''Cao lầu'' is a regional

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

ese

noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, In ...

dish, from the city of

Hội An Hội An (), formerly known as Fai-Fo or Faifoo, is a city with a population of approximately 120,000 in Vietnam's Quảng Nam Province and is noted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1999. Along with the Cu Lao Cham archipelago, it is part ...

, in central

's Quảng Nam Province. It typically consists of

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the domestic pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig husbandry dating back to 5000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooked and preserved; ...

and greens on a bed of

rice Rice is the seed of the grass species '' Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice) or less commonly ''Oryza glaberrima'' (African rice). The name wild rice is usually used for species of the genera '' Zizania'' and '' Porteresia'', both wild and domesticat ...

noodles made from rice which has been soaked in

lye A lye is a metal hydroxide traditionally obtained by leaching wood ashes, or a strong alkali which is highly soluble in water producing caustic basic solutions. "Lye" most commonly refers to sodium hydroxide (NaOH), but historically has been u ...

water, giving them a characteristic texture and colour that sets the dish apart from other Vietnamese noodle dishes, including others from the same region, such as

mì Quảng ''Mì Quảng'' (also spelled ''mỳ Quảng''), literally "Quảng noodle", is a Vietnamese noodle dish that originated from Quảng Nam Province in central Vietnam. In the region, it is one of the most popular and nationally recognized food it ...

Ingredients

The main ingredients of cao lầu are rice

noodles Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures (for example, Chinese noodles, Filipino noodles, Ind ...

, meat, greens,

bean sprouts Sprouting is the natural process by which seeds or spores germinate and put out shoots, and already established plants produce new leaves or buds, or other structures experience further growth. In the field of nutrition, the term signifies ...

, and herbs, most commonly served with a small amount of broth. The meat used is typically

, either shredded or sliced

char siu ''Char siu'' () is a Chinese, specifically Cantonese–style of barbecued pork. Originating in Guangdong, it is eaten with rice, used as an ingredient for noodle dishes or in stir fries, and as a filling for '' chasiu baau'' or '' pineapple ...

-style pork (''xa xiu''), but shrimp (''tôm'') can also be used. The rice noodles used in cao lầu are made from rice soaked in

water, which gives them a chewy, springy texture and a grayish-brown or yellowish colour. Local legend suggests that the lye should be made by leaching the ashes of certain plants from the nearby Cham Islands, and that the water used in soaking the rice and boiling the noodles should be taken from the ancient Bá Lễ well in

; for this reason, the legend states, cao lầu is rarely found outside the vicinity of Hội An. After soaking in the lye water, the rice is processed to make noodles at least 10cm long and 0.5cm wide, which are soaked in water for several hours, washed and boiled to taste.noodlepie: Cao lau
Some of the raw noodles are also cut into squares and deep-fried until crispy; these are used to top the dish when serving. The meat used in cao lầu is typically pork which is marinated in five-spice powder, sugar,

salt Salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl), a chemical compound belonging to the larger class of salts; salt in the form of a natural crystalline mineral is known as rock salt or halite. Salt is present in vast quant ...

pepper Pepper or peppers may refer to: Food and spice * Piperaceae or the pepper family, a large family of flowering plant ** Black pepper * ''Capsicum'' or pepper, a genus of flowering plants in the nightshade family Solanaceae ** Bell pepper ** Chili ...

, crushed garlic, and soy sauce, to give a taste similar to char siu pork. Pork bones are also boiled to make the broth, along with

onions An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the on ...

shallots The shallot is a botanical variety (a cultivar) of the onion. Until 2010, the (French red) shallot was classified as a separate species, ''Allium ascalonicum''. The taxon was synonymized with '' Allium cepa'' (the common onion) in 2010, as th ...

. Cao lầu is served with

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae. It is most often grown as a leaf vegetable, but sometimes for its stem and seeds. Lettuce is most often used for salads, although it is also seen in other kinds of food, ...

, bean sprouts and a number of fresh herbs (') such as

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

chives Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and ...

perilla ''Perilla'' is a genus consisting of one major Asiatic crop species ''Perilla frutescens'' and a few wild species in nature belonging to the mint family, Lamiaceae. The genus encompasses several distinct varieties of Asian herb, seed, and veget ...

('),

lemon basil Lemon basil, hoary basil, Thai lemon basil, or Lao basil,Dorothy Culloty (''Ocimum'' × ''africanum'') is a hybrid between basil ('' Ocimum basilicum'') and American basil ('' Ocimum americanum''). The herb is grown primarily in northeastern ...

('),

Vietnamese coriander ''Persicaria odorata'', with common names Vietnamese coriander, rau răm, laksa leaf, Vietnamese cilantro, phak phai, praew leaf, hot mint and Cambodian mint, is an herb with aromatic leaves, used in Southeast Asian and Northeast Indian cooking. ...

('),

cilantro Coriander (;

(' or '), and water mint ('). A variety of other herbs may also be used in cao lầu, including

mustard greens ''Brassica juncea'', commonly brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of mustard plant. Cultivar ''Brassica juncea'' cultivars can be divided into four major subgroups ...

('), chrysanthemum greens ('), common knotgrass ('), and heartleaf (').

Serving

A bowl of cao lầu is assembled by placing the noodles on a bed of fresh greens,

and herbs. The marinated

pork is fried in a pan or

wok A wok (; Pinyin: ; Cantonese ) is a deep round-bottomed cooking pan from China. It is believed to be derived from the South Asian karahi. It is common in China and similar pans are found in parts of East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as ...

until tender, made to cool, cut into thin slices (or, alternately, shredded), and placed on the noodles. Then, a small amount of broth (enough to wet the noodles) is poured over the contents of the bowl. Finally, the bowl is topped with the crispy squares and herbs, and served with lime and chili to taste. The dish is served at room temperature, and the contents of the bowl are mixed together before eating.

References

External links

''Cao lầu Hội An'' article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cao lau Pork dishes Vietnamese noodle dishes

Ingredients

Serving

See also

References

External links