I love Vietnamese noodle soups. I’m actually crazy for them. Seriously. I have a problem. If you are like me, I’m guessing this is one you’ll like. A lot. It’s not a famous dish. Not even a dish really. Just something I came up with to get my fix of noodle soup. I wasn’t planning to write it down. But once I tasted it, I had to do it. So I would remember to make it again. And again. And again.
Beef noodle soup all about the broth
It starts with the broth. It always starts with the broth. It’s a riff on pho. But faster. Easier. Beef ribs. That’s the secret to this broth. Meaty beef ribs. The ones that come with a prime rib roast. You can get them at your butcher. Anywhere that sells rib eye steaks really. A rib eye is just prime rib without the ribs. Sliced into steaks. Talk to your butcher. Beef ribs are usually pretty cheap. Offer to pay a little extra for meaty ones though. Some places trim close to the bone. That won’t work as well. Or use the ribs leftover from a prime rib roast. That’s what I did the first time I made this. A little leftover beef. The ribs. Beef noodle soup magic from leftovers. If you buy beef ribs the key is to roast them off. Not for long. Maybe 30-40 minutes. You want good browning. It’s amazing how big a difference roasting the ribs makes. Brown is better. You don’t want to render all the fat though. Some of that luscious beef fat needs to go into the soup. Don’t worry though. You’ll tweak the fat content along the way…
This is really simplified bun bo Hue
Never heard of bun bo Hue? Too bad. It’s the other Vietnamese noodle soup. Pho’s spicy cousin. Not as famous. Not yet. It will come. It’s crazy delicious stuff. Next time you’re out for Vietnamese, try it. If you like a little bit spicy it’s a great way to mix things up. Could become your new go to beef noodle soup. It’s hard to beat a good bowl of pho. But bun bo Hue gives it a run for its money. The spicing in this soup is not far off bun bo Hue. I found this stuff called gia vi bun bo Hue spice mix while poking around my local Vietnamese grocer. Cost a dollar. Not worth trying to make it for that price. If you do want to make it, the ingredients are paprika, chili, onion, ginger and garlic. The order of ingredients is most to least if you want to try. I haven’t tried replicating it yet myself. Did I mention it costs a dollar? Before you beat me up for this remember I said it was an easier version. Simplified. No shrimp paste. No pork broth. Or cha hue. But no prefab soup base either.
Perfect noodles makes perfect beef noodle soup
You need to be careful with rice noodles. It’s easy to overcook them. Overcooked noodles are mushy noodles. Mushy noodles make bad beef noodle soup. No matter how good everything else is, everyone will remember the noodles. Sad. But true. There’s an easy way to get them right every time. Soak your rice noodles in cold water for about 30 minutes. That softens them up. Then drop them in boiling water for somewhere between 30 seconds and a minute. Test them along the way. As soon as they are soft but still toothy pull them. Run them under cold water. They will cook a little more in the broth. That’s why you want them still a bit toothy when you serve the soup. Cook them completely they and they will turn to mush once the broth hits them. It’s an easy trick but an important one.
Put it all together
Once you have the broth done it’s a snap to serve this beef noodle soup. Put a good handful of noodles in each bowl. Add in meat from the braised bones. Top with some sliced beef. A few thin slices of shallot. Some green onion. Pour the broth overtop and garnish with culantro (not a typo), cilantro and Thai basil. A bit of hoisin and sriracha on the side makes a great dip for the beef. Then sit down and dig into a big, steaming bowl of delicious.
