Bún Bò Huế

A bowl of Vietnam, wherever home happens to be

Some dishes are more than recipes.

For me, Bún Bò Huế is one of them.

It is fragrant, spicy, deeply savoury and impossible to eat without feeling that something comforting has just happened.

There are many ways to make Bún Bò Huế, and every Vietnamese family seems to have its own little habits. This is my home-style version — made for a real kitchen, not a restaurant.

Bún Bò Huế

A fragrant and comforting Vietnamese noodle soup with tender beef and pork, aromatic lemongrass, and a rich, spicy broth full of bold flavours.

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 3 hours hrs

Servings: 6 bowls

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: Vietnamese

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

For the broth

• 1 kg beef bones
• 500 g beef shank
• 500 g pork hock
• 4 stalks lemongrass
• 1 large onion
• 5 cm fresh ginger
• 2 –3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• 2 tbsp Bún Bò Huế chilli paste or satế

To serve

• 600 g thick round rice noodles
• Fresh bean sprouts
• Vietnamese coriander or fresh herbs
• Thai basil
• Lime wedges
• Thinly sliced onion
• Fresh chilli
• Extra satế or chilli oil

Method

 

Clean the meat and bones

1. Place the beef bones, beef shank and pork hock in a large pot.
2. Cover with water and bring to a boil for about 5 minutes.
3. Drain everything and rinse the meat, bones and pot thoroughly. This helps give you a cleaner broth.

Build the broth

1. Return the bones and meat to the clean pot and cover generously with fresh water.
2. Bruise the lemongrass stalks with the back of a knife and tie them together if you like.
3. Char the onion and ginger lightly in a dry pan, then add them to the broth with the lemongrass.
4. Bring to a gentle simmer.
5. Cook for approximately 2 hours, removing any foam that rises to the surface.
6. Remove the beef and pork when tender. Allow them to cool before slicing.

Season

1. Season the broth with fish sauce, sugar and salt.
2. Add the satế little by little.
3. You want the broth to be savoury, aromatic and spicy without allowing the chilli to hide the lemongrass.

Prepare the bowls

1. Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.
2. Divide them between large bowls.
3. Add slices of beef and pork, then ladle the piping-hot broth over everything.

Add all the good things

1. Serve with bean sprouts, herbs, sliced onion, lime and fresh chilli.
2. Put extra satế on the table for anyone who believes there is no such thing as “too spicy.”
Don’t rush the broth.
Bún Bò Huế is one of those recipes where time does most of the work for you. Keep the broth at a gentle simmer rather than a furious boil.
And add the chilli gradually.
You can always add more.
Taking it back out is another story.

A little piece of home

One of the things I love about cooking Vietnamese food in France is that a familiar smell can suddenly transport you thousands of kilometres.

Lemongrass hits the hot broth and, for a moment, the distance between France and Vietnam feels much smaller.

Maybe that’s one of the quiet superpowers of food.