Mì Quảng, Quang Noodles, Quang Nam Noodles
This mi quang recipe makes central Vietnam's great noodle bowl: wide, turmeric-yellow rice noodles dressed in just a ladle of thick, concentrated pork-and-shrimp broth, topped with sliced pork, whole shrimp, roasted peanuts, fresh herbs and a sesame rice cracker snapped over the top. It is not a soup — the broth coats the noodles rather than drowning them. One serving is about 536 g, a full, generous bowl.
Mì Quảng takes its name from Quảng Nam province in central Vietnam — mì means noodles, and Quảng is short for Quảng Nam. Phu Chiem village in Điện Bàn is widely regarded as the home of the classic pork-and-shrimp version. The dish is a dressed noodle bowl rather than a soup: just a ladle of thick, concentrated broth coats the wide, turmeric-yellow noodles, and the bowl is finished with peanuts, fresh herbs and a snapped sesame rice cracker. In 2024, Vietnam's Ministry of Culture listed the craft of making mi quang as national intangible cultural heritage.
Pairs well with: Sesame rice crackers, fresh herbs, and iced jasmine tea.
Provenance
Vietnam
Quang Nam Heritage
East & South Asia
Time Dedication
1h 30m
30m prep • 60m cook
Batch Yield
4 Servings
580 kcal per serving
1 serving ≈ 536 g
Technical Skill
Intermediate
Medium (Broth & Toppings)
Meal Timing & Digestive Fit
Breakfast
Not Advised
Lunch
Prime Metabolic Fit
Dinner
Ideal Hearty Main
Snack & Tea
Inappropriate
Quang Nam Heritage
Photo: Jpatokal, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Heritage Formulary
Estimated cost: Low — about $3–4 per serving at home (USD)
Good mi quang is judged by the broth: just a ladle, thick and deeply savoury, coating the noodles rather than swimming in the bowl.
Execution Methodology & Culinary Technique
Prep Stage: Broth, Marinade and Toppings
30 Mins • Simmering & Slicing
Start the broth first, because it needs 45 minutes of gentle simmering — everything else is quick. While it simmers, marinate the pork and shrimp, boil the quail eggs and prepare the herbs, peanuts and crackers, so the bowls come together in minutes once the broth is ready.
Maestro Tip: Keep the broth at a gentle simmer, never a rolling boil — boiling clouds it and toughens the pork bones' flavour.
45 Mins Gentle simmer, about 90°C (194°F)
Put 700 ml of water in a pot with the 400 g of pork bones and the shrimp heads. Bring to a boil, skim off any foam, then turn down to a gentle simmer, about 90°C (194°F), and cook for 45 minutes. Strain out the bones and heads. Stir in the fish sauce, salt and sugar, and taste — the broth should be intensely savoury, almost too salty on its own, because only a little goes into each bowl.
Skim the foam in the first 10 minutes — it is what keeps the broth clear and sweet-tasting.
Done when: The broth is clear, amber and deeply savoury; about 600 ml remains after simmering.
15 Mins Medium-high heat, about 190°C (375°F)
Toss the sliced pork and the shelled shrimp with the turmeric, half the minced garlic and a pinch of salt, and leave for 10 minutes. Heat the oil in a wok or wide pan over medium-high heat, about 190°C (375°F), and fry the shallot and remaining garlic for 30 seconds. Add the pork and shrimp and stir-fry for 3-4 minutes until the pork is just cooked and the shrimp have turned pink.
Do not overcook the shrimp — they go from pink to rubbery in under a minute.
Done when: The pork is cooked through with no pink left, the shrimp are pink and curled, and the pan smells of turmeric and garlic.
5 Mins Rolling boil, 100°C (212°F)
Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, 100°C (212°F). Add the fresh Quang noodles and cook for 2-3 minutes until just tender — fresh noodles cook fast. Drain well and divide between four wide bowls.
Fresh noodles overcook in moments — start tasting at 2 minutes and drain the second they are tender.
Done when: The noodles are tender and springy, with no chalky centre.
15 Mins No heat
While the noodles cook, crush the peanuts, wash and tear the herbs, toast the sesame rice crackers until crisp, and halve the peeled quail eggs. Put everything in small bowls on the table so each person can take what they like.
Toast the crackers at the last moment — they go soft fast once they meet steam or broth.
Done when: Everything is ready and within reach: peanuts crushed, herbs washed, crackers crisp, eggs halved.
10 Mins Serve hot, about 70°C (158°F)
Ladle about 150 ml of the hot broth over each bowl of noodles — just enough to coat the bottom, not to fill the bowl. Top with the pork and shrimp, the quail egg halves, peanuts and herbs, and snap a sesame cracker over the top. Serve with a lime wedge and chilli sauce on the side.
Mix the bowl with chopsticks before eating, so the broth, peanuts and herbs coat every strand.
Done when: The bowl shows yellow noodles, pink shrimp, green herbs and a golden cracker, with broth just visible at the bottom.
Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the bowls at once, while the noodles are hot and the cracker is still crisp — mi quang waits for no one, and the cracker goes soft in the broth within minutes.
Nutritional Physiology & Benefits
Energy
580
kcal / serving
Protein
38g
Complete AA
Carbs
65g
Complex
Fats
18g
Healthy
| Energy | 580 kcal |
| Protein | 38 g |
| Carbohydrates | 65 g |
| Fat | 18 g |
| Fibre | 3.3 g |
| Sugar | 4.0 g |
| Sodium | 1175 mg |
| Energy | 108 kcal |
| Protein | 7.1 g |
| Carbohydrates | 12.1 g |
| Fat | 3.4 g |
| Fibre | 0.6 g |
| Sugar | 0.8 g |
| Sodium | 219 mg |
Nutrition values are estimated — calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.
Vitamins & minerals: Pork and shrimp supply B vitamins, zinc and selenium; peanuts add vitamin E and magnesium; herbs add vitamin C and folate.
High in Protein
With about 38 g of protein per serving from pork, shrimp and quail eggs, one bowl of mi quang is a genuinely filling meal that keeps you going for hours.
Herbs and Peanuts Balance the Bowl
The bowl is finished with a tangle of fresh herbs, bean sprouts and lettuce, plus peanuts — vegetables and healthy fats that balance the rich noodles and broth.
Turmeric, Herbs and Aromatic Spices
Turmeric gives the noodles their yellow colour and adds curcumin, while the broth's ginger-family spices and herbs bring the fresh, aromatic side of the dish.
Food Pairings
To optimize nutrient absorption and elevate the sensory depth, pair with these authentic accompaniments:
Vegetables
Extra Fresh Herbs and Banana Blossom
A big handful of lettuce, mint, basil and bean sprouts is not a garnish here — it is part of the dish, and its freshness balances the rich, salty broth.
Sauces
Chilli Sauce (Tương Ớt)
A spoon of chilli sauce on the side lets each person set their own heat without changing the broth for everyone else.
Drinks
Iced Jasmine Tea
Cold, unsweetened jasmine tea washes down the rich broth and resets the palate between mouthfuls of noodles.
Full Menus
As a Central Vietnamese Lunch
Serve the mi quang with herbs, crackers and iced tea — the way a Da Nang lunch shop serves it, with everything on the table at once.
Complete menu
Serve the mi quang with extra herbs and a sesame rice cracker on the side, with iced jasmine tea to drink — the full central Vietnamese lunch, with the cracker for scooping up the last of the broth.
Digestive Guardrails
To prevent digestive distress, sluggishness, or palate clash, avoid pairing the dish with these elements:
Drowning the Noodles in Broth
The broth is deliberately concentrated — a whole bowl of it would be far too salty and would turn the dish into a soup, which mi quang is not. One ladle coats the noodles; that is the dish. This is general guidance, not medical advice.
Adding Extra Fish Sauce at the Table
One bowl already carries about 1,175 mg of sodium, mostly from the fish sauce and salt in the broth; extra fish sauce at the table pushes it well past a sensible amount for one meal. This is general guidance, not medical advice.
General information only, not medical advice — consult a doctor for personal dietary decisions.
Who Should Eat It
Health Conditions — Adjust or Avoid
If you have a medical condition, consult your doctor before changing your diet.
Storage & Use
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Comfort & Sustained Energy
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WARNING: This dish is made from raw duck blood and eating it is NOT recommended. Raw blood can carry Streptococcus suis (which causes meningitis and sepsis — people in Vietnam have died after eating pig-blood tiet canh), avian influenza from duck blood, salmonella and other dangerous germs. Vietnam's Ministry of Health advises against eating tiet canh, and no preparation method — not even blood from a fresh or trusted source — makes raw blood fully safe. This page describes the traditional Hanoi preparation, tiết canh vịt, for cultural knowledge only. One serving is about 241 g: a small bowl of fresh duck blood mixed with fish sauce, poured over finely chopped cooked duck meat and left to set into a soft, trembling jelly, then finished with crushed roasted peanuts, fresh herbs, lime and chili, and served cold.
Cultural Discovery
A traditional northern Vietnamese snack of raw duck blood set into a soft jelly with cooked duck meat, herbs and peanuts — described here for cultural knowledge, with a serious safety warning.
