In the diverse cuisine of Vietnam, Hue is the place that has created many unique and wonderful dishes. These can be mentioned as mussel rice, banh beo, and banh cuon, … Bun Bo Hue, also known as Hue spicy noodle soup, is a bright star, famous around the world, and makes Hue one of the famous landmarks. Vietnamese language. However, compared to its brother Pho, the reputation of Hue spicy noodle soup is still one step behind. But Bun Bo Hue is a great dish to start your day. What are you waiting for, explore Hue spicy noodle soup and refer to the recipe that Amthucviet.com provide in this article to make your family meal more wonderful.
Let’s get started!
What Is Hue Spicy Noodle Soup?
Hue Spicy Noodle Soup is written by Bun Bo Hue in Vietnamese. It is a hot noodle soup traditionally made with pork, beef bones, lime leaves, cinnamon, star anise, and shrimp paste. There are also slices of brisket, crab cakes, blood cakes, and broth finished with a sourdough lemon and garnished with fresh vegetables and herbs. Is the dish difficult to prepare? Sure. Can you shorten it? Sure.
Hue, the historic ancient capital of Vietnam, is where this delicious and complex dish comes from, hence the “Hue” at the end of its name. In fact, Bun Bo Hue is only known as “bun bo” within the city and surrounding communities. To indicate its origin outside the city closer, “Hue” is added at the end.
The meal is often compared to a meal suitable to be served at a formal court. This lemongrass noodle dish is well known to the Vietnamese because it successfully combines spicy, salty, and umami flavors in a soup, although not as widely known as its cousin. It is very suitable to warm your belly after a long night of sleep. Just sipping its soup you can stay awake all day and full of energy.
Origin Of Hue Spicy Noodle Soup
Hue, the former capital of Vietnam, is where Hue spicy noodle soup first appeared. It is referred to as Hue spicy noodle soup outside of Hue and some regions of central Vietnam to indicate its origin.
Hue’s cuisine has a strong reputation for being hot and spicy, which is uncommon for other Vietnamese cuisine. Hue is also well-known for its banh nam and com hen dishes.
Hue, a key city in the nation, became the seat of the Nguyen Dynasty, which took over control of it in about 1802. This royal court cherished complex tastes. This led to the introduction of new foods like bun bo Hue, which established it as a difficult yet delectable meal that satisfied this requirement. It was a refined soup that raised the bar for Vietnamese cuisine to serve to the regal court.
What Flavor Does Hue Spicy Noodle Soup Have?
Hue Spicy Noodle Soup is rich and hot with a complex flavor of many ingredients. It is a complex combination of beef brisket, spring rolls, pork broth and lemongrass, which make up the main flavor of the soup. To combine all the flavors, lime leaves are also added. The broth is appreciated for its harmony between spiciness, saltiness, and umami taste.
A distinctive flavor to appreciate is created by the fusion and blending of spicy, salty, sour, and sweet flavors with subtle herbal notes of lemongrass and a top layer of fresh herbs. This meal is made from thin slices of beef brisket stuffed with oxtail (certain varieties) and topped with some fresh herbs.
What Ingredients Are In Hue Spicy Noodle Soup?
Pork shanks/knuckles, beef shanks, lemon grass, fermented shrimp paste, and sugar are simmered to create the fragrant broth. Later in the cooking phase, annatto seeds and hot chili oils are added. The simmering beef brisket, pig meatballs, and pork shanks are then added to the round vermicelli noodles with the soup liquid. Additionally, historically, congealed pig’s blood is placed on top. Lime wedges, chopped cilantro, green onion, thinly sliced banana blossoms, red cabbage, perilla, Vietnamese coriander (known as rau ram), and bean sprouts are the last garnishes added.
Let’s discuss some of the components of this soup that you might wish to get at your neighborhood Asian market. For my version of bun bo Hue, you won’t need EVERYTHING on this list, but I wanted to at least explain to you what to look for in each of these items. Making bun bo Hue authentically requires a LOT of ingredients, which may occasionally mount up on your grocery bill.
Beef Brisket, Pork, Beef Hocks, And Shanks
Pork hocks and beef shanks are difficult to locate at my neighborhood grocery shop, at least when it comes to the meats. An Asian grocery store has it more frequently in stock. If you can’t locate it, you may use beef brisket in its place. When thinly sliced, it has the same flavor as beef and a comparable texture; however, since beef shank is lean, be sure to trim off any extra fat before serving.
Cubed And Coagulated Pork Blood (Also Known As Blood Cake)
An authentic component of Hue Spicy Noodle Soup is the layer of cubed congealed pork blood. Once more, you may get this more easily at your neighborhood Asian market. It is coagulated by placing it in a container, heating it with salt, and letting it cool. When chewed into, the cube keeps its form and has a thick, chewy flavor. Despite the fact that I am aware that this is the ORIGINAL way to prepare the dish, I decided not to include it in my version since I think it doesn’t contribute much taste. In order to prevent them from becoming rubbery, they should be introduced very last.
Lemongrass
You’ll easily find stalks of lemongrass in the vegetable aisle.
Leaf Kaffir
You may buy kaffir leaves, commonly referred to as lime leaves, in little bags in the produce section of the grocery store. Kaffir lime leaves add yet another layer of flavor and increase freshness. It brings lemongrass up to par.
Seeds For Annatto
Most of the time, annatto seeds are utilized to color the oil red.
Packet Of Bun Bo Hue Seasoning
This is the easier method, however, you may flavor your broth with a spice package or use it in combination to enhance the flavor. This will be used in the recipe I’ve included below.
Vietnamese sausage
Vietnamese pork sausage can be purchased at an Asian supermarket. It is fried before being packed within a banana leaf or aluminum foil. There are many different sausage varieties, so I choose the Cha Lua, which is the most popular.
Brisket of beef
The beef brisket can be used to flavor the soup’s broth, but once it has finished boiling, it is cut into slices and placed on top of the noodles as a tasty protein.
Banana Blossoms
Banana blossoms need to be peeled, the fronds taken off, and then sliced into extremely thin, narrow strips. When removing the petals, a bowl of lemon water should be ready since it will prevent the petals from browning and take away the bitter flavor. Banana blooms are expensive and in season only. Without a doubt, this is an optional garnish.
Red or Purple Cabbage
The next best alternative to banana blossoms is red or purple cabbage if you are unable or unwilling to spend money on them. Despite not having taste, they’ll provide the meal with the proper texture.
The Bean Sprouts
This meal gets some crunch from the bean sprouts. For more freshness, learn how to create bean sprouts at home.
Thailand Chile
If the broth’s flavor isn’t strong enough for you, try biting into some Thai chilies. They are additionally called birds-eye chilies.
Deep-fried Shallots and/or Onions
I like the fried shallots better. This meal is out of this world because of the tasty fried vegetable pieces that provide another layer of texture.
Asian Basil (or mint)
In comparison to Italian basil, Thai basil has purple stems and thinner, pointier leaves. Instead of tasting like pesto, Thai basil tastes like anise.
Perilla
This plant contains licorice and anise undertones that resemble a cross between mint and basil.
Coriander from Vietnam – Rau Ram (Persicaria odorata)
Vietnamese coriander, also known as rau ram, hot mint, and persicaria ordorata, has a peppery, spicy, and citrus flavor. Look for herbs with younger leaves when selecting your bouquet because the older leaves are harsh and lose taste.
Ngo Gai, a sawtooth herb (Culantro)
It gives Hue Spicy Noodle Soup a crunch and has a flavor similar to fresh coriander, although it is considerably more robust than conventional coriander leaves.
Fish Sauce
All of my recipes use the squid brand, which I prefer.
Shrimp Paste
This is used to give your food the umami flavor. Although it may have a strong (some could even say nasty) smell, it’s a terrific component to enhance tastes.
The Recipe For Hue Spicy Noodle Soup
1. Ingredients
- 2 pounds of beef, pork, or oxtail shanks and beef marrow bones.
- 3 stalks of lemongrass and 4 pounds of the cut beef round eye or beef brisket.
- Cooking oil, 3 tablespoons.
- 1 prepared box of vermicelli noodles.
- 3 teaspoons Hue Spicy Noodle Soup chile seasoning.
- 1-3 oz packet of Hue Spicy Noodle Soup instant soup seasoning.
- 3 medium shallots, minced, 3 lemongrass stems, minced.
- 6 minced garlic cloves.
- 1 tablespoon salt.
- 1 tablespoon MSG.
- 2 teaspoons of sugar.
- 2 teaspoons of fish sauce.
- 1 roll of steamed pork meatloaf, cut, two green onions, diced, and one white onion.
- 1 bunch of cilantro.
- half cup purple cabbage, chopped.
- 1 cup Thai-style basil bean sprouts.
- 1 piece of lemon.
2. Guide: Recipe Of Hue Spicy Noodle Soup Step By Step
Step 1: Place a pot filled with cold water on the stove. To clean the meat before adding it to the final broth, add pork and/or beef leg (or oxtail and bone marrow) in while the water is still cold. Set aside. Blood, fat, and pollutants can be removed by gradually heating water. After the dirt has floated on the water, remove it. To remove any residual dirt, rinse and rinse the meat. Separate the ox tail and beef marrow bones, as well as pork and beef hooves.
Step 2: Cut beef into thin pieces
Step 3: Prepare a basin of water about 2 gallons in size and fill it to half full with water. Take three lemongrass stalks and use a mortar to pound the two ends to release the aroma and put them in the pot.
Step 4: Get the marinade ready. Slice three lemon stalk ends into small pieces so you can process them in a food processor. Add the shallots and garlic cloves to the same food processor.
Step 5: Take 3 tablespoons of the blended mixture and set it aside.
Step 6: Place the steak on a large plate. Pour in the remaining mixture afterward. Use your hands to knead the ingredients into the meat.
Step 7: Then, season with salt, MSG at will, sugar, fish sauce, Hue beef noodle seasoning, and broth seasoning packet. The ingredients should be well combined after more kneading. You now have the option of marinating the mixture for the night or continuing to cook.
Step 8: Add the cooking oil to a skillet that has been preheated to medium-high heat. The meat mixture is then added, and stirring is continued. Cook the steak until it is barely pink.
Step 9: Transfer the beef into the boiling pot of water along with the now-boiled pork and beef shanks (or oxtail and beef marrow bones).
Step 10: Let it heat up until it boils.
Step 11: 45 minutes should be spent simmering for tender meat.
Step 12: Noodles for vermicelli should be prepared as directed on the box. To prevent the noodles from sticking together later, I prefer to add a little cooking oil when I boil the noodles. To make it simpler to put the noodles into a dish later, I usually “wrap” them in cold water when they are finished and place them in a bed of coriander.
Step 13: The veggie tops should be cleaned and rinsed. Make the garnishes and reserve them.
Step 14: Pour the broth and beef slices on top of the vermicelli noodles when the meat has finished cooking. Onion, green onion, pork meatloaf slices, cilantro, cabbage, bean sprouts, and Thai basil are added on top.
Step 15: Serve and enjoy hot!
Conclusion
This Hue Spicy Noodle Soup recipe is fragrant, spicy vermicelli that takes you to Vietnam without actually being there! You should not miss this sophisticated meal with a little lemongrass flavor; Once you sample it, you’ll want more. If you still find the cooking too complicated you can enjoy Hue Spicy Noodle Soup at your local Vietnamese restaurants you can check out some of the places we recommend in Orlando, Boston, Chicago, or Vietnam such as Nha Trang, Hanoi, Hue…. Surely you will be addicted to this dish.
