Hu Tieu Nam Vang — Phnom Penh Noodle Soup
Hu Tieu Nam Vang is southern Vietnam's great noodle soup: a crystal-clear pork-bone broth with silky rice noodles, sliced pork, shrimp, minced pork and quail eggs, finished with fried garlic, bean sprouts and chives. Lighter than phở, richer in toppings, and a Saigon street classic. One serving is about 830 g.
Hu Tieu Nam Vang takes its name from Nam Vang, the Vietnamese name for Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The dish travelled from Cambodia to southern Vietnam with Chinese traders and settlers, and became a Saigon street classic over a century ago. Its clear pork-bone broth and mix of pork, shrimp and quail eggs set it apart from phở, whose broth is beef-based and spiced with star anise.
Pairs well with: Lettuce, bean sprouts, lime & chilli fish sauce
Provenance
Vietnam
Saigon Street Classic
East & South Asia
Time Dedication
3h
30m prep • 150m cook
Batch Yield
4 Servings
716 kcal per serving
1 serving ≈ 830 g
Technical Skill
Advanced
Advanced (Slow Broth)
Meal Timing & Digestive Fit
Breakfast
Not Advised
Lunch
Prime Metabolic Fit
Dinner
Ideal Hearty Main
Snack & Tea
Inappropriate
Saigon Street Classic
Photo: SauceSupreme, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The Heritage Formulary
Estimated cost: Moderate — about $4–5 per serving at home (USD)
A good hu tieu is judged by its broth: crystal clear, delicately sweet, and fragrant — never cloudy or salty.
Execution Methodology & Culinary Technique
Prep Stage: Bones, Noodles & Toppings
30 Mins • Knife Work
Rinse and parboil the pork bones for 10 minutes, then rinse again — this is what keeps the broth clear. Meanwhile soak the noodles in cold water, boil and peel the quail eggs, and prepare all the toppings: slice the pork, peel the shrimp, wash the herbs and cut the chives.
Maestro Tip: Never skip the parboil: a cloudy broth cannot be fixed later.
2 Hours 30 Mins Bare simmer, ~95°C (203°F)
Return the clean bones to a large pot with 2.5 litres of cold water. Add the onion, daikon and rock sugar. Bring to a gentle simmer and skim diligently for the first 30 minutes, then keep at a bare simmer for about 2 hours. The broth must never boil hard.
A bare simmer keeps the broth crystal clear — a rolling boil makes it cloudy and greasy.
Done when: Broth is clear, pale gold and fragrant; bones have given up their flavour.
10 Mins Rolling boil, 100°C (212°F)
While the broth simmers, cook the quail eggs in boiling water for 4 minutes, then cool and peel. Blanch the soaked noodles in a separate pot of boiling water for 1–2 minutes until just tender, then drain well and divide between four warmed bowls.
Never cook the noodles in the broth itself — the starch would cloud it.
Done when: Quail eggs are firm; noodles are silky, not mushy.
5 Mins Simmer, ~95°C (203°F)
Season the strained broth with fish sauce and soy sauce, tasting as you go: it should be savoury first, faintly sweet, with a clean pork flavour. Lift out the onion and daikon and discard them.
Season at the end — the broth concentrates as it reduces.
Done when: A spoonful tastes balanced, not salty.
6 Mins Simmer, ~95°C (203°F)
In the same broth, poach the sliced pork for 1 minute, then the shrimp for 2 minutes until pink and opaque, and the ground pork (broken into small pieces) for 3 minutes until it reaches 71°C (160°F). Lift everything out with a slotted spoon.
Poach the toppings in the broth itself — they season the soup and stay tender.
Done when: Shrimp are pink and opaque; ground pork is cooked through to 71°C (160°F).
5 Mins Broth at a rolling boil, 100°C (212°F)
Arrange the pork slices, shrimp, ground pork and two quail eggs on top of the noodles in each bowl. Ladle over the boiling broth, then scatter with bean sprouts, garlic chives and fried garlic. Serve immediately with the herbs, lime and chilli on the side.
The broth must be boiling when it hits the bowl, or the noodles will cool and clump.
Done when: Everything is hot, the broth is boiling as it hits the bowl, and the toppings are arranged, not dumped.
Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve with a plate of lettuce, bean sprouts, lime wedges and sliced chilli on the side. Squeeze lime over the bowl just before eating — it brightens the whole broth.
Nutritional Physiology & Benefits
Energy
716
kcal / serving
Protein
54g
Complete AA
Carbs
78g
Complex
Fats
19g
Healthy
| Energy | 716 kcal |
| Protein | 54 g |
| Carbohydrates | 78 g |
| Fat | 19 g |
| Fibre | 3.6 g |
| Sugar | 6.7 g |
| Sodium | 713 mg |
| Energy | 86 kcal |
| Protein | 6.5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 9.4 g |
| Fat | 2.3 g |
| Fibre | 0.4 g |
| Sugar | 0.8 g |
| Sodium | 86 mg |
Nutrition values are estimated — calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for the listed ingredients.
Vitamins & minerals: B vitamins and iron (pork, shrimp), B12 and selenium (shrimp, quail eggs), vitamin C (bean sprouts, lime), calcium (quail eggs).
High in Protein
Pork, shrimp, minced pork and quail eggs together give about 54 g of protein per bowl, with noodles for lasting energy.
Light & Restorative
A clear, light broth with fresh bean sprouts, chives and herbs is easy on the stomach and rehydrates well.
Iodine & B12
Shrimp and quail eggs supply iodine, selenium and B12, while the fresh herbs add vitamin C.
Food Pairings
To optimize nutrient absorption and elevate the sensory depth, pair with these authentic accompaniments:
Vegetables
Lettuce & Bean Sprouts
Crisp lettuce and bean sprouts add crunch and freshness to a rich, hot bowl, and their vitamin C helps the body absorb the iron from the pork.
Sides
Lime Wedges & Chilli
A squeeze of lime brightens the whole broth, while sliced chilli lets each person set their own heat.
Fried Wontons
A small plate of fried wontons or spring rolls turns the soup into a fuller lunch, the way Saigon street stalls serve it.
Drinks
Iced Tea, Unsweetened
Unsweetened iced tea cools the palate between spoonfuls without adding sweetness to an already balanced broth.
Complete menu
Serve hu tieu as the main bowl with a plate of lettuce, bean sprouts, lime and chilli on the side, and a glass of iced tea; finish with fresh tropical fruit.
Digestive Guardrails
To prevent digestive distress, sluggishness, or palate clash, avoid pairing the dish with these elements:
Extra Soy Sauce at the Table
Adding soy sauce and extra fish sauce at the table on top of an already seasoned broth pushes the sodium far too high. Taste the broth first — it is seasoned in the pot.
Undercooked Shrimp or Pork
Raw or undercooked shrimp and pork in a hot soup are a food-safety risk — shrimp must turn pink and opaque, pork must reach 71°C (160°F) for ground pork. This is general information, not medical advice — ask your clinician if you are unsure.
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.
