Spicy Hue Beef and Rice Noodle Soup

Name: Spicy Hue Beef and Rice Noodle Soup
Yield: serves 8
Ingredients: 4 pounds beef leg bones, cut into 2- to 3-inch pieces; 1 1/2 pounds boneless beef shank, halved crosswise; 3/4 pound boneless pork leg with skin and fat; Salt; Black pepper; 2 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil; 2 yellow onions, cut into 1-inch chunks; 1 tablespoon annatto seeds; 5 quarts water; 1 1/2 pounds pork hock, cut into 1/2-inch-thick pieces (8 pieces); 3 tablespoons fish sauce; 1-inch chunk yellow rock sugar (about 1 ounce); 4 hefty stalks lemongrass, trimmed, cut into 3-inch lengths, and bruised; 2 tablespoons fine shrimp sauce; 5 tablespoons canola or other neutral oil; 3 tablespoons dried red chile flakes; 3 cloves garlic, minced; 1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and minced; 1 teaspoon sugar; 2 1/2 teaspoons fish sauce; Cooked beef and pork from the broth; 2 packages (14 ounces each) large or extralarge dried round rice noodles, cooked in boiling water for 10 to 15 minutes, drained, and flushed with cold water; 1 yellow onion, sliced paper-thin, soaked in cold water to cover for 30 minutes, and drained; 2 or 3 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced; 1/3 cup chopped fresh Vietnamese coriander or cilantro leaves; 2 or 3 limes, cut into wedges; 12 sprigs mint; 2 or 3 Thai or serrano chiles, thinly sliced; Leaves from 1 head romaine lettuce, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-wide ribbons (optional); 3 cups bean sprouts (about 1/2 pound) (optional)

December 14, 2011

Among Vietnamese noodle soups, bun bo Hue is second only to pho in popularity. But while pho is delicate and nuanced, bun bo is earthy and spicy, characteristic of central Viet cooking and of the elegant yet rustic table of Hue, the former imperial capital. And although its name suggests an all-beef affair, the soup actually combines beef and pork. To make great bun bo Hue, I heed the advice of our family friend Mrs. Nha, a Hue native who insists that the broth be made with beef bones, not the pork bones widely used today. From my mom, I learned to sauté the onion and boneless meat for a deeply flavored broth. On my own, I discovered that simmering the annatto in the broth yields a nice rich color. (Most cooks fry the seeds in oil to release their color and then add the oil to the finished broth.) Shop for the various meats you need at a Viet or Chinese market, where you will find beef shank (shin) in long pieces, boneless pork leg with a layer of fat and skin, and slices of pork hock, often prepackaged in Styrofoam trays.

Cooks' Note

For information on banana blossoms, see page 52. Simply remove some of the bracts, stack them, and then slice them. Soak for 10 minutes in 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar and water to cover. Then massage and drain them.

Recipe notes