Spicy Hue Beef Noodle Soup - Bún bò Huế

It is Father’s Day so my wife asked what special dish I would like to eat. Normally I like Pho, the go-to Vietnamese beef noodle soup. Not today. I just ate pho yesterday in Philadelphia when we visited the city so I decided to switch up my routine and went for something more spicy. Bún bò Huế is the ultimate spicy noodle soup. It was even mentioned in an episode of Parts Unknown by the late Anthony Bourdain who said that if “a date doesn’t like bún bò Huế, there’s no hope of a relationship.”

Of course, my wife loves Bún bò Huế as much as anyone else. She sent me to get the ingredients from the grocery store in Philly. What I could get there, I did. However, I want my meat from the Amish Market. They have the freshest and best tasting meat. And they’re very customer-friendly. Amish people have been trying to live and preserve their culture in Pennsylvania since colonial time. They’ve made some changes to their way of life but clothing and personal hairstyle seem to remain the same.

The Amish market that I go to only open on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. In general what they can’t sell those three days, they have to throw away or take them home to eat. Therefore the meat and veggies are so fresh. Maybe I will do another post just about this market.

Another picture of the Amish

There are several major differences between bún bò Huế and the other noodle soup. For one, the noodles are typically rounder and much thicker than the other noodles. Pho tends to flat and another noodle dish, bún riêu is much thinner vermicelli.

Look at how thick and rich the broth is. You can see how red it is (hint hint HOT HOT). Bún bò Huế’s spicy, sour and salty and sweet flavor is based on the broth combination of beef and pork mixed with lemongrass along with the many spices.

I like the brisket and thinly sliced meat in my bún bò Huế. Some people also like beef blood and Chả lụa. We didn’t have those two ingredients.

The garnishes are fresh like what you expect from Vietnamese noodle soup dishes. I like lots of lots fresh garnishes, bean sprouts and occasionally banana flower. Yes, you can definitely eat banana flower. The blossom has a rich, starchy, and bitter palate that works your taste buds to bring everything with the rest of the dish.

Like I said I like lots of garnishes, especially Thai basil.

It has been a good day. They said that the best way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I truly appreciate my wife’s cooking today. It’s always better to eat at home when your loved one can cook a dish the way you like it.

One downside of making bun bo hue for the whole family is that the dish is naturally spicy and there may be members of the family, like the little ones who haven't learn to appreciate the heat. For my kids, my wife just make a standard separate broth for them. It much more work involved than when you're making pho because the broth is not spicy and anyone who likes spiciness can add the heat afterward. With bun bo hue, the hot peppers are added in advanced.

Photos were taken using an IPhone X, unedited.