Cao Lau

Ingredients

Noodles

• 500 gcao lau noodles, or thick flat rice noodles
• or udon as a substitute

Pork

• 700 gpork belly or shoulder
• 3 tbspfish sauce
• 2 tbspsoy sauce
• 2 tbspsugar
• 1 tbspfive spice
• 6 clovesgarlic
• 3shallots
• 1 tbspannatto oil
• 1 tspblack pepper

Broth

• the pork cooking juices
• 300 mlpork stock
• 1 tbspsoy sauce
• 1 tspsugar

Croutons

• a portion of the noodle dough, or extra noodles
• oil for frying

To serve

• beansprouts, blanched
• lettuce, mint, Vietnamese coriander, perilla
• sliced banana blossom, optional
• lime wedges
• chilli
• crisp rice crackers

Directions

1. Marinate pork belly or shoulder with fish sauce, soy, sugar, five spice, garlic and shallot for several hours. Annatto oil gives the reddish colour that cao lau pork should have, without much flavour of its own.
2. Cool it before slicing, since hot pork tears rather than cutting into neat slices. Slice it thinly across the grain. Keep every drop of the braising liquid, since it is the concentrated sauce that dresses the bowl.
3. Reduce it further with a little stock, soy and sugar until it is dark and intense. It should be strong enough to season a whole bowl from only a few spoonfuls.
4. Fry them until genuinely crisp and hard, since anything soft goes limp in the bowl immediately.
5. Put the noodles in the bowl and lay the sliced pork over them. Add the blanched beansprouts and a generous handful of herbs.
6. Spoon over just a few tablespoons of the reduced broth. Scatter the crisp croutons over the top.
7. Serve lime and chilli at the table for people to season their own bowl. Eat it immediately, since the croutons soften within minutes.

Technique

• The Ba Le well and Cham Island ash lye tradition is central to Hoi An’s claim.
• The alkalinity from wood ash lye genuinely changes the noodle texture.
• It is not a soup: only a few spoonfuls of broth go in the bowl.

Substitutions

• Dried cao lau noodles from a Vietnamese shop.
• Udon, which is surprisingly close in texture.

Variations

• Made with more broth, which some stalls do.
• With extra crisp croutons.
• Made with chicken instead of pork.

History

A noodle dish combining thick, chewy noodles with sliced pork, fresh greens and crispy croutons, developed specifically in Hoi An, a historic trading port on Vietnam’s central coast that hosted extensive Chinese and Japanese merchant communities for centuries, whose culinary influence is generally credited with shaping cao lau’s distinctive noodle texture and overall character. A local tradition holds that authentic cao lau noodles must be made using water drawn specifically from a particular well in Hoi An, giving the noodles their correct texture and flavour, a claim that reflects the dish’s strong, almost mythologized association with that specific town rather than being replicable exactly elsewhere. It remains one of Hoi An’s most iconic culinary exports, rarely found in quite the same form outside the town itself.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cao Lau?

Cao Lau is a main from Vietnam: hoi An noodles with char siu pork, greens and crispy croutons. A noodle dish combining thick, chewy noodles with sliced pork, fresh greens and crispy croutons, developed specifically in Hoi An, a historic trading port on Vietnam’s central coast that hosted extensive Chinese and Japanese merchant communities for centuries, whose culinary influence is generally credited with shaping cao lau’s distinctive noodle texture and overall character. A local tradition holds that authentic cao lau noodles must be made using water drawn specifically from a particular well in Hoi An, giving the noodles their correct texture and flavour, a claim that reflects the dish’s strong, almost mythologized association with that specific town rather than being replicable exactly elsewhere. It remains one of Hoi An’s most iconic culinary exports, rarely found in quite the same form outside the town itself.

How long does Cao Lau take to make?

Cao Lau takes 40 min plus marinating of preparation and 1 hr 30 min of cooking. The recipe makes 4 servings. It is rated hard to make.

What can I substitute in Cao Lau?

Yes, within limits. Dried cao lau noodles from a Vietnamese shop. Udon, which is surprisingly close in texture.

What is the most important thing to get right in Cao Lau?

Cool it before slicing, since hot pork tears rather than cutting into neat slices. Slice it thinly across the grain. Keep every drop of the braising liquid, since it is the concentrated sauce that dresses the bowl.