Hoi An and Cao Lau Noodle | Vuong Anh's Cooking Journey

Timeless architectures designs, unique yellow walls, thousands of colorful lanterns. This can only be Hoi An. The name is translated as a peaceful meeting place. From the 15th to the 19th centuries, Hoi An was the most famous trading port of Southeast Asia. The streets and buildings reflect the foreign's influences. Hoi An ancient town has been recognized as one of the world's heritage sites, making this place even more attractive. Now, there are millions of visitors from around the world come to Hoi An every year, make this ancient town the hottest tourist spot in Vietnam. Visitors are not only fall in love with Hoi An's history, traditional architectures, but also its amazing cuisine. Today, I'm making Cao Lau, which is the traditional dish here in Hoi An and only in Hoi An, perhaps of the Japanese influence many centuries ago, when Hoi An was the most popular trading port here in Asia. The shape and the texture of the noodle is very similar with the Japanese udon. Cao Lau, a famous speciality of Hoi An which have been many people's favorites from the 17th centuries. The process of making this noodle is being preserved for hundreds of years. It is nothing like I've ever seen before. The noodles dough is mixed and steamed before being kneaded, divided, flattened, cut to shapes and steamed one last time. The Cao Lau noodles are made from rice flour which have been soaked in lime water that give the noodle a unique color and taste. Freshly made Cao Lau noodles are being produced in Hoi An every single day. To this day, there are just a few families who produce fresh Cao Lau noodles and they have been doing it for many generations. Keeping the traditions alive. Let's get started. First, I need to mince some garlic and shallots. For the meat, we're using the pork leg. This is the firmest part of the pork and it will be best to use for Cao Lau. First, need to add in some oil and stir fry the garlic and shallots. Add in some soy sauce, some sugar and a little bit of five spice powder. We need to wait until the soy sauce is simmered and then we can put in the pork leg. Now, I need to add in some water and let everything cook slowly. Let the soy sauce absorb into the pork with all the good flavors. This will take about one hour. Oh, it smells so incredible. The whole leg is completely covered with the soy sauce. The pork is done. So I need to let it rest before cutting it. Deep fry some dry Cao Lau noodles to give the dish a crispy and crunchy texture. Let's finish the dish together. Slice very thinly. First layer is a little bit of soybean sprouts, the Cao Lau noodle. Good amount of braised pork leg and lots of green salad. A bit of crispiness and that's it. And this is the famous Cao Lau of Hoi An. The braised sauce will combine everything together. This is what Vietnamese cuisine is all about, simple and healthy. Cao Lau is so unique, just like Hoi An itself. From centuries of cultural influences, Hoi An offers a unique regional cuisine, taking what they learned from foreigners and create something very Vietnamese, like Cao Lau. This is a traditional dish that you must try when visiting this beautiful ancient town.