The Best Cao Lau In Hoi An- Hoi An Specialities

Introduction

Cao Lau (Cao Lầu Hội An) is one of the local specialties that made the Hoi An cuisine become famous in the world street food map. Traveling to Hoi An, not only visiting the ancient town, ancient houses, My Son Sanctuary, its beautiful countryside as well as the best Hoi An Street Foods.

The Cao Lau noodles are one of the typical dishes that you should enjoy and we are sure that, you will miss it when you leave Hoi An. So why Cao Lau Hoi An is so specials? How to make Cao Lau noodle Hoi An? Where to eat the best Cao Lau in Hoi An? In this article, Hoi An Private Taxi will share with you all of the secrets about this delicious dish.

Cao Lau History

According to an old Chinese who lives in Hoi An, Cao Lau has appeared in the old town since the 17th century, when Hoi An port was just opened and Nguyen Lords allowed foreign merchant ships to come here to exchange goods. Although the Japanese entered Hoi An to trade first, it was the Chinese who remained the longest in this ancient land. Cao Lau is not a noodle dish, nor is it like pho at all.

This is considered a mixed dish, appearing only in Hoi An, Da Nang, and Hue. Cao Lau in Hoi An is often sold in two-story eateries, with red and green lanterns hanging on top. Diners eat and enjoy the delicate aroma of ancient dishes, and have the opportunity to enjoy the ancient atmosphere of street corners here. The name Cao Lau is always a question mark for tourists from near and far when experiencing the ancient features of Hoi An.

Cao Lau does not come from China, nor does it come from Japan. It can be said that this is a dish that is blended by many countries’ cuisines. This strange name is probably derived from the Chinese language, indicating delicious dishes.

The rich people in the past when going to restaurants in Hoi An often sat upstairs, this delicious delicacy is used to being called “upstairs”, gradually getting used to being reduced to only “Cao Lau“.

Cao Lau Ingredients

To make the best Cao Lau Hoi An, we have to choose the good ingredients. The water to make Cao Lầu Hoi An is from Ba Le Well, the only ancient well from Champa Kindom that still exists in Hoi An Old Town. Plus, we have to be well prepared with some other stuff as below

Lean pork: 450g
Dried Cao Lau fiber: 300g
Grain salt: 2-3 teaspoons
Five flavors: 1 pack
pork rind: 5 pieces
Dried garlic: 1/3 of a bulb
Black sugar: 200g
Soy sauce: 1 cup
Seasoning: 2 tablespoons
Basil, bean sprouts, baby cabbage from Tra Que herb village.

Cao Lau Recipe

Firstly we soak the lean pork in dilute saltwater and vinegar for about 15 minutes, then washed and marinated with a little salt. Cut the meat to a large size, squeeze the salt into the meat with your hands, then add 2 tablespoons of sugar, five spices, 1 tablespoon of seasoning to marinate. We will marinate for about 1-2 hours, then add soy sauce and crushed garlic to the marinated meat.

Raw vegetables and bean sprouts were washed and drained.

Put the oil pan on the stove (no need to wait for the oil to be hot) and fry the meat on both sides until golden brown, remember to turn the meat often so it doesn’t get burnt.

Next, you add all the marinade meat (add a little water if you find the water is too little) and bring to a boil, cover the cap, and lower the heat. About 10 minutes turn the meat once to absorb the spices, after about 1 hour, drain the meat from the pot to another pot to make the broth.

Continue to cook to dry the meat and remember to turn the meat until the meat is completely dry as desired. Then take the meat to a plate to cool and then slice it thinly.

As for the broth, you add the bone broth to boil again and add more soy sauce if desired. Because Cao Lau noodles are dry noodles with little water, so the broth must be a bit thick to eat with the noodles.

Dried Cao Lau should be soaked for a few hours with hot water to remove the oil from the noodles. Before eating, take the noodles to the basket, cook the pot of boiling water for the noodles to warm up the noodles for about 1 minute, then drain and use it immediately.

If it is fresh Cao Lau noodles, you just need to warm up with hot boil water.

How to present this dish?

Put some bean sprouts into the bottom of the bowl, then add the noodles and slices of pork on top. Add broth and top with a few pieces of fried pork rinds, raw vegetables, and a little chilly.

Where to eat the best Cao Lau in Hoi An?

Traveling to Hoi An, you must taste the best Cao Lau Hoi An, Vietnam. With a local experience, Hoi An Private Taxi highly recommends some good quality service and delicious Cao Lau restaurants

1. Ong Hai Restaurant at 6A Truong Minh Luong Street, Hoi An. Business hours are from 10 am to 8 pm every day. Price range from 25,000 VND to 40,000 VND.
2. Thanh Cao Lau restaurant at 26 Thai Phien Street, Hoi An. Opening hours: from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., from Monday to Sunday (Note: as these noodles are made fresh daily they will close when they are sold out) – Price: 30,000 VND.
3. Trung Bac Restaurant at 87 Tran Phu Street, Hoi An old town. Opening hours from 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily – Price: 30,000 VND
4. Bon Restaurant at 474 Cua Dai – Business hours are from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily – Price: 25,000 VND (roughly 1.20 USD).

If you are a foodie and would like to explore the Hoi An street food trail to sample all the Hoi An best specialties such as white rose dumplings, Hoi An Chicken Rice, Banh Mi Phuong Hoi An, etc. You must book our Hoi An Street food Tour. We are sure that you will love it at first taste!