From Wandering Chopsticks
Where were we?
Hu tieu Saigon. Photo from Wandering Chopsticks.
Right. I bribed Tony of SinoSoul and his better half over so he could make my food look good. Tell me that photo doesn’t make you want to lick the screen? Considering Hu Tieu Saigon (Vietnamese Clear Noodle Soup with Barbecued Pork and Shrimp) is one of my and lil’ sis’s favorite dishes, I couldn’t bring myself to post this recipe with my previous photos. So it languished in the queue waiting and waiting.
The cooking was the easy part. Making my food look as good as I’d like, well, I gladly take offers of assistance.
When he came over, Tony asked what time I started cooking. I think he thinks I slaved away all day in the kitchen or something. Far from it. I’m probably the worst hostess because my guests always have to work for their supper.
Just so you know how easy this recipe is, the whole meal came together in less than 2 hours, and that includes grocery shopping time. The key is using a combination of dried squid and shrimp to flavor the porky broth. The dried seafood is so concentrated with umami that about half an hour of simmering is all that’s needed to bring out the flavors. Now, certainly you can let the stock simmer for longer, just saying it can be ready in the amount of time it takes to prepare the rest of the meal.
Hu tieu Saigon is a Southern, Chinese-influenced dish, which you can see in the use of Char Siu/Xa Siu (Chinese Barbecued Pork). The shrimp can be boiled or grilled. I just toss it into the pot to cook at the end for simplicity. Served with chewy clear noodles. Hu tiu (seems like Vietnamese people just can’t agree on the spelling) can be eaten as a soup like in the top photo below, or dry with broth on the side.
CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE!!!!!
