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Bowl of Bun Bo Hue Vietnamese beef noodle soup
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Bún Bò Huế (Beef Noodle Soup).

Beef noodle submerged in a lemongrass, spicy broth accompanied by fresh herbs.
Prep Time20 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Keyword: Easy, comforting, simple, beef noodle soup.

Ingredients

Cooking Ingredients

  • 4 pounds beef short ribs
  • 2 shallots chopped and divided in half.
  • ½ white onion chopped and divided in half.
  • 20 grams fresh ginger chopped and divided in half.
  • 5 medium cloves of garlic chopped and divided in half.
  • 3 stalks fresh lemongrass cut in half, tenderized with the ends cut off.
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp pepper
  • 2 tbsp Bún Bò Huế seasoning mix
  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil divided. Use 2 tbsp for the marinade and the other 2 tbsp for the broth.
  • 2 L water
  • 3 tbsp fish sauce more or less to taste.
  • 1 small cube of rock sugar
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 4 tbsp Bún Bò Huế paste
  • Rice noodles

Garnishing Ingredients:

  • 1 stalk green onion chopped.
  • ½ white onion sliced.
  • 1 lemon cut in wedges.
  • Fresh herbs (basil, mint, cilantro, and/or bean sprouts)

Instructions

Instructions for the beef short rib marinade:

  • Wash the beef short ribs by adding salt, give it a good rub, then rinse the salt off with warm water. Pat the meat dry using paper towels. This is to wash away any debris on the meat during processing.
    Washed beef short ribs.
  • Chop and divide the shallots, ginger, white onion and garlic in half. Use half now for the marinade and put the other half in a tight container in the fridge to sauté for the broth later.
    Chopped onion, garlic, ginger, shallots
  • Put the beef short ribs in a bowl. Add half of the chopped garlic, shallots, white onion, ginger, Bún Bò Huế seasoning mix, vegetable oil, salt and pepper.
  • Mix well to make sure the beef short ribs are coated in the seasoning mix. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator overnight to marinade.
    Short ribs mixed in with seasoning for bun bo Hue.

Instructions for the broth:

  • Cut the ends of the fresh lemongrass, then tenderize it by laying it flat and rolling a rolling pin over it. Similar to rolling out dough. This helps releases the flavors inside the lemongrass.
    Tenderizing the lemongrass for bo kho
  • Place the remaining chopped shallots, ginger, white onion, garlic and tenderized lemongrass in a pot with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil and sauté for 3 minutes.
    Aromatics in a pot to saute for bun bo hue broth.
  • Add the marinated beef short ribs to the pot with the aromatics to sear the meat.
    Searing of the meat for bun bo hue.
  • After the meat is seared, add 2 L of water so that all the meat is fully submerged.
    Adding water to submerge the meat in bun bo Hue broth.
  • Bring the pot to a boil. As the broth boils, you will see a thin film (a.k.a. bot in Vietnamese). Take a spoon and remove the thin film. This will make the broth look clearer and tastes better.
    Removing the film on top of the bun bo Hue broth.
  • Turn the heat to medium low, close the lid and let the beef short ribs simmer for 2 hours.
  • After the beef is cooked, add the chicken broth and Bún Bò Huế paste. Mix well then turn the heat to low to continue simmering the beef ribs.
  • Add fish sauce...
    Adding of fish sauce to bun bo Hue broth.
  • Add rock sugar and mix well. Let the pot simmer for another 10 minutes, then remove the lemongrass stalks before serving.
    Adding of rock sugar to the bun bo Hue broth.

Instructions for cooking the noodles:

  • Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, then add the desired amount of bún bò HuHuế noodles, or any noodles you have handy.
  • Let the noodles cook until they're soft (but not too soft) then rinse the noodles into a colander under cold running water to prevent them from sticking together, and set them aside.

Instructions for serving bun bo Hue:

  • Place the noodles, beef short ribs and broth in a bowl. Then garnish with chopped green onion, sliced white onions, lemon wedge, fresh chilis and any fresh herbs of your choice & enjoy.