, making duck Quang noodles very special. People living in coastal areas cook crab Quang noodles, while people living in the forest areas cook frog Quang noodles.
Therefore, the Quang noodle sect is very large. The poultry sect has chicken Quang noodles, duck Quang noodles, chicken gizzard Quang noodles, chicken Quang noodles - shrimp - quail eggs. The "4-legged" sect has pork Quang noodles, beef Quang noodles, braised beef Quang noodles, pork - shrimp - egg Quang noodles. The aquatic - seafood sect has snakehead fish Quang noodles, frog Quang noodles, shrimp Quang noodles, crab Quang noodles, squid Quang noodles.
These are all products available in this land. Quang noodles have a variety of ingredients, showing flexibility and creativity in the processing method. But there is one very interesting thing, no matter what is cooked with, that bowl of Quang noodles is still very delicious, very unique in its own way and still brings out the essence and flavor of Quang noodles.
Because no matter what ingredients Quang noodles are cooked with, in what circumstances, a bowl of Quang noodles must adhere to the following basic elements: the noodles must be rubbed with peanut oil after being rinsed and then cut, the accompanying raw vegetables cannot lack thinly sliced banana blossom, roasted peanuts, rice paper and spicy green chili.
Obviously, the adaptability of Quang noodles is very high, comparable to pizza in Italian cuisine, because this is a common, very popular dish, originating from rural life and not subject to strict rules like pho or wonton noodles. Therefore, Quang noodles can be cooked anywhere, in harmony with all soil and water conditions.
Looking at a bowl of Quang noodles, I see Quang Nam.
A bowl of Quang noodles is worthy of being a symbol of the land and people of Quang Nam. Because in the bowl of noodles, there are all local products. The rice used to make noodles is a special type of whole-grain Xiec rice that can only be grown in Quang Nam. This type of rice is highly sticky and fragrant, so it is often used to make noodles or rice paper.
Peanut oil (locally known as peanut oil) is pressed from peanuts grown in the sandy loam soil of Thang Binh, Tam Ky, which has a strong aroma. The peanuts are also roasted until golden brown and sprinkled on a bowl of Quang noodles, creating a crunchy sound when eaten.
The raw vegetables to eat with Quang noodles must definitely be vegetables from Tra Que vegetable village, including 9 types of vegetables that bring 9 different flavors. There is the astringent taste of thinly sliced banana flower, the spicy taste of young mustard greens, the fresh taste of lettuce and bean sprouts, the herbal aroma of basil and coriander, along with the flavors of Vietnamese coriander, spring onions, and cilantro.
These vegetables from Tra Que village have a very different flavor from herbs and raw vegetables grown in other regions, like basil grown in Lang village. The soil, water, and sun and wind of Tra Que make the village's herbs exude a very Quang Nam flavor.
Not only that, the spicy but very fragrant flavor that makes the eater exclaim and sniff must also come from the special green chili grown in the fields of Dien Ngoc and Dai Loc. The flavor, spiciness, and deliciousness of this chili can be said to be hard to find elsewhere. When eating Quang noodles, holding the whole chili and biting it is delicious and authentic, not eating chopped chili.
Getting enough delicious ingredients from the homeland to cook a bowl of noodles is not enough, we also need to get the yellow color from the land with more than 300 sunny days a year. Quang noodles are yellow like the morning sun because they are dyed with gardenia flowers, making them very eye-catching. Even the original white noodles, when eaten, have a yellow color due to the color from the filling and broth.
On that yellow background, the chicken pieces are also braised in yellow, also tinged with yellow, the quail eggs are also stained with yellow, then the red and yellow of the peeled and decapitated freshwater shrimp stand out, extremely attractive. The yellow also comes from the roasted peanuts, and the black sesame rice paper is also faintly yellow.
Therefore, a bowl of Quang noodles looks as shiny as the yellow of the houses in Hoi An ancient town in the dazzling sunshine of May. To freshen that bowl of yellow sunshine, there is the lush green of lettuce, young mustard greens, coriander, then the purple of basil, basil and Vietnamese coriander, and the white of banana blossoms and bean sprouts.
Not only that, a bowl of Quang noodles also strongly represents the nature of the land that “has not yet rained but has soaked”, the dry land of our country. A proper bowl of Quang noodles never has the broth poured over the filling like other types of pho, noodles, vermicelli, and glass noodles, creating a watery bowl of noodles.
The broth is only poured to the middle of the bowl of noodles, to show off the noodles and the beautiful fillings. The yellow color of this thick broth will color the ingredients that are not yet yellow, while the rich sweetness of the bones, the stewed shrimp heads, and the shrimp roe stewed in peanut oil will create a harmony of flavors from the ingredients.
Quang noodle brands
As mentioned in the previous episode, Quang noodles are easy to cook so any Quang Nam person can cook them. However, there are also Quang noodles brands that have been famous for hundreds of years such as Dai Loc chicken Quang noodles, Ky Ly Tam Ky Quang noodles, and even Da Nang Quang noodles. However, many people love Phu Chiem Quang noodles - the place that is considered the cradle of Quang noodles.
Phu Chiem is the name of a village in Dien Phuong commune, Dien Ban district. Phu Chiem Quang noodles are considered to retain the traditional features and rustic flavors of the countryside along the Thu Bon river. The distinguishing feature of a bowl of Phu Chiem Quang noodles is the thick broth, with a reddish-yellow color of shrimp and field crab, the filling is just freshwater shrimp, thinly sliced pork belly and marinated quail eggs.
The flavor of Phu Chiem Quang noodles is sweet, with the strong aroma of crab fat in the broth, and the aroma of crushed shallot and peanut oil on each noodle. It is this shallot and peanut oil that gives Phu Chiem noodles their unique flavor, and is considered the first criterion to evaluate the quality and grade of a bowl of noodles.
The bowl of noodles has shrimp, pork belly, braised quail eggs and a red-yellow broth made from shrimp roe, crab roe stewed with peanut oil and crushed crab juice. The raw vegetables of Phu Chiem Quang noodles include shredded banana flowers and shallots, in addition to the traditional vegetables. Just that alone makes it famous everywhere!
