Spicy Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (Bun Bo Hue)
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"If you love Pho, and you love a bit of spice the definitely give Bun Bo Hue a try."
Serves 15 | Prep Time 30 PT30M | Cook Time 30 PT1H | SoupWhy I Love This Recipe
Any good cook will tell you that soups are a labour of love. Generally, they take time and a little bit of effort, but like any thing that is worth waiting for, they are absolutely heartwarming. Soups, especially noodle soups, are my go to bowl of comfort. I love the combination of textures (solid and liquid, squishy and firm), the slurping, the messiness, the fun, the satisfaction.
Hope you guys enjoy!
Ingredients You'll Need
I. BROTH INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 lbs beef bones
1 1/2 lbs pork hocks cut into smaller pieces (ask your butcher to cut it for you)
1 lb beef shank (or beef brisket)
12 cups water
II. BROTH SPICES
1 onion
4 stalks lemongrass
1-2 whole star anise (optional, but highly recommended)
1 yellow lump rock sugar (3cmx2cm, or 2 tablespoons brown sugar)
4 slices ginger
2 cloves garlic (whole)
5 kaffir lime leaves (optional, but highly recommended. Add more lemongrass stalks if you skip this)
1 1/2 tablespoons shrimp paste (tweak up for a more flavourful broth)
4 tablespoons fish sauce (tweak up, for a more flavourful broth)
salt to taste (start with 1/4 tablespoon of salt and add up if you want it more salty)
III. SATE CHILLI INGREDIENTS
7 tablespoons oil (flavourless oils like canola, vegetable, peanut)
1 tablespoon annatto seeds
2 tablespoons chili flakes (add more to make it more spicy, less to make it less spicy)
1 tablespoon lemongrass (finely minced)
2 cloves garlic (finely minced)
3 shallots (finely minced)
IV. NOODLES AND MEATS
1 package thick round rice vermicelli noodles (thick like spaghetti)
1 package Vietnamese pork sausage (Cha Lua)
Cooked beef shank from the broth (sliced)
Cooked pork hocks from the both
V. TOPPINGS AND GARNISHES(Pick and Choose!)
Thai Basil (or mint)
Green Onions (finely chopped)
Bean Sprouts
Lime Wedges
Birdseye Chilli
Thinly Sliced Onions
Deep Fried Onions or Shallots
Thinly sliced Banana Blossoms
Cilantro
Thinly Sliced Red Cabbage
Directions
Preparation – Cleaning the Meat
In a large pot, add cold water into it and add all the meats.
Set the stove to medium, to medium high heat and boil for 15-20 minutes until you see all the gross bits and frothy blood on the surface of the water.
Discard the water and clean out the pot.
Using your fingers, gently clean the meat off with water and remove any scum residue.
Add the meat back into the clean pot.
Making the Broth – Adding in the Spices
Remove any dried outer leaves from the lemongrass and cut off the dried tips at the top. We want to keep the bottom 2/3 of the stalk. With a blunt object, smash the lemongrass stalks to release the oils. Keep the lemongrass intact and add to the pot
Peel the onion and cut it in half, peel the garlic and keep it intact so you can easily fish it out later when the broth is done. Put them in the pot.
Add in the ginger slices, sugar, lime leaves, star anise into the pot
Add in 12 cups of water and set the heat to medium low and keep it at a low rolling boil.
Mix the shrimp paste with 1/4 cup of water and add it into the pot.
Add in the fish sauce (add in half the amount of fish sauce first and then do a taste test to make sure it is not overly salty. If it needs more salt, add in the rest of the fish sauce.
Set a timer for 1 hour and 30 minutes.
You can make the sate chili sauce while you are waiting for the broth to cook and add it into the broth as soon as the sauce has cooled. (Sate Chili Sauce steps below)
Once 1 hour and 30 minutes passes, remove the beef shank and set it aside covered for use later
If your broth reduced a lot, add 2-3 cups of water back to the broth
Set the timer for 1 hour and 30 minutes again and cook the broth for a total of 3 hours. It doesn’t hurt to cook this more than 3 hours though!
Making the Sate Chili Sauce
In a sauce pan, set the stove to medium heat and add in the annatto seeds and stir it for 3-5 minutes until the oil turns a bright red color. Discard the annatto seeds
Add in the chili flakes, lemongrass, garlic and shallots and toast it in the oil for 10 minutes
Turn off the heat and let the oil cool
Making the Sate Chili Sauce
In a sauce pan, set the stove to medium heat and add in the annatto seeds and stir it for 3-5 minutes until the oil turns a bright red color. Discard the annatto seeds
Add in the chili flakes, lemongrass, garlic and shallots and toast it in the oil for 10 minutes
Turn off the heat and let the oil cool
Making the Sate Chili Sauce
In a sauce pan, set the stove to medium heat and add in the annatto seeds and stir it for 3-5 minutes until the oil turns a bright red color. Discard the annatto seeds
Add in the chili flakes, lemongrass, garlic and shallots and toast it in the oil for 10 minutes
Turn off the heat and let the oil cool
Once the oil has cooled, add it to the broth
Prepping the Noodles and Meat & Building the Bun Bo Hue Noodle Bowl
Make the noodles according to the package. To ensure you have springy bouncy noodles and not over cooked mushy noodles, subtract 1 minute from the directions and try the noodles. If the noodles are still hard in the center, add 1 more minute to the cooking time and taste test again
Run the noodles under cold water once it is done cooking to remove the extra starches and to stop the cooking process.
[Optional] I like to mix 2 teaspoons of oil into the noodles while I am running cold water through it to prevent them from sticking together later on
Thinly slice the beef shank, Vietnamese sausage (discard the banana leaf if it’s wrapped in it) and chop the pork shank and add it all to the bowl
Add in the noodles and the broth
Add in garnishes and toppings and enjoy hot!
Pairs Well With
Fresh Vegetable, Fresh Chili, A piece of lime
Questions, Comments & Reviews
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