Bún Bò Huế – Spicy Beef Noodle Soup

One of the traditional Vietnamese dishes that is vividly imprinted in my memory and which I strongly associate with my childhood is the Bún Bò Huế Noodle Soup.  As a 10 year old in Saigon, when I was given some pocket money I would often skip, all by myself, to the lady located at the main street, who rose really early in the morning to prepare a huge pot of broth that simmered and bubbled away until noon, attracting a steady stream of customers of all ages.

Yes, this is one of the famous and irresistible Vietnamese noodle soups. Originating in Huế, the imperial city and former capital of Vietnam, it marvellously combines beef and pork flavours, tantalises you with its unique, mysterious lemongrass aroma that dances to your nose (in my case, I was skipping to it!), and surprises you with its visibly reddish broth, which is rich and spicy with a hint of exotic sweetness. The satisfying taste of the tender sliced beef and pork leaves you with the lingering spiciness your heart (might have) desired.  Whether you expected the spiciness, or perhaps further glorified it with more freshly cut chilli or chilli sate (chilli and lemongrass paste – see below for recipe), it is one truly memorable Huế experience that now can be enjoyed almost anywhere throughout Vietnam, in Australia, and, I think, many other countries around the world.  Having said that, its popularity still most likely takes second place to Pho, although it would be a difficult decision to make if they were right next to each other.

Whilst I like simple dishes with few ingredients, this is another dish (besides Pho) that I firmly believe deserves all the traditional ingredients and attention to detail. They truly complement each other to make it an exceptional spicy noodle soup that is worth all your effort and TLC, even on a warm humid day!   

Below is my version of Bún Bò Huế.  I hope you enjoy the sensuous journey of making it as much as the heavenly reward of tasting it.

Homemade Spicy Beef Noodle Soup recipe

Serves: 8-10

Preparation: About 3-4 hours

The Essential Cooking Utensil

• Fine mesh skimmer (to skim fat or scum that appear on the surface of the stock, for clear soup)

Ingredients for the Broth

• Shrimp paste liquid (2 tbsp of shrimp paste stirred with 4 tbsp of water, then let settle and use the clearer liquid in broth)
• Onions (2, skin removed)
• Shallots/onion (2 peeled, chopped finely)
• Garlic (1 clove peeled, chopped finely)
• Lemongrass (8 stalks in total with leaf cut off, 6 whole stalks bruised then tied up with kitchen twine or string, 2 stalks chopped finely)
• Pineapples (1/2 with skin trimmed off)
• Annatto Seed Oil (annatto seeds fried in hot oil to extract colour)
• Salt (3 tbsp)
• Rock sugar (about 1 piece or 40 g)

Ingredients for the Bowl

• Rice noodles for Bún Bò Huế (thick, round rice noodles, 1-2 packets, cooked as per packet instructions)
• Vietnamese Pork Sausage, or Chả Lụa, wrapped and cooked in banana leaves, available at most Vietnamese grocery shops (thinly sliced)
• Spring onions (5-6 stalks, thinly sliced)
• Coriander (chopped into 1 cup)
• Vietnamese mint, a.k.a rau răm in Vietnamese (chopped into 1 cup)
• Onion (1 cut into halves, thinly sliced)
• Chillies (2 large variety, thinly sliced diagonally)
• Lemon (1 whole, cut into wedges)
• Bean Sprouts (rinsed)
• Thai Basil mint (rinsed)
• Sate (made up of chopped onion, chopped garlic, and chopped lemongrass all fried in shallow oil, with dried chilli added last) – Optional
• Banana Flower (thinly sliced, soaked in water with lemon juice) – Optional

Cooking – the Bún Bò Huế broth

Step 1 – Add oil to hot frying pan, then add finely chopped shallots/onion, garlic and lemongrass and fry until golden. Take off heat and add the annatto seed oil to the fried mixture, then leave aside.

Step 2 – Place the pork bones and beef shanks in the stockpot, add water to cover, bring to boil.  Skim the impurities off the surface to keep the stock clear, then let it simmer.

Step 3 – Add whole onions, lemongrass stalks, and pineapple, then season with salt and rock sugar, and add shrimp paste liquid.

Step 4 – Cook beef shanks for about 45 minutes (or until fork tender) then remove from stockpot.  Rinse beef shanks in water to prevent dryness and allow them to cool (I further cool them by covering and placing them in the fridge for a few hours or overnight), then slice thinly.

Step 5 – Add the fried shallots/onion, garlic, lemongrass, annatto seed oil mixture from Step 1 to stockpot, and simmer for another 2 hours.

Preparing – that bowl of Bún Bò Huế

Step 6 – Cook/prepare the rice noodles as per packet instructions, then divide up into bowls (you can make approximately 5 – 6 portions per packet).

Step 7 – Arrange sliced beef shank, pork sausage/chả lụa on noodles, then add sliced onions, spring onions, chopped coriander and Vietnamese mint (rau răm), then add broth.

Step 8 – Add sliced chilli, sate chilli paste, bean sprouts, mint/basil and a squeeze of lemon.

Bon Appétit!

Senses Satisfaction Rating (out of 5 stars)

I might be a bit biased here because I think Bún Bò Huế is as irresistible as Pho, but maybe that’s forgivable as I grew up falling in love with both.  Bún Bò Huế is certainly another dish that is just not visibly appealing, and it is definitely one that I would classify as a “live to eat” dish.

From an objective point of view, I think Pho is still the queen of all noodles with Bún Bò Huế coming a close second. Here is my senses satisfaction rating:

Smell – (4 out of 5 stars)

Taste – (5 out of 5 stars)

Sight – (5 out of 5 stars)

Where to look for the best Bún Bò Huế

American celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain famously said, “Bún Bò Huế is the greatest soup in the world”, and I highly recommend that you look for a good Bún Bò Huế to truly understand that glorious statement.

In Australia, I have tasted a delicious and authentic Bún Bò Huế in St Albans in Melbourne.

In Vietnam, although the lady who used to make that dish in my childhood is no longer there, there are restaurants and street vendors who specialise in this soup throughout HCMC. I would normally check with the locals, or at least check for the presence of local customers, before entering.

Or, for the ultimate test of authenticity, why not savour a bowl in the old imperial city of Huế itself?