Mì Quảng — Turmeric Noodles with Shrimp

Ingredients

• 1 lb Shrimp
• 1 lb wide turmeric rice noodles
• 2 cups Bean Sprouts
• 3 cups Lettuce, shredded
• 3 tbsp annatto oil
• 5 shallots, minced
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 2 cups pork or chicken stock
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2 sesame rice crackers (bánh tráng mè), toasted
• ⅓ cup roasted peanuts, crushed
• 1 cup Vietnamese mint and cilantro
• 1 lime, in wedges

Method

1. Marinate the Shrimp with 1 tbsp fish sauce, the turmeric, half the shallots and garlic, and a pinch of pepper for 15 minutes.
2. Heat the annatto oil and fry the remaining shallots and garlic until golden, then add the Shrimp and cook until browned — shrimp pink and curled, chicken at 165°F (74°C).
3. Add the stock, remaining fish sauce, and sugar, and simmer 10 minutes into a small amount of intensely flavored broth. Mì Quảng is not a soup: you want the noodles barely swimming.
4. Boil the noodles until just tender and divide between bowls over a bed of Bean Sprouts and Lettuce.
5. Spoon the Shrimp and just enough broth over to pool at the bottom, then top with peanuts, herbs, and a shard of toasted sesame cracker. Squeeze lime and toss everything together before eating.