Mi quang, from the Quang Nam region around Da Nang and Hoi An, is unlike any other Vietnamese noodle dish. Wide turmeric-yellow rice noodles sit in just a small pool of intensely flavoured broth, more sauce than soup, topped with pork, prawns, peanuts and a mountain of fresh herbs.
The joy of it is the contrast: rich, savoury broth against crisp rice crackers, soft noodles against crunchy peanuts, all lifted by lime and fresh greens.
Because the broth is small and punchy rather than a long-simmered stock, mi quang is far quicker to make than pho, which makes it a brilliant introduction to central Vietnamese cooking at home.
