Hue Beef Noodle Soup — Spicy Lemongrass Beef Noodle Soup
This bun bo hue recipe builds Hue's fiery noodle soup: a lemongrass and chilli beef broth, poured over round rice noodles with sliced beef shank, pork hock and pork sausage, then finished with herbs, bean sprouts and lime. One serving is about 872 g.
Bun bo Hue comes from Hue, the former imperial capital of Vietnam on the central coast, and it is the city's answer to pho — bolder in every way. Where Hanoi's pho is mild and star-anise scented with flat noodles, Hue's soup is built on lemongrass, chilli and shrimp paste, poured over thick round noodles with beef and pork. The red-orange broth, coloured with annatto oil, is its calling card. It is a morning and lunchtime staple in Hue, sold from street stalls with herbs and bean sprouts piled on the side.
Pairs well with: Fresh herbs, bean sprouts and iced green tea
Provenance
Vietnam
Hue Imperial Soup
East & South Asia
Time Dedication
3h
30m prep • 150m cook
Batch Yield
4 Servings
789 kcal per serving
1 serving ≈ 872 g
Technical Skill
Advanced
Hard (Long Simmer & Assembly)
Meal Timing & Digestive Fit
Breakfast
Not Advised
Lunch
Prime Metabolic Fit
Dinner
Ideal Hearty Main
Snack & Tea
Inappropriate
Hue Imperial Soup
Photo: Baoothersks, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Heritage Formulary
Estimated cost: Medium — about $4–5 per serving at home (USD)
A true bun bo hue has round noodles and a red-orange, lemongrass-chilli broth — flat noodles and a pale, mild broth mean it is pho, not bun bo hue.
Execution Methodology & Culinary Technique
Prep Stage: Blanch the Meats and Soak the Noodles
30 Mins • Blanching & Knife Work
Blanching comes first: cover the beef shank and pork hock with cold water, bring to the boil and simmer 5 minutes, then rinse the meats and wash the pot. While they blanch, bruise and chop the lemongrass, halve the onion, slice the ginger, soak the dried chillies, and slice the cha lua and spring onions. Soak the noodles for 30 minutes.
Maestro Tip: Blanching the meats is what keeps a Hue broth clear — skip it and the soup turns cloudy and greasy no matter how long you simmer.
10 Mins Boiling water, 100°C (212°F)
Cover the beef shank and pork hock with cold water in a large pot, bring to the boil and simmer 5 minutes, skimming off the grey foam. Drain, rinse the meats under cold water, and wash the pot clean.
Starting the meats in cold water draws out the most impurities — dropping them into boiling water seals the scum in.
Done when: The water is murky with foam and the meats look clean; the pot is washed and ready for the real broth.
120 Mins Gentle simmer, about 95°C (203°F)
Return the meats to the clean pot with the beef stock, lemongrass, onion halves and ginger. Bring to a gentle simmer — never a hard boil — and cook 2 hours, skimming occasionally, until the beef shank is tender. Lift the meats out, rest 10 minutes, then slice the beef and cut the hock into chunks. Strain the broth and discard the aromatics.
A bare simmer with small bubbles is the whole secret — a rolling boil clouds the broth and toughens the meat.
Done when: The beef shank slices cleanly and is tender all the way through, reaching well past 74°C (165°F) inside; the broth is clear and smells of lemongrass.
10 Mins Medium heat, about 160°C (320°F) for the oil
Fry the garlic and chopped chillies gently in the annatto oil for 2 minutes until fragrant, then stir the oil into the broth with the shrimp paste, fish sauce and sugar. Taste and adjust the salt — the broth should be salty, spicy and faintly sweet, with lemongrass in front.
Season at the end, not the start — two hours of simmering concentrates the salt, and seasoning early leaves the broth over-salted.
Done when: The broth is red-orange, spicy and balanced; the shrimp paste has dissolved completely.
5 Mins Boiling water, 100°C (212°F)
Cook the soaked noodles in a separate large pot of boiling water for 3–4 minutes until tender. Drain well and divide between four warmed bowls.
Cooking noodles in the broth would thicken it with starch and dull the chilli colour — always cook them separately.
Done when: The noodles are tender and springy, not soft or sticky.
5 Mins Broth served steaming hot, about 85°C (185°F)
Ladle the hot broth over the noodles. Top each bowl with sliced beef shank, pork hock and cha lua rounds, then scatter the spring onions and herbs. Serve with bean sprouts, lime wedges and extra chilli oil on the side.
Warm the bowls first with hot water so the broth stays hot while you eat — cold bowls steal the heat in minutes.
Done when: The bowl is steaming hot, the broth red-orange, and every topping is in place.
Finishing Touches & Plating
Eat the noodles first while they are still firm, squeezing the lime over the bowl as you go — the sour lime against the spicy, lemongrass broth is the whole point of this soup. Add chilli oil a spoonful at a time until the heat suits you.
Nutritional Physiology & Benefits
Energy
789
kcal / serving
Protein
60g
Complete AA
Carbs
82g
Complex
Fats
26g
Healthy
| Energy | 789 kcal |
| Protein | 60 g |
| Carbohydrates | 82 g |
| Fat | 26 g |
| Fibre | 5.6 g |
| Sugar | 6.0 g |
| Sodium | 2265 mg |
| Energy | 90 kcal |
| Protein | 6.9 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9.4 g |
| Fat | 3 g |
| Fibre | 0.6 g |
| Sugar | 0.7 g |
| Sodium | 260 mg |
Nutrition values are estimated — calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.
Vitamins & minerals: Vitamin B12 and iron (beef, pork), vitamin B6 (beef, pork), vitamin C (lime, herbs, bean sprouts), vitamin A (chillies, herbs).
High-Protein Lunch
Beef shank, pork hock and sausage give about 60 g of protein per serving, so one bowl genuinely carries you through the afternoon.
Lemongrass Brightness
Lemongrass, ginger and chilli give the broth its bright, warming character, and the fresh herbs and bean sprouts add crunch and freshness.
Warming Comfort
A steaming, spicy-sour bowl with lime and herbs is the definition of comfort food on a cold or rainy day.
Food Pairings
To optimize nutrient absorption and elevate the sensory depth, pair with these authentic accompaniments:
Sides
Herbs & Bean Sprouts
A small plate of fresh herbs and bean sprouts on the side lets each person finish their own bowl — the crunch and cool herbs balance the hot broth.
Vegetables
Pickled Carrot & Cucumber
Sliced cucumber and pickled carrot cut through the richness of the pork hock and refresh the palate between spoonfuls.
Drinks
Iced Green Tea
Cold, unsweetened iced green tea washes down the salty, spicy broth without adding sugar or competing flavours.
Full Menus
Hue Dinner Menu
Serve bun bo hue as the main event with fresh herbs and bean sprouts on the side and iced green tea; a light fruit plate makes a good finish.
Complete menu
Serve bun bo hue as the main event with fresh herbs and bean sprouts on the side and iced green tea or sugarcane juice; a light fruit plate makes a good finish.
Digestive Guardrails
To prevent digestive distress, sluggishness, or palate clash, avoid pairing the dish with these elements:
Drinking All the Broth Every Day
The broth is very salty — fish sauce, shrimp paste and stock together give over 2,200 mg of sodium per bowl. Enjoy it, but not as a daily habit. This is general information, not medical advice.
Skipping the Blanching Step
Skipping the blanching step leaves the broth cloudy and greasy — five minutes of blanching is what keeps a Hue broth clear and clean-tasting.
General information only, not medical advice — consult a doctor for personal dietary decisions.
Who Should Eat It
Health Conditions — Adjust or Avoid
If you have a medical condition, consult your doctor before changing your diet.
Storage & Use
Vietnam
3h 30m
Slow-simmered star anise and cinnamon bone broth with hand-cut rice noodles, supplying clean restorative warmth and collagen. One serving is about 775 g.
Immunity & Warming
Slow-simmered bone broth with rice noodles, rare beef and fresh herbs.
Vietnam
1h 5m
Fresh rice paper rolls filled with poached prawns, tender pork, rice vermicelli, lettuce, herbs and carrot, served with a peanut dipping sauce.
Light Digestion
Nothing is fried, so the rolls stay light and fresh — a cool, herb-filled snack for hot days.
Vietnam
1h 45m
Pork belly slowly braised in coconut water and caramel until meltingly tender, with golden eggs that soak up the sweet-savoury sauce — the Vietnamese family dish that tastes better the next day.
Comfort & Sustained Energy
Slow-braised pork belly and eggs in coconut water and caramel.
Vietnam
1h 10m
WARNING: This dish is made from raw duck blood and eating it is NOT recommended. Raw blood can carry Streptococcus suis (which causes meningitis and sepsis — people in Vietnam have died after eating pig-blood tiet canh), avian influenza from duck blood, salmonella and other dangerous germs. Vietnam's Ministry of Health advises against eating tiet canh, and no preparation method — not even blood from a fresh or trusted source — makes raw blood fully safe. This page describes the traditional Hanoi preparation, tiết canh vịt, for cultural knowledge only. One serving is about 241 g: a small bowl of fresh duck blood mixed with fish sauce, poured over finely chopped cooked duck meat and left to set into a soft, trembling jelly, then finished with crushed roasted peanuts, fresh herbs, lime and chili, and served cold.
Cultural Discovery
A traditional northern Vietnamese snack of raw duck blood set into a soft jelly with cooked duck meat, herbs and peanuts — described here for cultural knowledge, with a serious safety warning.
