Hello! 👩🏻🍳 It’s my first time in the kitchen and as an amateur #shef, I’m attempting bún riêu.
This is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup, well known throughout the country and world for its clear broth and vermicelli noodles. I have been told by many Vietnamese households that it is the easiest broth to start with if anyone wanted to delve their hands into Vietnamese cooking.
I used a 4L pot but I recommend a bigger one for serving to friends/family.
This is a traditional Vietnamese noodle soup, well known throughout the country and world for its clear broth and vermicelli noodles. I have been told by many Vietnamese households that it is the easiest broth to start with if anyone wanted to delve their hands into Vietnamese cooking.
I used a 4L pot but I recommend a bigger one for serving to friends/family.
Shopping
From the butcher:
From your cupboard:
- 0.5 kg chicken bone
- 0.5 kg pork bone
- 0.75 kg minced pork (1 kg meat was a lot for a 4L pot)
- Blood jelly (optional)
From your cupboard:
- Salt
- Pepper
- Brown sugar
- Fish sauce
- Chicken powder
From the Asian grocery store:
- 2 bun rieu flavour cubes (I only used one though)
- 1 can of prawn paste (or crab paste, your choice!)
- 2 eggs
- 4-6 tomatoes
- 1 bunch of spring onions (scallions)
- 1 bunch of coriander
- 1 bunch of morning glory (or shredded version is better)
- 1 can of quail eggs
- 2 onions
- Fried tofu (optional)
Tip: I never realized how fucking hard it was to find the jars and pick out the right vegetables in an Asian grocery store. I speak basic Vietnamese and it took me a whole hour to get a few ingredients 😳 I had to video call my mum for help 😂
Prepping
I chose to do an overnight broth because the soup always tastes better and more concentrated when it has been soaking up the bones for a long time. This dish can be made within 3 hours. There are heaps of recipes online.
For my broth:
For my broth:
- Cleaned bones with salt and water
- Parboiled bones for 5 minutes on high heat
- Drained all the gunk and washed my pot
- Put bones and water back in and boil on high heat
- Once it boiled, I reduced to low heat for simmering
For my meatballs:
- Cracked 2 eggs into my minced pork
- Mixed in 1/4 of the crab/prawn paste (optional)
- Added 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp pepper
- With gloves on, mixed everything together
- Left in the fridge for 4+ hours to marinate (I left it overnight)
I washed and chopped up spring onions, coriander, lemon and tomatoes. The morning glory required mum’s old school device for efficient shredding.
Cooking
I made sure to skim the fat and gunk off the top as often as I could and topped up the pot with more boiling water. I simmered for 4 hours on day #1 and then I left it overnight.
The next day I removed the chicken bones and continued simmering for 3 more hours. My broth was so clear and flavourful, I couldn’t stop smelling it 🤤😂.
The next day I removed the chicken bones and continued simmering for 3 more hours. My broth was so clear and flavourful, I couldn’t stop smelling it 🤤😂.
For the sliced tomatoes, many people suggested putting it straight into the pot. Others recommended sauteing with garlic for about 2 minutes for a charred taste.
I fucked up. I cooked it on my frying pan for a bit too long and it became mushy 😅 I was willing to go out and buy more tomatoes but Mick said it was ok.
I fucked up. I cooked it on my frying pan for a bit too long and it became mushy 😅 I was willing to go out and buy more tomatoes but Mick said it was ok.
So I put my tomatoes, onions, 1 packet of the bun rieu flavour cubes and the remainder of the crab/prawn paste in.
I seasoned with about 2 tbsp fish sauce, salt, sugar and chicken powder to taste. I had to get Mick to double-check the flavours so if you’re not sure, aim for a sweet and savoury broth.
I seasoned with about 2 tbsp fish sauce, salt, sugar and chicken powder to taste. I had to get Mick to double-check the flavours so if you’re not sure, aim for a sweet and savoury broth.
Next, I rolled my minced pork and plopped them into the broth. After a few minutes, the meatballs started floating to the surface 🤤
Toppings
The broth was almost ready! With the meatballs in, I seasoned one more time with a bit of salt and fish sauce and then I worked on the other toppings.
For my quail eggs:
For my quail eggs:
- Drained quail eggs from can
- Rinsed with water
- Cooked quail eggs in the broth
For my blood jelly:
- Cut up blood jelly in the packet
- Gently removed and placed them in a pot of water
- Once boiled, turned off the heat and let it sit for an hour with the lid on
- Drained and soaked the jelly in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes
- Sliced up into bite-sized pieces
Serving
In a separate pot, I boiled water and cooked vermicelli noodles for 3-4 minutes. Placed in my bowl, poured the broth and added toppings.
We added a spoon of fermented shrimp paste to taste and voilà! Ready to eat!
We added a spoon of fermented shrimp paste to taste and voilà! Ready to eat!
Feedback
My parents said the flavours were on point but the colour was not. They said to use 2 packets of the condensed flavouring to achieve a more orange look in the broth.
Mick said everything was good for my first time but that I “cheated” because I asked him to taste test 😅 He gave me a 7.5/10.
It felt like a lot of work and I was really hard on myself (especially about the tomatoes) but I’m glad it tasted delicious in the end. Woo!
Thanks for reading! I hope this guide helps you in some way because it will certainly help me the next time I try this again LOL (my memory is soooo bad).
Until the next cooking attempt, byee 🤗.
Mick said everything was good for my first time but that I “cheated” because I asked him to taste test 😅 He gave me a 7.5/10.
It felt like a lot of work and I was really hard on myself (especially about the tomatoes) but I’m glad it tasted delicious in the end. Woo!
Thanks for reading! I hope this guide helps you in some way because it will certainly help me the next time I try this again LOL (my memory is soooo bad).
Until the next cooking attempt, byee 🤗.
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