What is bún bò Huế?
Bún bò Huế originated in Vietnam, more specifically from Huế. Huế is a city in central Vietnam, once home to the Nguyễn Dynasty and the capital of Vietnam from 1802-1942. The city of Huế was famous for its royal cuisine, which is rich in flavors and spices. When translated to English, bun (noodles) bo (beef), so Bún bò Huế means beef noodle soup from Huế.
Now that winter is here and it’s getting colder outside, what better way to unwind from a long day than to sit down with a hot and spicy bowl of bún bò Huế (Beef noodle soup)? When it comes to soup, bún bò Huế is just as well known as phỏ in Vietnam.
The making of bún bò Huế
Bún bò Huế (beef noodles soup) is a spicy soup made from simmering beef bones, pig trotters or ham hock with aromatics such as onions, ginger, garlic, shallot and lemongrass. If you don’t want to used pig trotters or ham hocks, don’t worry…I’ve substituted in beef short ribs for this recipe. The broth can be made really spicy or not spicy, depending on how much bún bò Huế seasoning mix and paste you add. Unlike phỏ, bún bò Huế soup has a distinct lemongrass and a seafood flavor from the addition of the bún bò Huế paste.
The flavor of the broth can be difficult and time consuming to achieve. So until I figure out how to generate more time in a day, I will be using the dry, pre-mixed Bún Bò Huế seasoning as well as the Bún Bò Huế paste to achieve the same authentic flavor profile. Both the premix seasoning and paste can be found in any Asian. The key to making a tasty, authentic broth is to use a combination of the dry mix and the paste. The nice thing about this recipe is that there’s only about 20 minutes of active cooking time. The remaining time is what I like to call “set it and forget it” for 2 hours…while the meat simmers.
How to serve bún bò Huế
The soup is served with round noodles, made for bún bò Huế, and garnished with Vietnamese ham (a.k.a chả), a variety of fresh herbs, and thinly sliced pineapple (see my “How to peel a pineapple” post). If you don’t have bún bò Huế noodles handy, you can substitute any rice noodles or even ramen noodles. The main difference between the bún bò Huế noodles and the regular rice noodle noodles is texture and shape. To me, the bún bò Huế noodles are round and has a more chewy texture. You can also find these noodles at an Asian store or by clicking here.
How to store left over bún bò Huế broth
If you have left over bún bò Huế broth, you can either store it in an air tight container in the fridge, or you can freeze the broth. If you want to freeze the broth, I’d put it in a freezer friendly Ziploc bag. The thing I like to use when pouring soup into a Ziploc bag is the baggy rack holder. It holds the bag upright making the whole process easier.
Today I will show you my family’s simple version of bún bò Huế that will have your toughest eater want to sit down with a big bowl of it.
Bún Bò Huế (Beef Noodle Soup).
Ingredients
Cooking Ingredients
- 4 pounds beef short ribs
- 2 shallots chopped and divided in half.
- ½ white onion chopped and divided in half.
- 20 grams fresh ginger chopped and divided in half.
- 5 medium cloves of garlic chopped and divided in half.
- 3 stalks fresh lemongrass cut in half, tenderized with the ends cut off.
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp pepper
- 2 tbsp Bún Bò Huế seasoning mix
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil divided. Use 2 tbsp for the marinade and the other 2 tbsp for the broth.
- 2 L water
- 3 tbsp fish sauce more or less to taste.
- 1 small cube of rock sugar
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 4 tbsp Bún Bò Huế paste
- Rice noodles
Garnishing Ingredients:
- 1 stalk green onion chopped.
- ½ white onion sliced.
- 1 lemon cut in wedges.
- Fresh herbs (basil, mint, cilantro, and/or bean sprouts)
Instructions
Instructions for the beef short rib marinade:
- Wash the beef short ribs by adding salt, give it a good rub, then rinse the salt off with warm water. Pat the meat dry using paper towels. This is to wash away any debris on the meat during processing.
- Chop and divide the shallots, ginger, white onion and garlic in half. Use half now for the marinade and put the other half in a tight container in the fridge to sauté for the broth later.
- Put the beef short ribs in a bowl. Add half of the chopped garlic, shallots, white onion, ginger, Bún Bò Huế seasoning mix, vegetable oil, salt and pepper.
- Mix well to make sure the beef short ribs are coated in the seasoning mix. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight to marinade.
Instructions for the broth:
- Cut the ends of the fresh lemongrass, then tenderize it by laying it flat and rolling a rolling pin over it. Similar to rolling out dough. This helps releases the flavors inside the lemongrass.
- Place the remaining chopped shallots, ginger, white onion, garlic and tenderized lemongrass in a pot with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add the marinated beef short ribs to the pot with the aromatics to sear the meat.
- After the meat is seared, add 2 L of water so that all the meat is fully submerged.
- Bring the pot to a boil. As the broth boils, you will see a thin film (a.k.a. bot in Vietnamese). Take a spoon and remove the thin film. This will make the broth look clearer and tastes better.
- Turn the heat to medium low, close the lid and let the beef short ribs simmer for 2 hours.
- After the beef is cooked, add the chicken broth and Bún Bò Huế paste. Mix well then turn the heat to low to continue simmering the beef ribs.
- Add fish sauce…
- Add rock sugar and mix well. Let the pot simmer for another 10 minutes, then remove the lemongrass stalks before serving.
Instructions for cooking the noodles:
- Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the desired amount of bún bò HuHuế noodles, or any noodles you have handy.
- Let the noodles cook until they're soft (but not too soft) then rinse the noodles into a colander under cold running water to prevent them from sticking together, and set them aside.
Instructions for serving bun bo Hue:
- Place the noodles, beef short ribs and broth in a bowl. Then garnish with chopped green onion, sliced white onions, lemon wedge, fresh chilis and any fresh herbs of your choice & enjoy.
For more soup recipes to keep you warm this fall and winter season, click here. If you like this post, feel free to share it on Facebook by using the button below.
The meat is so tender. It reminds me of Vietnam. I liked that it wasn’t as spicy as some of the other versions.
Thank you.