From The Ravenous Couple
bún bò Huế
Spicy, fiery red, and murky, the appearance of bún bò Huế is almost the antithesis of it’s better known Vietnamese soup counterpart, phở bò, which is valued for it’s clarity and pure clean flavors.
Although both have beef as it’s main ingredient, it would be a gross injustice to call a spicy version of pho. It’s an entirely different animal altogether with flavors stewed from the marrows of both beef and pork bones along with stalks of bruised lemongrass.
The clear broth is then infused with a spicy and wonderous medley of red annato oil, crushed chile peppers, more lemongrass, along with a generous dollop of pungent minced fish paste. If you’re not already salivating by now, you should be.
Ladled over thick rice noodles, common toppings include sliced beef shank, ham hock, cooked pork blood, pork patties called chả Huế, and finally plenty of fresh herbs. Hungry yet?
If you’re from Huế , you’ll just call it bún bò, but anywhere else in the world, you’ll call it bún bò Huế. We just call it pure goodness. You can make this goodness in your own home and it’s not that hard to do. The two main steps are making the broth and seasoning spice. Although the entire process might take about 4-6 hours (sometimes we simmer the broth overnight), the amount of time active cooking is minimal.
Read the full article from the Ravenous Couple for the recipe.
