Bún bò Huế - Vietnamese Spicy Beef Noodle Soup

Bún bò Huế or Vietnamese spicy beef noodle soup is seriously underrated. This Vietnamese comforting soup is filled with thick rice noodles, slow-cooked beef shank, pork hocks, and topped with half a dozen herbs and veggies. The broth is packed with spicy, aromatic, and umami flavors.

Honestly, I believe this soup is one of the best noodle soups in the world that doesn’t get the spotlight it deserves. This is hands down my favorite soup. Yes, it is a labor of love to make and yes it is 100% worth it every time. If you know you know. If you don’t, I have broken down my mom's recipe for the most comforting Vietnamese soup guaranteed!

What is Bún bò Huế?

Bún bò Huế literally translates to Huế beef noodle soup. Think phở's sassier cousin that is loaded with spice and robust flavors that doesn't get the spotlight she deserves. Bún bò Huế, like pho, uses rice noodles, however, it uses rounder thicker rice noodles instead of a flat thin noodle. The soup's hearty broth stems from both beef and pork broth, shrimp paste, and chili paste.

Bún bò Huế originated in the city of Huế in Vietnam. It was Vietnam's capital in 1802 during the Nguyen Dynasty. This city has a reputation for exclusively spicy foods.

Traditionally, Bún bò Huế contains cubes of congealed pork blood that is coagulated, boiled and seasoned with salt. However, my family has never been a fan and we opt to not include it. You can totally add it to your soup if you want to go for that 100% authentic Bún bò Huế!

Ingredients For This Recipe

Meats and Noodles

• Pork Hocks: Ask the butcher to slice the pork hocks into 1 inch thick slices
• Beef Hind Shank: This cut of beef can only be found at an Asian grocery store. If you cannot find this cut you can use a beef brisket.
• Vietnamese Pork Sausage (Cha Lua): I like to add Vietnamese pork sausage for some added meat. This is purely optional. You can find this steamed meat at Asian grocery stores or Banh Mi delis. This meat is traditionally wrapped in banana leaf. To serve, simply remove the banana leaf and thinly slice the meat.
• Thick Rice Noodles: the thick rice noodles are my favorite part of Bún bò Huế. They look like spaghetti noodles but white and made of rice.

Broth Ingredients

• Daikon
• Yellow onion
• Lemongrass
• Salt
• Palm sugar: adds a subtle sweetness without making it overpowering sweet. You can find Palm Sugar online or at any Asian grocery store.
• Shrimp paste: Shrimp paste is a must for this soup. BEWARE it is VERY smelly and not at all appetizing at first glance. However, it is diluted and necessary for that true Bún bò Huế flavor. I use Lee Kum Kee Shrimp Paste that can be found online or in any Asian grocery store.
• Bún bò Huế Soup Base: this will reduce the cooking time and make a more robust soup. You can find this Bún bò Huế broth base at any Asian grocery store or you can buy it online.
• Chicken Bouillon Powder: I always like adding Chicken Bouillon powder at the end to taste. This is purely optional based on your flavor preference. I use this chicken bouillon powder.
• Fish Sauce: it is not a true Vietnamese dish without a few tablespoons of fish sauce to taste. My go-to all-time favorite fish sauce is Red Boat Fish Sauce.

Sate Chili Paste Ingredients

• Neutral Oil: Use flavorless oils like canola, vegetable, peanut oil.
• Annatto Seeds: you can find annatto seeds online here or in any Asian grocery store.
• Thai Chili Flakes: You will need crushed dried Thai chili flakes.
• Lemongrass
• Garlic
• Shallots

Garnishes

You can find these garnishes at any Vietnamese, Chinese, Thai, or other Asian markets. If you can't find a specific one you can move on without it. These are all based on preference!

• Banana bud: or banana flower
• Vietnamese Coriander (Rau răm)
• Purple cabbage
• Bean Sprouts
• Mint
• Thai Basil
• Limes

How to Make This Recipe

Every restaurant and family has its own spin to it. Bún bò Huế recipes are always a labor of love. It takes multiple hours and layers of ingredients to create that full-bodied beef broth. This recipe tries to shorten that cook time in half by using a ready-made Bún bò Huế broth base that is boosted with beef and pork broth, shrimp paste, and lemongrass to maintain that true authentic flavor.

MAKE THE PORK BROTH.

• Cook the pork hock. In a 7 qt pot, fill the water to ⅔ of the pot and place on high heat until boil. Add 5 palm sugars, ½ Bun Bo Hue soup base, ½ of a wedged-cut onion, 1 ½ teaspoon of salt, 2-inch pieces of daikon, and 3 stalks of smashed lemongrass.
• Take 2 tablespoons of shrimp paste and fill with 3 cups of water and mix and set aside. When the shrimp paste has separated, slowly pour 2 ½ cups of the clearer diluted shrimp paste water into the pot. Discard the darker muddier shrimp paste that sank to the bottom.
• On high heat, bring the pot to a boil. Then add the pork hocks and simmer on medium heat for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Periodically, skim off the scum and dirty layer off the top. Taste to see if the meat is soft before removing it from the pot. Set aside. (While this is cooking make the beef shank broth below)

MAKE THE BEEF BROTH

• In a separate 5 qt pot, fill water to ⅔ of the pot and place on high heat until boil. Add 4 palm sugars, ½ Bun Bo Hue soup base, ½ of a wedged cut onion, 1 ½ teaspoon of salt, and 3 stalks of smashed lemongrass.
• Bring the pot to a boil over high heat. Add beef shanks and simmer on medium-high heat for 1 hour and 45 minutes. Periodically, skim off the scum and dirty layer off the top.

COMBINE THE PORK AND BEEF BROTH

• Transfer the beef into the larger pork broth. Remove the daikon and lemongrass and discard them from the 5 qt pot. Add the beef broth to the larger pork pot until filled. Place the remaining 6 stalks of fresh lemongrass into, 3 tablespoons of chicken bouillon powder in the larger pork pot and simmer for 2 more hours.
• After 2 hours, taste one piece of the beef to see if it is soft and tender. If the meat is still chewy, continue cooking for an additional 10 minutes or until tender. Then take the beef, daikon, and lemongrass out of the larger pork broth pot. Add the remaining soup from the smaller beef broth pot into the large pot.
• Lastly, taste and add 1-2 tablespoons of fish sauce as needed.

Chili Sauce

• In a saucepan on medium heat, add in the oil and the annatto seeds and stir it for 3-5 minutes until the oil turns a bright red color. Discard the annatto seeds.
• Add in the chili flakes, lemongrass, garlic, and shallots, and toast it in the oil for 10 minutes. Be careful not to burn it!
• Turn off the heat and let the oil cool
• Once the oil has cooled, add the chili paste to the broth to taste.

Prepare the Noodles, Meats, and Garnishes

1. Boil and drain the rice noodles according to the instructions on the package. Then place the noodles in a soup bowl.
2. Slice the meats and place them in the bowl with the noodles.
3. Prepare the banana bud. Remove the outer layer then thinly slice the banana bud and remove the seeds. Soak in cold salt water for at least 10 minutes, and then wash thoroughly with clean water. Lay out to dry. This prevents the banana bud from turning brown.
4. Prepare the Vietnamese Coriander. Wash the Vietnamese coriander and remove the leaves from the tough stems.
5. Thinly slice the purple cabbage.
6. Add in the garnishes and enjoy!

Can you make this soup less spicy?

YES! The soup base recipe below is not spicy at all. I am a spice wimp and can only handle mild spice so my mom modified this recipe for me. The level of spice ultimately depends on how much chili paste you add to your bowl.

Tips for this Recipe

• This recipe uses a lot of meat for that richer broth flavor. But you can easily half the meat if you don't want to eat that much meat.
• You will need a 5 qt and a 7qt pot to cook the meat separately. Alternatively, you can use one really large 12 qt pot if you have one. Simply add all the ingredients into one pot instead of two and take the meat out at the right cooking times.
• Taste the meat before taking it out of the pot! You don't want to have too chewy hard to eat meat for this soup. It is VERY important that you heat and cook the beef long enough until tender.

Storage and Re-Heating Instructions

You can store the broth and the meat separate from the noodles in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Alternatively, you can freeze the broth for up to 1 month. To re-heat pour the broth into a pot and heat over medium-high heat until boil.

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Check out my other Vietnamese favorites like Vietnamese spring rolls!

 

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