How To Make Spicy Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (Bun Bo Hue)
Bun bo hue is a Vietnamese beef noodle soup that is rich and meaty. It has layers of flavors and is deliciously spicy to boot.
Ingredients
- 2 lb beef shank
- 2 lb oxtail
- 2 lb pork hocks
- 1 lb Huế style pork sausage, chả Huế, which has garlic and whole peppercorns
- 1 lb block of pork blood
For Broth Base & Seasoning:
- water, I used an 8 quart pot, and added water to cover the meat.
- 24 fl oz chicken broth
- 12 lemongrass stalks, leafy tops removed, roots smash
- 2 yellow onions., large halved, to be removed from the broth after fully cooked
- 3 tbsp salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp shrimp paste, Lee Kum Kee brand
- 4 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp MSG (monosodium glutamate), if not using oxtail, add 4 teaspoons
For Aromatics & Color:
- 3 tbsp anatto seeds
- 3 tbsp neutral cooking oil
- 2 tbsp shallot, sliced
- 2 tbsp garlic, minced
For Herbs & Veg:
- mint
- basil
- bean sprouts
- birds eye chile or jalapeno
- lime sliced
For Banana Flower:
- 1 banana flower
- 2 cup water
- 1 lemon, juiced
For Noodles:
- 14 fl oz dried rice noodle, medium or large thickness
For Sate (Spicy Chile Condiment):
- 20 g dried Thai chile, crushed
- 1⁄2 cup neutral cooking oil
- 80 g shallot, or white onion, minced
- 40 g garlic, minced
- 30 g lemongrass, minced
- 2 tbsp Korean chile powder, (gochugaru)
- 1 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 2⁄3 tsp salt
- 1⁄2 tsp MSG (monosodium glutamate)
Instructions
Broth:
-
Add all meat to a stock pot and enough water to submerge it, bring to a boil. Drain and rinse thoroughly under running water.
- Add the meat, broth, lemongrass and onions to the pot and fill with water almost to the brim. Bring to a boil then drop the heat to medium-high to maintain a low boil. Add the seasoning.
-
Let it simmer and periodically check the meats for doneness and remove them as they finish cooking. The pork should be done after about an hour, the beef can vary between 2 to 3 hours.
- After all the meat has removed, let it cool, then slice it. Adjust seasoning and add water to the broth pot if necessary.
- Make the aromatics & coloring then add it to the pot.
- Boil noodles according to package instructions.
-
Assemble the bowl, and serve with herbs and veg on a side platter.
Red Coloring & Aromatics:
- Sauté seeds in oil on medium heat until the seeds give up the bright red color, then remove the seeds.
- Add shallots and garlic, sauté until brown.
- Add all of this to the pot of broth for color.
Pork Blood (Huyet/Tiet):
-
The easiest thing to do is just buy it already cooked and boil just to heat it up.For the raw type, cut into 1-inch cubes and boil for 30 to 45 minutes.
Banana Flower:
- Prepare a bowl of about 2 cups of water, mixed with the juice of 1 lemon.
- Thinly slice the banana flower and add to the water mixture to sit for about 30 minutes.
-
Avoid adding little fronds. They taste bitter!
Sate (Spicy Chile Condiment):
- Weigh out the dried Thai chiles, then soak in just enough warm water to cover the chiles for 20 minutes. Drain the water.
-
Add all sate ingredients to a pan on medium heat and stir continuously to brown, cook, and slightly reduce the chile paste. This takes about 30 to 40 minutes. If at any point it becomes too dry, add more oil. Taste and reseason with sugar or salt as desired.
-
Let cool and transfer to a sealed jar stored in the fridge. If desired, add 2 tablespoons of the final product to the soup pot for a boost in flavor and color, or simply let each person add to their bowl to make it as spicy as they'd like!
Nutrition
- Sugar: 7g
- :
- Calcium: 126mg
- Calories: 987kcal
- Carbohydrates: 14g
- Cholesterol: 358mg
- Fat: 59g
- Fiber: 1g
- Iron: 10mg
- Monounsaturated Fat: 27g
- Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g
- Potassium: 1082mg
- Protein: 95g
- Saturated Fat: 22g
- Sodium: 11556mg
- Trans Fat: 1g
- Vitamin A: 51IU
- Vitamin C: 19mg
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