''Cao lầu'' is a regional

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

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 and made into a variety of shapes. The most common noo ...

dish, from the city of Hội An, in central

's Quảng Nam Province. It typically consists of

pork Pork is the culinary name for the meat of the pig (''Sus domesticus''). It is the most commonly consumed meat worldwide, with evidence of pig animal husbandry, husbandry dating back to 8000–9000 BCE. Pork is eaten both freshly cooke ...

and greens on a bed of

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

noodles made from rice which has been soaked in

lye Lye is the common name of various alkaline solutions, including soda lye (a solution of sodium hydroxide) and potash lye (a solution of potassium hydroxide). Lyes are used as cleaning products, as ingredients in soapmaking, and in various other c ...

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.

Ingredients

The main ingredients of cao lầu are rice noodles, 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-style pork (''xa xiu''), but

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

(''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 Hội An; 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 Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

salt In common usage, salt is a mineral composed primarily of sodium chloride (NaCl). When used in food, especially in granulated form, it is more formally called table salt. In the form of a natural crystalline mineral, salt is also known as r ...

, pepper, crushed

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plants in the genus '' Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chives, Welsh onion, and Chinese onion. Garlic is native to central and south Asia, str ...

, and

soy sauce Soy sauce (sometimes called soya sauce in British English) is a liquid condiment of China, Chinese origin, traditionally made from a fermentation (food), fermented paste of soybeans, roasted cereal, grain, brine, and ''Aspergillus oryzae'' or ''A ...

, 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'' , from Latin ), 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 onion which was classified ...

or shallots. Cao lầu is served with

lettuce Lettuce (''Lactuca sativa'') is an annual plant of the family Asteraceae mostly grown as a leaf vegetable. The leaves are most often used raw in Green salad, green salads, although lettuce is also seen in other kinds of food, such as sandwiche ...

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

chives Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae. A perennial plant, ''A. schoenoprasum'' is widespread in nature across much of Eurasia and North America. It is the only spe ...

, perilla ('),

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 ('), cilantro (' or '), and water mint ('). A variety of other herbs may also be used in cao lầu, including mustard greens ('), 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 char siu pork is fried in a pan or wok 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 Vietnamese pork dishes Vietnamese noodle dishes

Ingredients

Serving

See also

References

External links