Bún bò Huế (Vietnamese Beef Noodles)

Name: Bún bò Huế (Vietnamese Beef Noodles)
Prep time: 1 h
Cook time: 6 h
Total time: 7 h
Yield: 8
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 3 beef short ribs; 2 kg (4.4 lbs) beef bones; 1 pork knuckle; 2 pigs' trotters; 4 sticks lemongrass, cut into 5 cm (2-inch) pieces; 1 piece ginger, thickly sliced; 1 brown onion, peeled; 4 shallots, peeled; 180 ml (¾ cup) fish sauce; 1 tbsp fermented shrimp paste; 200g rock sugar; 1 tsp salt; 1 tbsp chicken bouillon (stock powder); 500g packet Bún bò Huế noodles (round rice noodles); 1 packet bean sprouts; 1 bunch coriander leaves; 1 bunch Vietnamese mint (rau răm) leaves; lime wedges, to serve; 1 banana flower (optional); 5 tbsp peanut oil; 1 tbsp annatto seeds; 2 tbsp ground chilli (use less if you prefer it milder); 1 head garlic; 3 shallots; 2 sticks lemongrass; 1 thumb-size piece ginger; 3 cloves garlic; 1 shallot; 1 lemongrass; 250g pigs blood cake (Huyết)

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Bún bò Huế (Vietnamese Beef Noodles)

Ingredients

3 beef short ribs
2 kg (4.4 lbs) beef bones
1 pork knuckle
2 pigs' trotters
4 sticks lemongrass, cut into 5 cm (2-inch) pieces
1 piece ginger, thickly sliced
1 brown onion, peeled
4 shallots, peeled
180 ml (¾ cup) fish sauce
1 tbsp fermented shrimp paste
200g rock sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chicken bouillon (stock powder)
500g packet Bún bò Huế noodles (round rice noodles)
1 packet bean sprouts
1 bunch coriander leaves
1 bunch Vietnamese mint (rau răm) leaves
lime wedges, to serve
1 banana flower (optional)

ANNATTO OIL

5 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp annatto seeds
2 tbsp ground chilli (use less if you prefer it milder)
1 head garlic
3 shallots
2 sticks lemongrass

BLOOD CAKE (OPTIONAL)

1 thumb-size piece ginger
3 cloves garlic
1 shallot
1 lemongrass
250g pigs blood cake (Huyết)

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Directions

CLEAN THE BONES

Add the beef ribs, beef bones, pork knuckle and trotters to a large stock pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes, skimming off any scum that rises to the surface.
Drain and discard the water from the bones. Rinse the bones thoroughly, clean the pot, and add the bones back to the pot and put aside.

MAKE THE ANNATTO OIL

While the bones are simmering, heat the peanut oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat.
Add the annatto seeds, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add the ground chilli and stir to combine. Turn off the heat and leave to steep for 5-10 minutes, until the oil turns a deep red. Pass the oil through a sieve, discarding the seeds, then return the oil to the pan.
Peel and finely dice the garlic, finely dice the shallots and finely dice the lemongrass.
Place the annatto oil over medium heat. Add the lemongrass and sauté for 5-6 minutes, then add the shallots and continue cooking for a further 2 minutes.
Lastly, add the garlic and continue cooking for 4-5 minutes, until very fragrant.

SIMMER THE BROTH

Cut the lemongrass into 5cm (2in) pieces and add to the pot with the bones. Thickly slice the ginger and peel the onion and shallots. Add to the pot along with the fish sauce, fermented shrimp paste, rock sugar, salt, chicken bouillon and cover with fresh water about 10-12cms (5in) above the bones.
Add the sauteed aromats with the annatto oil.
Turn the heat to high until the broth starts to simmer, then turn to low and slowly simmer the broth for 6 hours.
After 3 hours, remove the pork knuckle and beef ribs from the pot and set aside. These will be sliced to serve later. (If you prefer your meat with a bit more chew, remove it after 1.5 hours instead)

PREP THE BLOOD CAKE (OPTIONAL)

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a simmer over medium heat. Slice the ginger, smash the garlic, halve the shallot, and slice the lemongrass into 5cm pieces. Add to the water.
Carefully slide the blood cake into the water, then increase the heat to high and bring to a rolling boil for 5 minutes.
Reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Uncover and remove the blood cake with a slotted spoon and set aside on a wire rack to drain until cool enough to handle.

COOK NOODLES

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over high heat.
Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions (they usually take 20–25 minutes). Once cooked, drain them well and rinse under cold water to prevent overcooking.

FINISH AND SERVE

Slice the meat from the beef ribs into thin slices against the grain, discarding any large fatty bits. Remove the skin from the pork knuckle and shred the pork meat. Slice the skin into thin slices also.
Slice the blood cake thinly and then into smaller cubes.
If using banana flower, remove the outer tough leaves and discard, then peel off a few of the tender leaves. Pile them on top of each other and chiffonade them finely.
To serve, briefly blanch some noodles in boiling water to reheat them. Place the noodles in a large bowl, top with slices of the meat and blood cake, then ladle over the hot, spicy broth. Garnish with coriander, Vietnamese mint, bean sprouts, banana flower and a wedge of lime.

Notes

Cook support

This is quite an involved and lengthy process to develop the complex flavours of the soup, but well worth the effort and with such a large batch it can be enjoyed over several days or frozen for future meals.

Sourcing

Annatto seeds are available at Asian grocers. They are primarily used for their colour and come from the commonly termed “lipstick tree”.

You will need to speak to your butcher about sourcing the pig's blood cake, as it is a special order item from Vietnamese Butchers. The pigs trotters and knuckles should be available from your local butcher.

Substitutions

You can omit the blood cake and banana flower if you have trouble finding it, but the remaining ingredients should be available at Asian grocers and are authentic to the recipe.

Storage

The stock can be made in advance and portioned into single or multiple serves, then stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days in the fridge or frozen for several months. The meat should be stored separately in a container and refrigerated.

Method

A stock pot with a thick bottom base rather than pressed steel, is essential to avoid the stock burning and to distribute the heat evenly.