Bún bò Huế
If pho is delicate and anise-scented, bún bò Huế is its opposite: hot, citrusy and openly funky. Three things set it apart from pho — whole lemongrass stalks simmered for three hours, a spoonful of shrimp paste that gives a depth nothing imitates, and thicker, round rice noodles instead of flat ones.
Your own work in that: 0 min.
- Broth 180 min
- Chilli oil 15 min
- Seasoning 25 min
- Noodles 15 min
- Building the bowls 25 min
Step by step
0 / 7 doneParboil the meat and throw the water away
Cover the meat with cold water, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes, then discard all the water and rinse both the meat and the pot. It looks wasteful, but it is the most effective route to a clear broth — all the grey scum leaves with that first water.
Ingredients: 800 g beef shank · 700 g pork knuckle · 6 pcs lemongrass · 2 pcs onions · 50 g ginger · 4000 ml water
Char the onion and ginger over a flame
Hold the halved onion and the ginger directly over a burner until the surface blackens (or char them in a dry frying pan). Charred aromatics give the broth sweetness and a gentle smoky depth — without them it tastes dull, however long it simmers.
Ingredients: 800 g beef shank · 700 g pork knuckle · 6 pcs lemongrass · 2 pcs onions · 50 g ginger · 4000 ml water
Simmer the broth three hours with lemongrass
Cover the meat with fresh water, add the charred onion, ginger and whole bruised lemongrass stalks, tied with string. Simmer 3 hours over the lowest heat, without stirring. Whole stalks give up their aroma and can be lifted out — chopped, they leave tough threads behind.
Ingredients: 800 g beef shank · 700 g pork knuckle · 6 pcs lemongrass · 2 pcs onions · 50 g ginger · 4000 ml water
Lemongrass bruised, tied with string, left whole.Make the red oil with lemongrass and shallot
Fry the finely chopped shallot and lemongrass in the oil for 5 minutes, until the shallot turns golden. Take the pan off the heat, wait a minute, then add the chilli flakes and paprika, stir and leave for 10 minutes so the oil takes on the colour. Chilli always off the heat — in oil on the burner it scorches within seconds and the whole batch turns bitter.
Ingredients: 100 ml oil · 3 tbsp chilli flakes · 3 pcs shallots · 2 pcs lemongrass · 1 tbsp sweet paprika
Chilli added off the burner, never on it.Season the broth with shrimp paste
Lift the meat and lemongrass out of the broth (discard the lemongrass, set the meat aside to cool). Dissolve the shrimp paste in a ladle of hot broth and strain it into the pot — the paste is often coarse. Add the fish sauce, sugar and salt, simmer gently and adjust the seasoning at the end. The smell at this stage is intense and only turns to depth after twenty minutes of simmering.
Ingredients: 2 tbsp shrimp paste · 5 tbsp fish sauce · 2 tbsp sugar · 1 tsp salt
Cook the noodles separately and rinse
Cook the thick rice noodles in a separate pan according to the packet (usually 10–15 minutes) and rinse them under cold water. Cooked in the broth they would shed starch and cloud it — and this broth should stay clear despite its intense colour.
Ingredients: 600 g rice noodles · 200 g bean sprouts · 200 g white cabbage · 1 bunch mint · ½ bunch coriander · 3 pcs limes
Build the bowls and float the oil on top
Slice the beef thinly and cut the knuckle into pieces. Noodles at the bottom, meat over them, boiling broth poured on, and a spoonful of red oil floated on the surface without stirring. Set a plate of sprouts, cabbage, herbs and lime alongside — everyone adds their own.
Ingredients: 600 g rice noodles · 200 g bean sprouts · 200 g white cabbage · 1 bunch mint · ½ bunch coriander · 3 pcs limes
Oil on top, herbs on a plate of their own.
Before you start
The shrimp paste is compulsory
It is what separates bún bò Huế from beef broth with chilli in it. The smell from the jar is shocking, but in a simmered broth it becomes an umami neither fish sauce nor miso replaces. Start with one tablespoon if this is your first time.
Pork blood and ham
The Huế version also carries cubes of set pork blood and slices of Vietnamese chả lụa ham. The soup is complete without them, but those are what you see in bowls in Vietnam.
Broth a day ahead
Make the broth a day early and chill it — the fat sets on top and lifts off with a spoon. The soup is rich enough from the chilli oil, and excess beef fat masks the citrus note of the lemongrass.
