Hue Beef Noodle Soup-Bun Bo Hue Vietnam

1. Introduction To Hue Beef Noodle Soup

Hue is not only a destination with poetic landscapes, and ancient historical relics but also a “cuisine paradise.” Referring to Hue, people will immediately think of Hue noodle soup with beef, a famous dish that is known everywhere. Besides, it is voted as one of the best dishes in Asia in foreign articles and magazines. Maybe you care about Hue street food tour or Hue Countryside Tour 3 Days.

Hence, Bun bo Hue is no longer a strange dish for people all over the country. Going around Hanoi or Da Nang, or even in Ho Chi Minh City, we can easily see restaurants named “Hue beef noodle soup.” But perhaps, to find the flavor and richness of the original Hue beef mud dish, few places can meet it except the land with the Perfume River and Truong Tien Bridge.

2. Highlights Of Hue Beef Noodle Soup

During the Hue Food Tour- The Real Taste Of Hue, visitors will certainly not be able to resist the attraction of a hot, fragrant bowl of Hue beef noodle soup. Bun bo Hue is so delicious that Anthony Bourdain – a famous American chef, also has to say: “Hue beef noodle soup is the best soup that I have ever enjoyed.”

2.1. Hue Beef Noodle Soup Origin

Bun bo Hue was born in the reign of Nguyen Hoang Lord (about the 16th century). Legend has it that in the past, there was a beautiful, talented girl who was good at making rice noodles.

In Van Cu village (now in Huong Tra town, Thua Thien Hue province), Ms. Bun invented a new way to prepare a dish: She stewed beef and cow bones to make the broth for the rice noodles. Since then, Hue beef noodle soup has been born, preserved, and developed for generations.

2.2. Bun Bo Hue Ingredients

Bun bo Hue has many differences compared to the beef noodle soup of other localities. The point that makes the difference in Hue beef noodle soup is the large noodles, the thin but big slices of beef, and the red-orange broth with an attractive spicy taste. 

Additionally, to cook this Hue specialty, the chef needs to be really meticulous from the selection of ingredients to the processing steps. Up to now, bun bo Hue has been modified with the presence of many other ingredients such as annatto oil, lean pork paste, pig’s blood, crab cakes, etc.

Hue beef noodle soup has what? A bowl of Hue beef noodle soup will include noodles, beef, pork blood, crab cakes, and broth. The raw material for making noodles is rice flour mixed with filtered flour in a standard ratio so that the noodles have a moderate toughness.

Furthermore, the selected beef is the front calf, beef plate or fillet, and light yellow beef fat. Eye-catching yellow-orange crab cakes are made from bricks and pureed crab meat with a natural fatty and fleshy taste.

Plus, the “soul” of Hue beef noodle soup is the broth, stewed from beef bones, so it has a rich sweet taste. Bun bo Hue has its own unique flavor that cannot be found anywhere else, which is the sweet taste of spices (chili powder, garlic, onion, Hue fermented shrimp paste, etc ), along with the aroma of lemongrass, broth, and beef slices.

In addition, we will eat with herbs, raw vegetables, sliced banana flowers, lemon, pepper, fish sauce, etc., which creates a unique and attractive aroma. Bun bo Hue with spicy, sweet, and aromatic flavors really captivated plenty of the diners.

3. Five Famous Hue Beef Noodle Soup Restaurants 

3.1. Hue Beef Noodle Soup Restaurant Of Mệ Kéo

Mệ Kéo beef noodle soup is one of the oldest beef noodle soups in Hue. The bowl of noodles here has a characteristic spicy taste, the broth has a slightly salty taste and smells of lemongrass. This is probably the only bowl of beef noodle soup in Hue that doesn’t have beef but has pork belly, pork blood, crab cakes, and so on.

Address: 20 Bach Dang, Phu Cat, Hue city.

Opening hours: 6:00 – 10:00;

Reference price: 25,000 – 35,000 VND/bowl

3.2. Bun Hem Restaurant

Also, another “unbelievably delicious” bun bo Hue is Bun Alley. The bowl of beef noodles soup here is extremely tasty and attractive with full ingredients. Including boiled blood, sprouts, corned beef, pork leg, and broth with a rich and delicious flavor.

Address: Kiet 29/1 Hung Vuong Street, Hue city.

Opening hours: 7:00 – 9:00;

Reference price: 30,000 – 35,000 VND/bowl.

3.3. Hue Beef Noodle Soup Restaurant Of Mrs.Tuyet

The owner of the restaurant, Mrs. Tuyet, has been selling Bun Bo Hue for more than 20 years. Bun bo Hue at Mrs. Tuyet’s restaurant not only has rice noodles and beef, but diners can eat a combination of many ingredients. For example, beef noodle soup with lean pork paste, beef noodle soup with crab cakes, etc.

Address: No. 47 Nguyen Cong Tru street, Phu Hoi ward, Hue City.

Opening hours: 6:00 – 11:00.

Reference price: 25,000 – 35,000 VND/bowl.

3.4. Hue Beef Noodle Soup Restaurant Of Mr. Vọng – Mrs. Phụng

The broth of the shop is rich in taste, and the bowl of vermicelli is large and plump. Also, the stewed pork rolls are suitable for taste, and the lean pork paste is big. It is sweet but not boring, and the raw vegetables are very fresh.

Address: No. 5 Nguyen Du, Phu Cat, Hue city. 

Opening hours: 15:00 – 18:00.

Reference price: 25,000 – 35,000 VND/bowl.

3.5. Hue Beef Noodle Soup Restaurant Of Mụ Rơi (Mrs.Rơi)

The beef noodle soup here is delicious with rich broth, yummy beef, and pork. The restaurant’s crab cakes and raw vegetables are also taken care of, ensuring freshness and cleanliness. Therefore, this is one of the delicious restaurants in Hue that you should not miss when coming to the ancient capital.

Address: No.40 Nguyen Chi Dieu street, Thuan Thanh ward, Hue city.

Opening hours: 6:30 – 9:30.

Reference price: 25,000 – 35,000 VND/bowl.

Moreover, by eating a bowl of bun bo Hue in the land of the capital, visitors will feel all the of Hue cuisine. It is no exaggeration to say that Hue beef noodle soup is the “national soul, national quintessence” dish of the Vietnamese people.

In addition to Hue beef noodles soup, are there any other delicious dishes in Hue Ancient Capital? Of course, the answer is yes. There are many delicious dishes in Hue that are very attractive to tourists. You can view more about other specialties of Hue in the article What To Eat In Hue – Hue Cuisine.

Last but not least, recently, 500 students of a primary school in Japan enjoyed Bun Bo Hue – a specialty of the ancient capital of Hue, Vietnam when Bun Bo Hue was officially added to this school’s lunch menu.

Further, after enjoying, the children were all delighted with the irresistible deliciousness of this Vietnamese specialty. This dish has “soft noodles and vegetables are fully added, very easy to eat.” It is known that Bun Bo Hue is expected to be on the menu at 35 elementary and middle schools in Saijo city by the end of April.

4. Bun Bo Hue Recipe

For Hue beef noodle soup, tourists who want to enjoy the true taste of Hue have only to “go there by themselves.” This dish cannot be purchased as a gift. Therefore, many tourists come to Hue to enjoy it on the spot.

Nevertheless, even though they can’t buy “bun bo Hue” as a gift, you can also learn how to cook Hue beef noodle soup from Hue’s locals to cook this dish by yourself. Hoi An Private Taxi will show you the Hue beef noodle soup recipe with the real taste.

4.1. Preparing Ingredients To Cook Bun Bo Hue

Here are the ingredients to cook Hue beef noodle soup for 4 people that you can refer to: 

4.2. Steps To Process Hue Beef Noodle Soup

♦ Preliminary Processing Of Beef Plate And Raw Pork Hock

• If you like a lot of meat, choose the hind leg. Conversely, if you like the skin and tendons rough, choose the front leg. Then, cut it into circle pieces and wash it clearly.
• After that, boil the pork leg in boiling water to remove dirt, then rinse with clean water.

• Next, wash the beef plate and boil separately with 1/2 sliced ginger for fragrance. Simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes, and use chopsticks to test the beef plate pieces. If the skewers pass, the meat is soft and ripe, take it out into a bowl of cold water to make the meat hunt again more delicious. Then, you chop it into thin slices.

♦ Preliminary Processing Of Other Ingredients

• First, beef blood or pig’s blood can be bought ready-made or bought boiled, cut into bite-sized pieces. (Note: buying blood at reputable addresses to ensure food safety). If you don’t eat blood, you can skip it.
• Second, the crab cakes are molded into small round balls and dropped into the pot of beef plate with boiling water. It emerges that means ripe, you take them out and keep them separate. Crab cakes can be replaced with lean beef paste, lean pork paste, or not.

• Third, you chop 4 lemongrass sticks, the other ones you will cut into pieces and smashed. Then, divide the onion into 2 parts, one part cut in half, the other thinly sliced.
• After all, you wash the scallions, the saw leaf, and the basil, and chop finely. The accompanying vegetables that you wash and let drain.

4.3. Cooking The Hue Beef Noodle Soup

• Firstly, mix 2 tablespoons of fish sauce with 100 ml of cold water.
• Secondly, fry 4 minced lemongrass sticks with 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, take out a little lemongrass and add 3 tablespoons of annatto oil. Finely chop 1 onion, 1 bulb of garlic, and 2 chilies. Then put them in a pan and fry until the mixture has yellow, then turn off the heat.
• Thirdly, with preliminarily processed raw pork hock, you put it into the pot on the stove to simmer on low heat, with 1 onion cut in half and 4 lemongrass sticks smashed for a sweet and fragrant broth. (Note that occasionally skim of broth so that the water is clear).

• Next, take the top part of the fish sauce into the pot, and remove the residue. Add 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of seasoning powder, 1 tablespoon of salt, and season to taste just right.
• Afterward, add the cup of chili satay made above. That’s all, you have finished cooking the Hue beef noodle soup. Lastly, pour rice noodles through boiling water, drain and put them into a bowl.

After that, add some slices of beef, lean pork paste, crab cakes, pig blood, finely chopped scallions, a little thinly sliced onion, and then pour the broth. Hue beef noodles soup served with bean sprouts, banana flowers, basil, and chili that are luscious. 

♦ Tutorial Video To Cook Hue Beef Noodle Soup

On a cool or chilly morning, there’s nothing better than a delicious bowl of bun bo Hue with the whole family.

Furthermore, with the sweetness of the water, the greasy taste of the spring rolls, the soft taste of the meat, the fragrant crab cakes with a little spicy of chili, and the sourness of lemon. Just thinking about it makes you feel fascinated and crave a bowl of Hue beef noodle soup.

In addition to enjoying Hue noodle soup with beef and other specialties in Hue imperial city. You should join some other activities to have the most complete trip when coming to Hue – the ancient capital with historical and cultural sides along with rich and diverse cuisine. Visitors can join in Hue Sup Tour, or Hue Dragon Boat Trip on the Perfume River to admire the beauty of nature and relics here.

On the whole, Hoi An Private Taxi hopes that our share in this article will help you in cooking the real taste and delicious of bun bo Hue.