Bun Bo Hue

Bun Bo Hue

“My family has eaten Bun Bo Hue for three generations, so…”

When I was studying for the university entrance exam in the 80s, in the evening when I took more Chemistry classes, my mother left me a portion of half a bowl of beef noodle soup to eat with cold rice. My mother cycled from Phuong Sai market to Tan Quang theater to buy a bowl of Hue beef noodle soup. At that time, Hue beef noodle soup at Tan Quang Cinema was delicious. When I went home, I split the bowl of vermicelli in half, my father and I were half tired because he was tired of teaching, so I needed to foster 😉 . And I went to study for the exam, so I got the part. I still remember that image to this day. When I sat down to eat, my mother sat at the table talking and watching me eat. Maybe because of these things, I always feel good when enjoying Bun Bo Hue.

Champa Kingdom was established in 192 from Hoanh Son cape, Dinh river (Quang Tri) to Ba Ria - Vung Tau. Cham people living along the coast should be familiar with catching seafood and storing and processing seafood dishes. Mam is one of the dishes of the Cham people. Ruoc is a fish sauce dish that is loved by Phu Xuan people. Ruoc is also a mandatory ingredient that creates the unique taste of Bun Bo Hue.

In the past, in villages, there were village sacrifices, and in families, there was a festival. Usually they sacrifice with animals (Tam Sanh): Pig, Goat, Cow with sticky rice. The meat of these animals is iron "milled" to eat with sticky rice. There are areas where the meat cannot be "milled", then they cook "Xao" and eat it with sticky rice.

There are areas due to religious influences where they do not eat pork, so they use beef. The dish of sticky rice eaten with beef stir-fry changed when it came to the 15th century, when vermicelli appeared in Van Cu village, Phu Xuan (there is a temple to Ba Bun in Van Cu village). Vermicelli is easier to swallow and cheaper than sticky rice, so it is preferred. The noodle dish with beef stir-fry and the way it is processed according to the taste of the people of Phu Xuan has gradually turned into a unique and famous Hue Bun Bo dish today.

Hue beef noodle soup in Hue style is only beef (corn), beef tendon, beef bone, lemongrass, shrimp paste, chili, fish sauce, pineapple and big vermicelli. Before 1975, in Hue, there were loads of crab vermicelli (Bun with crab cake, bacon and blood) in Tam Tay and An Cuu areas. After 1975 the buncua burdens disappeared. Hue people crave crab noodle soup, so they have added to Bun Bo two of their favorite things: Crab cakes and Blood. Then life pushed, Bun Bo had more pork rolls, rare beef, Ba sister's pork rolls, rolls, beef rolls ....

The art of cooking Bun Bo Hue

Cooking beef vermicelli is quite elaborate, in addition to the time to prepare the ingredients, it takes more than 4 hours to cook the pot of water. Good beef noodle soup must use beef under 3 years old. The calf must choose the cow's hind calves. Meat, tendons and bones must be washed with hot water so that the blood and sweet substances in the bones and meat are not lost, and at the same time clean and remove the smell of beef. The water is mixed with cold water and the water is sure to enter the pot when the water is not boiling. As for the discharge, it must be put in when the water is boiling to control the bitter taste (not to secrete), the aroma of the lemongrass. The pot of broth must always be skimmed and simmered without a lid so that the fat does not break out and make the water cloudy. Hue beef noodle soup must be spicy. If the Hue people use fresh chili, the chili will boil and then remove the seeds to create a spicy taste and then put it in the broth. If you don't have lime chili, then stir-fry chili powder with lemongrass, minced sour fish that is both red and fragrant.

A bowl of Hue beef noodle soup according to Hue people's standards, the broth must be clear, the chili color is moderate, the beef aroma is light, the flavor is mild, and the noodles must be large (so that the noodles won't break and sour the bowl). rice noodle). When eating bun bo, Hue people often add a few slices of chili and a few drops of lemon. Vegetables used with beef vermicelli: grated morning glory, cinnamon, marjoram and laksa leaves. Beef vermicelli without laksa leaves sprinkled on a bowl of vermicelli and green onions is just a bowl of beef noodle soup…no laksa leaves. My family has eaten vermicelli noodles for three generations, so the bowl of vermicelli with laksa leaves is Hue's bowl of beef noodle soup.

Almost all kinds of noodle soup, bowl of vermicelli is only delicious when it is really hot. After finishing the bowl of vermicelli, it is still hot, the new bowl of vermicelli will not be sour. The vermicelli pot of Me Keo - 20 Bach Dang, Hue is very famous, but because the pot of stewed broth is too much with crab cakes, the broth is no longer hot when mixed with vermicelli and vegetables. So less delicious.

The bowl of beef noodle soup at Ngu Binh restaurant (Saigon) still retains the old flavor. The bowl of vermicelli has only corned beef. For young people, it is not delicious because of the lack of spring rolls, crab cakes, blood ... but for the elderly Hue people living abroad, it is a wonderful dish of memories.