🌍 FlavorBridge View Interactive Recipe →
Mì Quảng 🇻🇳 Vietnamese Cuisine

Mì Quảng

The signature noodle dish of Quảng Nam province: wide turmeric-yellow rice noodles dressed in a rich pork and shrimp broth, topped with fresh herbs, rice crackers, sesame, and crushed peanuts.

⏱30 min prep 🔥45 min cook ⏰75 min total 🍽4 servings 📊medium

The Cultural Story

A hundred kilometers south of Hội An, in the middle region of Vietnam that was once the domain of the Cham kingdom, mì Quảng has been the daily noodle for as long as anyone can remember. Unlike Hanoi's pho or Hue's bun bo, mì Quảng is not a soup — it is a dressed noodle dish. The wide, flat noodles are made from rice flour tinted golden with turmeric, cooked briefly, and placed in a bowl with just enough broth to moisten them, not to submerge them. This is a crucial distinction: the broth here is a condiment, not a medium. The broth itself is rich and complex — built from pork ribs, shrimp, and shallots, flavored with fish sauce and turmeric — but you use barely a ladleful. The bowl is about the noodles and their toppings: whole shrimp cooked pink, slices of pork belly, half a hard-boiled quail egg, a shower of roasted peanuts, a scatter of fried shallots, a small mound of toasted sesame seeds. Then the herbs: banana blossom shredded fine, fresh mint, perilla, sawtooth herb. And then — the signature touch — a bánh tráng nướng, a toasted rice cracker that is broken over the bowl in jagged shards and half-submerged in the broth, where it softens from crunchy to chewy to tender over the course of eating. Mì Quảng is deeply associated with the central coast, with Đà Nẵng and the surrounding province. At sidewalk restaurants, it is eaten for breakfast or lunch, and served with a squeeze of lime and a small mountain of fresh herbs. The dish represents the middle region's culinary identity: neither as delicate as the north nor as bold as the south, but rich and textured and unmistakably its own. To eat mì Quảng in Hội An, on a plastic stool in the morning light, is to understand what Vietnamese food means to the people who live there: not a restaurant experience but a daily ritual, humble and irreplaceable.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. 1Make the broth: place pork and shrimp shells in a pot with water. Bring to a boil and skim foam. Add charred shallots, turmeric, fish sauce, and sugar. Reduce to a gentle simmer for 30 minutes. Remove pork (slice for topping). Strain broth and discard solids. Taste and adjust seasoning.
  2. 2Sauté the shrimp: heat 1 tbsp oil in a pan over medium-high. Season shrimp with salt, pepper, and a pinch of turmeric. Sauté 2 minutes per side until pink and slightly caramelized. Set aside.
  3. 3Prepare the noodles: if using dried noodles, cook according to package. Drain and toss with a few drops of oil and 1/2 tsp turmeric to prevent sticking and deepen the golden color.
  4. 4Reheat the broth: bring strained broth back to a simmer. Add the sautéed shrimp to warm through, 1 minute.
  5. 5Assemble bowls: divide noodles among 4 wide bowls. Arrange pork slices and shrimp on top. Add an egg half. Ladle 3–4 tbsp of hot broth over the noodles — just enough to moisten, not to flood.
  6. 6Finish each bowl: drizzle with annatto oil or chili oil. Scatter peanuts, sesame seeds, and fried shallots. Break a toasted rice cracker over the bowl in large shards, half-submerged in the broth. Serve immediately with the herb plate, lime, and chili.

Cook this with the full experience

Join FlavorBridge to explore authentic recipes from cultures around the world — with comments, ratings, and the stories behind every dish.

Open Interactive Recipe →