Quang noodles, a specialty of Central Vietnamese cuisine, are considered by chefs to have "superpowers" thanks to their adaptability and flexibility in preparation and ingredients.
Summer Le, founder and chef of Nen, a restaurant that received a Michelin Green Star in 2024, said she grew up eating Quang noodles. Her mother also often cooked this dish for her friends.
"When I started writing a food blog 15 years ago, I needed a dish that represented the region, and I immediately chose Quang noodles. It is truly our dish, reflecting the lifestyle and philosophy of Da Nang - Quang Nam," said Summer Le.
Mi Quang takes its name from the Quang region, which formerly included Quang Nam and Da Nang. The land was once poor, the soil was not as fertile as the plains, and it often suffered from big storms.
The natural differences are clearly shown through the typical dishes of each city. The rich broth of Pho Bo developed in Hanoi because the urban elite had a stable supply of beef. Hu Tieu Nam Vang requires a large amount of bone marrow, dried seafood, pork, and shrimp, which are easily found in the Mekong Delta. Da Nang, on the other hand, does not possess many "luxuries" culinary ingredients. Therefore, the ingredients in Mi Quang are "flexible and diverse".
This is perhaps most evident in the accompanying meat. It can be shrimp, fish, eel, pork, chicken, frog, jellyfish, or any combination. Mi Quang does not follow a fixed recipe but is simply prepared with what is available.
“History and harsh conditions have taught us to appreciate what we have,” says Summer Le, who says Mi Quang reflects this philosophy, taking humble resources and turning them into something delicious and meaningful.
The defining characteristics of Mi Quang are the variety of meat options and the fact that it has very little broth.
According to Peter Cuong Franklin, founder and head chef of one-Michelin-starred Anan Saigon, this also reflects the dish’s adaptability: “When you have less broth, you can feed more people at a lower cost.”
Franklin was born in Da Lat and now lives in Ho Chi Minh City. He also grew up eating Mi Quang because his mother is from Quang Nam. “I ate Mi Quang almost every day as a kid,” says Peter.
He says versatility is what defines the dish, using noodles as an example. “Mì” refers to the wheat-based ingredient, but the noodles in this dish are made from rice. This difference may reflect how noodles first appeared in central Vietnam centuries ago.
Da Nang-Hoi An was an important trading hub from the 16th to 18th centuries, as evidenced by the Japanese bridge, Chinese temples, and European-style houses. But Franklin suggests that some of the ingredients in Quang noodles predate Hoi An's commercial prosperity.
"In Vietnam, there was a lot of rice, but no wheat. So it's likely that the concept of wheat noodles was introduced by Chinese traders 400-500 years ago, and the locals adapted the noodles based on what was available," says chef Peter.
In the 15th century, the cultural exchange of Champa, Hinduism, and Indian religions in Quang Nam became increasingly evident through structures such as the My Son Sanctuary. This exchange was also seen in the cuisine when turmeric, a popular spice in South Asia, was used to color rice noodles yellow, Franklin said. Interestingly, hundreds of years ago, a spice from India was brought to Champa to color white rice noodles to make them look more like Chinese noodles.
"When you dig deeper, you can always see Champa connections in the culture of the Central region," said Tuyet Pham, founder of the Michelin Selected 2024 restaurant Nu Do Kitchen.
She is interested in the ancient history of Quang noodles, but also worries about the future of the dish. She grew up in a small town in Quang Nam and learned how to cook Quang noodles from her father, who used to sell the dish at a roadside stall. When Tuyet participated in MasterChef Vietnam 2015 and won second place, this was the dish she presented to the organizers.
She opened Nu Do Kitchen in 2019 to continue her father's legacy, even though he never had enough money to make a living with this dish. "He opened a few Quang noodle shops, but they only lasted a few years," she said.
Most Quang noodle shops in Da Nang cost less than 1,74 USD (45,000 VND). Tuyet Pham did it differently by choosing quality ingredients, spending time and effort on the broth, and then charging double the price. The female chef exploited the "superpower" of Quang noodle, which is adaptability. She is concerned that Da Nang's street food culture is threatened, as many chefs in the city are considering closing their shops due to the hard work and low profits.
“It reminds me of my dad. He couldn’t seem to make enough money from a cheap dish. I want to support the future of Mi Quang by proving that it can be made with quality ingredients and that people are willing to pay more for it,” she said.