Vietnamese Noodle Soups: Have you tried them all?
Pho is known as the Vietnamese national dish. In fact, there are more than 10 different delicious Vietnamese noodle soups in Vietnam besides Pho. Travel to Vietnam and check it out; or find out more in this article. The home-cook recipes are included for you to try at home.
1. Beef Pho Noodle Soup
INGREDIENTS:
2 kg beef shank bones; or the mix of oxtail, neck bones and shank bones.
1.2 kg beef fillet;
0.7 kg beef shank (optional);
0.5 kg beef meatball (optional)
1 kg pho noodles;
White onion; Shallots; Ginger
Herbs for cooking broth: dried cinnamon, cardamom, tangerine peel, star anise, cloves, coriander seeds. Put all these herbs in a clean cloth bag, tight tightly.
Vegetables to eat with: green onions, cilantro, lemon, chili, basil, sliced onion, bean sprouts.
Spices for cooking beef pho: salt, 1 tablespoon of fish sauce, 1 – 2 rock sugar
DIRECTION:
Blanching beef bones: Put the beef bones into a pot of cold water and bring to a boil (about 15- 20 mins). Blanch the bones to remove the odor.
Grill ginger, shallots, and onion wedges (for about 5 – 10 mins) until it’s charred.
Boil the beef bones 1.5 – 2 liter of fresh water, coupled with the herbs, rock sugar, fish sauce, salt, and the charred ginger, shallots and onion. Remove the scum for a clear broth. Simmer it for about hours.
While simmering the broth, put the beef shank into the pot until it’s cooked and remove from the pot. If you don’t have the beef shank, you can skip this step.
Remove the herbs bag, ginger and onion.
PRESENTATION AND ENJOYMENT OF THE FOOD:
First, place pho noodles in a bowl. Add the beef shank, beef meatball and beef fillet, and top it with the chopped green onions, cilantro and thinly sliced onion. Pour the hot broth over the ingredients. You can enjoy Pho with basil, fresh chili and bean sprouts.
Tips: To save time on simmering the bones, you can use the Beef Pho Broth Cubes
2. Chicken Pho Noodle Soup
INGREDIENTS:
1 Chicken
1 kg pho noodles;
White onion; Shallots; Ginger
Herbs for cooking broth: dried cinnamon, cardamom, tangerine peel, star anise, cloves, coriander seeds. Put all these herbs in a clean cloth bag, tight tightly.
Spices for cooking beef pho: salt, special seasoning, fish sauce, 1 – 2 rock sugar
Vegetables to eat with: lime leaf, green onions, cilantro, lemon, chili, basil, thinly sliced onion, bean sprouts.
DIRECTION:
Boil the chicken with 2 liters of fresh water, along with rock sugar, fish sauce, salt, ginger and onion for about 2 hours.
Remove the chicken and put them into the cold water (with ice cube)
Add the herbs bag into the chicken broth
While simmering the broth, put the beef shank into the pot until it’s cooked and remove from the pot. If you don’t have the beef shank, you can skip this step.
Remove the herbs bag, ginger and onion.
PRESENTATION AND ENJOYMENT OF THE FOOD:
First, place pho noodles in a bowl. Add the shredded chicken and top it with the chopped green onions, cilantro and thinly sliced lime leaf and onion. Pour the hot broth over the ingredients. You can enjoy Pho with basil, fresh chili and bean sprouts.
Tips: If you don’t have the herbs and all ingredients, you can use the Chicken Pho Broth Cubes for the restaurant-quality Chicken Pho.
3. Spicy Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (Bun Bo Hue)
The origin of Spicy Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup is from Hue. Bun Bo Hue has come one of the most popular Vietnamese noodle soups following Pho. Many travelers and Vietnamese alike prefer Bun Bo Hue to Pho.
INGREDIENTS:
Beef bones
Beef Short ribs
Oxtail (optional)
Pork bones
Pork knuckle (optional)
1.0 kg beef fillet;
0.7 kg beef shank (optional);
0.5 kg beef meatball (optional)
1 packet of Bun Bo Hue noodles (round rice noodles);
White onion;
Shallots;
Lemongrass;
Ginger
Dried chili flakes
Spices for cooking the broth: special seasoning, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 2-3 rock sugar. 1 teaspoon shrimp paste, Annatto oil,
Vegetables to eat with: green onions, cilantro, lemon, chili, basil, thinly sliced onion, bean sprouts.
DIRECTION:
Blanching beef and pork bones to remove the odor: Put the bones into a pot of cold water and bring to a boil (about 15- 20 mins). Skimming off any scum that rises to the surface.
Remove the bones and wash them before making the beef broth
Stir fry Annatto oil with dried chili flakes and minced shallots. Saute until fragrant (about 5 – 8 mins).
Toss the bones back to a pot of fresh water (2 – 3 liter), season with rock sugar, fish sauce, special seasoning, shrimp paste, ginger, shallots, onion, lemongrass. Add the fragrant and spicy annatto oil into the pot. Bring to a simmer (about 4 – 6 hours).
While simmering the broth, put the beef shank into the pot until it’s cooked and remove from the pot. If you don’t have the beef shank, you can skip this step.
Boil the Bun Bo Hue dried noodles and remove from the pot to let it drain.
PRESENTATION AND ENJOYMENT OF THE FOOD:
First, place noodles in a bowl. Add the beef shank, beef meatball and pork knuckle, and top it with the chopped green onions, cilantro and thinly sliced onion. Pour the hot broth over the ingredients. You can enjoy Bun Bo Hue with basil, chilly, and bean sprouts.
Tips: To save 4 – 6 hours on simmering the bones, you can use the Bun Bo Broth Cubes or Bun Bo Broth Sauce.
4. Vietnamese Grill pork and meatball noodle (Bun Cha Ha Noi)
Being known as one of the must-try dishes of Hanoi, Vietnamese grilled pork and meatball noodles can be made at home with just some simple ingredients and directions.
INGREDIENTS:
500g Belly Pork
500g Minced Pork shoulder plate
Small round rice noodles
Spices for marinating the meat: Seasoning powder, oyster sauce, shallots, honey (can be omitted if not available), MSG (optional)
Ingredients to make the dipping sauce: Boiled water, fish sauce, sugar, lemon, garlic, rice vinegar, chili, kohlrabi or green papaya, carrots
Vegetables to eat with: basil, lettuce, thinly sliced morning glory, perilla, Vietnamese balm, mint.
DIRECTION:
Belly Pork: Marinate the meat for 2 – 3 hours with seasoning powder, oyster sauce, shallots, fish sauce, honey, MSG (optional).
Minced Pork Shoulder plate: Marinate with similar ingredients as above for 2 – 3 hours
While the meat marinates, you can start preparing the sauce and the pickles to serve with the dish.
For the Dipping Sauce: Combine fish sauce, rice sugar, vinegar, and boiled water in a 1:1:1:5 ratio.
Prepare the Pickles: Slice kohlrabi or green papaya, and carrots into small, thin pieces. Make the pickle with sugar and lemon or rice vinegar.
Grill the meat: Grill the meat with charcoal or oven until both sides are golden brown and remain juicy, not too dry or burnt.
PRESENTATION AND ENJOYMENT OF THE FOOD:
- Arrange: Put the rice noodles, meatballs and fresh basil, lettuce, thinly sliced morning glory, perilla, Vietnamese balm, mint on a plate.
- Prepare dipping sauce: Add minced garlic and the pickles into the dipping sauce bowl.
- Enjoy: Dip or add a small portion of the veggies and rice noodles into the bowl and savor the flavors.
5. Quang’s Noodle (Mi Quang)
Quang’s Noodle is the signature dish of Quang Nam Province (Hoi An City) and well-known in the whole country following Pho and Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup). Quang’s Noodle topping could be chicken, pork and shrimp, pork spare ribs, duck, or frog meat.
INGREDIENTS:
500g pork tail bones
500g shrimp
500g pork belly
20 quail eggs
White onion, shallots, radish, turmeric, peanuts.
Quang noodles
Grilled rice paper
Hoi An’s Chili sauce / Chili sauce
Spices for cooking the broth: fish sauce, salt, pepper, special seasoning, 2 tablespoons annatto oil, 2-3 rock sugar.
Vegetables to eat with: baby cabbage, white basil leaves, Vietnamese mint, thinly sliced banana flower, coriander, white cabbage.
DIRECTION:
Pork Belly: Marinate the meat for 30 minutes with ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon fish sauce, and minced shallots.
Shrimp: Marinate the meat for 30 minutes with ½ teaspoon of salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and minced shallots.
Pork Tail Bones: Blanching pork bones to remove the odor: Put the bones into a pot of cold water and bring to a boil (about 15- 20 mins). Skimming off any scum that rises to the surface.
Quail eggs: boil the quail eggs and remove the eggshell.
Remove the bones and wash them before making the broth. Toss the bones back to a pot of fresh water (1.5 – 2 liter), couple with radish, white onions and shallots. Cook for 1.5 hours.
After 30 minutes marinating the belly pork and shrimp, stir frying the shrimp with annatto oil. And stir frying the belly pork with annatto oil, turmeric, and pounded peanuts.
When the pork broth is cooked for 1.5 hours, add the shrimp, belly pork, and quail eggs to the broth and season with the spices.
Boil the Quang noodles and remove from the pot to let it drain.
PRESENTATION AND ENJOYMENT OF THE FOOD:
First, place the Quang noodles in a bowl. Add the pork, shrimp, quail eggs and top it with the chopped green onion, coriander and peanuts.
Pour the hot broth over the ingredients (only ⅓ or ½ of the bowl). You can enjoy the with and the grilled rice paper, Hoi An’s chili sauce, baby cabbage, white basil leaves, Vietnamese mint, thinly sliced banana flower, coriander, white cabbage.
6. Fish Noodle Soup (Bun Ca)
This is the signature soup in the middle of Vietnam including Nha Trang City and Phan Thiet. The most important thing to make a delicious Vietnamese fish noodle soup is the quality of the fish. It should be fresh, caught that day. In case you cannot buy the fresh fish from wet market, the frozen fish could be tuna and or mackerel.
INGREDIENTS:
Tuna
Mackerel
Steam Fish cake
Fried Fish Cake
JellyFish (optional)
Pineapple, 1 – 2 Onions;
Small round rice noodles;
Spices for cooking the broth: 1 teaspoon fish sauce, 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, 1 teaspoon special seasoning, 2-3 rock sugar.
Vegetables to eat with: green onions, shrimp paste, lemon, chili, basil, thinly sliced lettuce, bean sprouts, and (optional) thinly sliced banana flower.
DIRECTION:
Put the fish, Sliced pineapple, onions and all the spices into a pot of cold water and bring to a boil (for about 1 hour). Skimming off any scum that rises to the surface.
Add pineapple and spices including fish sauce, salt, pepper and rock sugar to the broth.
Remove the fish from the broth and bone the fish.
Steam and/or fry the fishcake
Boil the noodles and remove from the pot to let it drain
PRESENTATION AND ENJOYMENT OF THE FOOD:
First, place the noodles in a bowl. Add the fish, steam fishcake, fried fish cake, jellyfish, and top it with the chopped green onions, cilantro and thinly sliced onion.
Pour the hot broth over the ingredients. You can enjoy the Fish Noodle Soup with basil, chilly, bean sprouts, thinly sliced lettuce, and (optional) thinly sliced banana flower.
Tips: You can buy the ready-to-eat fishcake to save time on making them from scratch. If you prefer a homemade fishcake, learn the easy recipes here.
Vietnamese noodle soups offer a diverse and flavorful culinary experience. From the iconic Pho to the spicy beef noodle (Bun Bo Hue), each bowl tells a story of regional traditions and cultural influences. We hope this exploration has inspired you to delve deeper into the world of Vietnamese noodle soups. Whether you travel to Vietnam to savor these dishes firsthand or recreate them at home, we encourage you to embrace the richness and variety that Vietnamese cuisine has to offer.
Image Source: Canva.com