Hue-Style Spicy Beef Noodle Soup (Bún Bò Huế) — Lemongrass Beef and Pork Rice Noodle Soup

• 1.5 kgbeef marrow bones
• 900 gbeef shank (whole piece, tied if loose)
• 900 gpork hock (cut crosswise into 5 cm pieces)
• 5 lwater
• 8 stalklemongrass (trimmed, bruised, and cut into 10 cm lengths)
• 2large yellow onions (halved)
• 2 inchfresh ginger (sliced and lightly crushed)
• 1.5 tbspfine sea salt
• 30 grock sugar
• 45 gmam ruoc Hue fermented shrimp paste
• 240 mlwarm water
• 60 mlfish sauce
• 80 mlneutral oil
• 2 tbspannatto seeds
• 6 clovegarlic (finely minced)
• 3shallots (finely minced)
• 2 tbspred chile flakes
• 1 tbspsweet paprika
• 1 tspcayenne pepper
• 300 gcongealed pork blood (cut into 2.5 cm cubes)
• 700 gdried thick round rice vermicelli
• 250 gbanana blossom (thinly shredded and held in cold water with lime juice)
• 300 gbean sprouts
• 1 bunchVietnamese coriander
• 1 bunchThai basil
• 1 bunchmint
• 1 bunchcilantro
• 6green onions (thinly sliced)
• 3large limes (cut into wedges)
• 4bird's eye chiles (thinly sliced)

Instructions

1. 1

   Place the beef bones, beef shank, and pork hock in a large stockpot and cover with cold water by at least 5 cm. Bring to a hard boil for 10 minutes, then drain, rinse the bones and meat under warm water, and scrub the pot clean so the final broth tastes clear rather than muddy.

2. 2

   Return the cleaned bones, beef shank, and pork hock to the pot with 5 l fresh water, the bruised lemongrass, onions, ginger, salt, and rock sugar. Bring to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to a quiet simmer and skim foam from the surface for the first 30 minutes.

3. 3

   Simmer the broth uncovered for 2.5 to 3 hours, keeping the liquid moving gently rather than boiling violently. Remove the pork hock pieces when tender, usually after about 90 minutes, and remove the beef shank when a skewer passes through easily, usually after about 2 hours.

4. 4

   Stir the mam ruoc Hue fermented shrimp paste into 240 ml warm water and let it stand for 10 minutes so the sediment settles. Carefully pour the clear purple-brown liquid into the broth and leave the gritty sediment behind, then add the fish sauce and simmer for 15 minutes.

5. 5

   Heat the neutral oil and annatto seeds in a small saucepan over medium-low heat for 3 minutes, until the oil turns brick red, then strain out and discard the seeds. Return the colored oil to the pan, add the minced lemongrass, garlic, shallots, chile flakes, paprika, and cayenne, and cook for 4 minutes until fragrant but not burned.

6. 6

   Strain the broth through a fine sieve into a clean pot, then stir in two-thirds of the chile oil and keep the broth hot. Slice the cooled beef shank thinly across the grain, keep the pork hock pieces whole, and simmer the pork blood cubes in the broth for 8 minutes to heat them through.

7. 7

   Cook the thick round rice vermicelli according to the package directions until tender but springy, then rinse briefly with hot water and drain well. Divide the noodles among 6 deep bowls, top each bowl with sliced beef shank, pork hock, pork blood, and green onions, then ladle over boiling-hot broth.

8. 8

   Serve immediately with banana blossom, bean sprouts, Vietnamese coriander, Thai basil, mint, cilantro, lime wedges, sliced chiles, and the remaining chile oil on the side. Each diner should add herbs and lime at the table, because Bun Bo Hue is meant to balance fiery broth with fresh, crisp garnishes.