How to eat delicious Hue beef noodle soup and the reason why this dish is popular in Hanoi

- I first ate Hue-style beef noodle soup around 1980, when I was on a business trip to the South and passed through Hue train station. The dish was incredibly greasy and spicy, making my eyes water. I'm still scared of it to this day…

- The authentic Hue-style beef noodle soup has crab cakes and crispy pork fat as accompaniments. Some people don't like the authentic Hue-style beef noodle soup because it's too sweet, but they prefer the Hanoi -style version which has a very light and not overly salty flavor...

- In the 2000s, at the corner of Nguyen Hong and Huynh Thuc Khang streets, there was a Hue-style beef noodle soup stall, also selling banh loc (tapioca dumplings), clams with rice paper, boiled pork with sour shrimp, pig's blood with spicy bamboo shoots... The whole family spoke with a Hue accent. The shop had many paintings and pictures of Hue on display and played Trinh Cong Son's music... Thanks to that shop, I've loved Hue ever since, and I spend a whole week there every year. But now I don't know where that shop is now...

Those are the regretful comments of the women who have eaten authentic Hue beef noodle soup and Hue beef noodle soup in Hanoi.

Culinary expert Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung (Admin of Ha Thanh Huong Xua Vi Cu) also fondly remembers the Hue beef noodle soup restaurant from over 30 years ago at the corner of Lang Ha and Lang streets, named Ngu Binh.

Back then, the owner, a beautiful and charming woman from Hue with gentle, deep black eyes, was one of the first owners of Hue-style beef noodle soup restaurants to establish a business in Hanoi, bringing a new and flavorful breakfast dish to the people of the capital city. However, due to excessively high rent, the Ngu Binh restaurant, which had been established for nearly 20 years, had to move to an unknown location.

About 30 years ago, at the intersection of Huynh Thuc Khang and Nguyen Hong streets, there was a pretty good Hue-style beef noodle soup stall. The owner's daughter had a disability in one leg, but her chubby, smiling face was very endearing.

The broth pot there was quite unique. It was a huge, handcrafted aluminum pot shaped like a pomelo – similar to the aluminum pots used by the women selling fish noodle soup on the streets of Hanoi in the old days. The Hue-style beef noodle soup was quite delicious, with just the right balance of sweetness and spiciness. The accompanying vegetables were fresh and flavorful. The place was very busy, but the landlord increased the rent too much, so the shop moved away, leaving many Hanoians with a sense of nostalgia.

Bun bo Hue entered the Hanoi market as effortlessly as the gentle voice of a Hue girl, gradually conquering the stomachs of discerning diners. Bun bo Hue now stands on equal footing with dozens of other famous and long-standing noodle dishes in Hanoi, such as bun thang, bun moc, bun bung, bun mang, bun dau, bun long, bun cha, bun nem...

Hanoi now has about fifty Hue-style beef noodle soup restaurants scattered throughout the old and new inner districts. Quite famous is Bun Bo Hue O Xuan, with two locations: the old one on Tue Tinh Street and the new one on Trung Hoa Street. Bun Bo Hue O Hien also has two branches on To Hieu Street and Trung Kinh Street. Bun Bo Hue O Uong has two restaurants: one on Lac Long Quan Street on the Red River side and another on Co Linh Street on the other side. Another Bun Bo Hue restaurant on Nguyen Huu Huan Street is also quite famous and delicious.

Hue women are skillful, capable, and very good at developing business careers in the capital city. They have cleverly transformed Hue beef noodle soup into a breakfast dish that appeals to many discerning diners in Hanoi. Whenever Hanoi experiences a long, dreary downpour, like the endless rains of Hue, listening to Trinh Cong Son's music album, and gliding through songs like "Hue Thuong" or "Hue Buon," makes you want to brave the rain and rush to a Hue beef noodle soup restaurant to order a steaming hot, spicy bowl to chase away your sadness.

Bun bo Hue, cooked in Hue, has thick rice noodles and a rich, spicy broth that will bring tears to your eyes. (Image from the internet)

Make Hue-style beef noodle soup at home.

Ms. Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung had previously visited and experienced Hue beef noodle soup and introduced it in the "Hanoi Specialties" segment of Hanoi Television. She also received information from the owner of Ngu Binh restaurant, who spoke with a melodious and sweet Hue accent, about the special broth used in their Hue beef noodle soup.

Accordingly, the broth for Hue-style beef noodle soup is made from simmered bone broth, lemongrass, sugar, shrimp paste, and annatto seed extract for color, along with chili paste. When simmering the bones, care must be taken, skimming off the foam frequently, and the broth must be kept simmering gently; boiling too vigorously will make the broth cloudy. The shrimp paste must be carefully filtered to remove all grit and sand.

A bowl of thick rice noodles, a sweet and spicy broth, fragrant with shrimp paste and lemongrass. Crispy pork trotters. Fragrant beef slices. Fluffy pork blood pudding. A plate of mixed vegetables with bright red banana blossoms, translucent white banana stems, pristine white bean sprouts, mint, and fresh basil, creating an appealing blend of flavors and colors.

Bun bo Hue (Hue-style beef noodle soup) is now being cooked at home by many housewives in Hanoi. Photo: Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung

The recipe for Hue-style beef noodle soup was known to Hanoi women through cookbooks by famous culinary teachers from Central and Southern Vietnam, such as Hoang Thi Cuc and Trieu Thi Choi... but back then, the country was facing difficulties, so they couldn't practice it. While the ingredients for Hue-style beef noodle soup are easy to find in Hanoi, the shrimp paste (mam ruoc) was unavailable in the North due to the war that divided the country.

Housewives from Central Vietnam replaced shrimp paste with fermented shrimp paste – but the pungent smell of fermented shrimp paste couldn't compare to the smooth, fragrant, and richly sweet shrimp paste from Hue. It wasn't until after the liberation of South Vietnam and improved transportation links that shrimp paste became available in Hanoi for Hue-style beef noodle soup.

There have been successful Hue-style beef noodle soup restaurants owned by Hanoians, such as Ms. Huong's Hue-style beef noodle soup restaurant on Lang Street and Ms. Trinh's restaurant on Nghia Tan Street... They learned the trade from Hue women and then built their own brands. Any specialty dish brought to Hanoi is adjusted to suit the tastes and preferences of Hanoians. Therefore, Hue-style beef noodle soup cooked in Hanoi uses less sugar and fish sauce, resulting in a lighter, less salty flavor – and that is one of the reasons why Hue-style beef noodle soup has remained popular among dozens of other famous noodle dishes in Hanoi.

Bun bo Hue features thick rice noodles, a sweet and spicy broth, and a fragrant aroma of shrimp paste and lemongrass. (Image from the internet)

Bun bo Hue cooked by Hanoians is seasoned to suit their taste, so it has less sugar and fish sauce, a light flavor, and is less salty. Photo: Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung.

How does authentic Hue-style beef noodle soup differ from the one cooked in Hanoi?

Once, Ms. Vu Thi Tuyet Nhung chatted with Ms. Thanh, the owner of a Hue-style beef noodle soup restaurant, because she noticed that the dish there was a bit sweet with sugar, but the meat was fragrant, and especially the thinly sliced ​​pork leg remained intact with both meat and bone, neatly and skillfully cut. Ms. Thanh honestly explained that it was thanks to a cutting and slicing machine. Before, even with sharp knives, the meat would still be mushy and fall apart. Cutting about ten kilograms of pork leg a day was already exhausting. Now, with the machines, the women are much more relaxed.

Ms. Thanh shared the differences between Hue-style beef noodle soup and the Hue-style beef noodle soup cooked in Hanoi. These are:

- In Hue, the broth for Hue-style beef noodle soup is only simmering gently. In Hanoi, the broth must be boiling vigorously.

- People in Hue prefer sweeter and milder flavors. People in Hanoi prefer stronger, less sweet flavors.

- The bowl of noodles in Hue is smaller, the pieces of meat and sausage are also smaller. The bowl of noodles in Hanoi is bigger, the pieces of meat and sausage are also bigger .

But wherever you sell it, you have to cater to the tastes of the local customers. My sister Thanh's relatives from Hue came to visit and said, "This cooking style isn't authentically Hue-style!"

Source: https://giadinh.suckhoedoisong.vn/cach-an-bun-bo-hue-ngon-va-ly-do-giup-dac-san-xu-hue-nay-dung-vung-giua-hang-chuc-mon-bun-ngon-noi-tieng-cua-ha-noi-172240530190753129.htm