Bun Bo (Hue)

Bun Bo (Hue)

This dish is eaten at any time of the day. I like to have this for breakfast particularly if I am feeling a little delicate. For dinner I like Bun Bo Heo, which has the same broth but with the added bonus of a hunk of pork.

Bun means thick noodles and Bo means beef — Bun Bo Hue is most often based on a pork-intensive stock, with small amounts of braised or raw beef added as a garnish. The noodle in Nha Trang is thicker than that added in the northern parts of Vietnam.

Bun Bo originated in Hue, a former capital of Vietnam. Outside the city of Hue and some parts of Central Vietnam, it is called bún bò Huế to denote its origin. Within Huế and surrounding cities, it is known simply as bún bò. The broth is prepared by simmering beef bones and beef shank with lemongrass and then seasoned with fermented shrimp sauce and sugar for taste. Very spicy chili oil is added later during the cooking process. Bun Bo is spicy, sour, salty, and sweet all at once. The beef and pork based broth's main flavor is the delicate infusion of lemongrass. The rice noodles are cylindrical and round, slippery and firm.

Bun Bo normally consists of the thick noodles with slices of beef and it routinely has cubes of congealed pig blood, which is dark brown in color. The texture resembles tofu and the taste is fairly mild. It is easily avoided if you don't want to eat it.

A stock is kept simmering then room temperature noodles are placed in a strainer normally dipped in hot water and then placed in a bowl. Raw beef or pre cooked beef is added along with the blood and then the stock is placed over to heat everything up.

It is commonly served with lime wedges, sometimes a mix of lettuce, shaved banana flower, mint leaves and bean sprouts, there is always the various mixes of chili ranging from hot to blow your head off hot, soy sauce and sometimes fish sauce.

We like to have this for breakfast in Dang Tat street – 20 000 VND or if we are closer to the city at breakfast time, on the corner of Phan Chu Trinh and Le Loi Street – 40 000VND. Dinnertime it has to be on the sidewalk near ABC bakery on Phan Chu Trinh Street between the two round abouts – 30 000 VND.