Hi guys, how are you today?
Have you ever heard or tasted "Quang noodles" - a specialty dish in Quang Nam - Vietnam? Let me share with you how to make this dish by hand.
Quang noodle is a nutritious food made from rice. You can see it in different regions of Vietnam, but to fully appreciate its deliciousness and uniqueness, you should come and eat it in Quang Nam. Quang noodle is a type of noodle originating from the 16th century in the land of Quang Nam, for that reason it is named "Quang noodle". Today I was fortunate to have the opportunity to go to Quang Nam and visit an heirloom noodle factory here, so I will show you how to make those noodles with a noodle maker with more than 35 years of experience .
Making noodles with even thickness, tough and especially fragrant is very difficult, requiring the noodle maker to be patient and skillful. Today, although there are machines to support the making of noodles, many families in Quang Nam are still "loyal" to their handmade noodle oven.
Preparation and processing
To make delicious noodles, you need the following ingredients:
- Rice
- Seasoning: fish sauce, salt, cooking oil.
- Cold water
- Tools: pot coated with Quang noodles, smooth towel, steaming basket, coconut shell, rolling stick
- Burning material: rice husk
The secret to being able to cook delicious noodles lies in the selection of rice, the source of rice flour is the most important. The rice used to make noodles is usually rice from the Trang Nong rice variety (large grain, most suitable for creating the best quality noodles).
The raw material used for the incinerator is rice husk. The rice grains are used to grind into flour to make noodles, the husks are used to burn, so the people were able to make full use of the rice plants they worked so hard to create.
Grind Rice And Mix Flour
To make delicious noodles, noodle makers have to do a lot of work and often they also wake up very early. They often have to get up at 2 a.m. to grind rice and coat noodles. According to noodle makers, making noodles by hand is a way to retain the traditional features, to ensure that the noodles are thin, tough and especially retain the unique aroma of the rice grain.
Rice must be soaked in water for about 6-8 hours. Usually, the noodle maker will soak the rice from the night before to the next morning. After the rice becomes soft, put the rice and water in the mortar to grind a few times to get the flour, then put the dough into the preheated noodle pan. This is a very time-consuming process, so they usually wake up at 2 am to prepare.
Noodling - Requires Noodle Maker's Ingenuity
The mold is usually made of 2 sheets of smooth fabric, placed on top of each other with a diameter of about 60cm. Noodle makers will use a stove built of bricks and clay around to keep the heat. On the stove put a large pot containing water for steaming, the water is poured 1/2 pot, above the mouth of the pot is a very sturdy and flat stretch fabric.
The water in the pot will be boiled, see the steam escape on the surface of the cloth to create a very fanciful smog. When the water boils, the worker will stir the flour evenly and then use a coating tool called "coconut shell" to scoop the powder mixture onto the cloth and coat it in a very thin layer, then cover the pot and wait for one minute.
Next, the maker will add the flour mixture and add another thin layer to cover the pot. This stage requires people to be skillful, evenly coated with 2 layers of powder on the mold. Wait for about 1 minute for the noodles to be cooked, then take them out, if left for a long time, the noodles will stick to the lid of the pot, the worker uses a round bar through the middle of the mold with the cake layer and picks up the cake displayed on the griddle.
Continue like this until the dough is gone. The "noodle leaves" are stacked, cooled, oiled (preferably de-cooked peanut oil).
Not only requires special tools, but the process of coating noodles also needs the experience and ingenuity of the noodle maker.
Cut The Noodles Into Yarn And Get The Job Done
When the noodles are finished, they are cut into small strips. This cutting process uses a sharp knife plus the ingenuity of the maker to make the noodles even and beautiful. These noodles are then delivered to restaurants and create traditional bowls of Quang noodles imbued with Vietnamese culture.
For more than 30 years of keeping the fire for this traditional profession, noodle makers have encountered many difficulties. However, they never once thought of quitting their job, but on the contrary, they always persevered, partly because of their passion, partly because they wanted to keep the traditional craft of their homeland because the profession had faded due to modern machinery. . In the past, in this locality, there were more than 10 noodle furnaces, now only 2 or 3 are in operation.
I was very surprised because to create the dish that I love is so elaborate and goes through so many stages. Witnessing everyone's hard work, I appreciate the food on my table. It is not simply delicious food, but it contains the sweat, hard work and love of the noodle maker in it.
If you have the opportunity, try this specialty "Mì Quang" to feel the delicious taste and enthusiasm of the noodle makers.
Thank you for reading the post, have a nice day.