🍜 Cao lầu

Name: Cao lầu
Total time: 90 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Vietnam · Hội An
Ingredients: 400 g thick cao lầu or udon-style wheat noodles; 500 g pork shoulder; 2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp five-spice, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp sugar; 1 tbsp oil; 200 g bean sprouts; Lettuce, mint, Thai basil, coriander; A handful of croutons (fried squares of noodle dough or bread); Lime wedges and chilli

Origin: Vietnam · Hội An

760kcal

per serving · 400 g

190kcal

per 100 g

40 gProtein10 g / 100 g

24 gFat6 g / 100 g

100 gCarbs25 g / 100 g

Cao lầu is a noodle dish from Hội An made with thick, chewy yellow noodles topped with slices of marinated roast pork, fresh herbs, bean sprouts and crisp croutons of fried noodle dough. Only a few spoonfuls of rich pork gravy are added, so it is eaten as a dressed noodle bowl rather than a soup. Greens and herbs are mixed in at the table.

Diets

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

Not vegetarianbecause of: pork

Not veganbecause of: pork

Contains porkbecause of: pork

Contains glutenbecause of: thick noodles, croutons

Not keto25 g carbs per 100 g

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Soy

What it is made of

thick noodlesporkherbsbean sproutscroutons

Recipe

4 servings90 min

Ingredients

400 g thick cao lầu or udon-style wheat noodles
500 g pork shoulder
2 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp five-spice, 2 garlic cloves, 1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp oil
200 g bean sprouts
Lettuce, mint, Thai basil, coriander
A handful of croutons (fried squares of noodle dough or bread)
Lime wedges and chilli

Method

Marinate the pork in the soy sauce, five-spice, garlic and sugar for at least 1 hour.
Sear the pork in the oil, add 300 ml water, cover and simmer for 40 minutes until tender. Slice thinly and reduce the liquid to a thin gravy.
Blanch the noodles and bean sprouts briefly and drain.
Put herbs and lettuce in bowls, add the noodles, top with pork, a few spoonfuls of gravy and the croutons. Serve with lime and chilli.

How to make it lighter

Use lean pork loin instead of shoulder and trim visible fat.
Halve the croutons and add extra herbs and bean sprouts for crunch.
Keep the noodle portion modest and pile on the greens.

History

Cao lầu is the signature dish of the old trading port of Hội An in central Vietnam. Local tradition holds that authentic noodles must be made with water from a particular old well and ash-treated water, which gives them their firm bite; such claims are part of local lore. The dish is often said to show influences from the Chinese and Japanese merchants who traded in the town.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →