Bun Bo Hue

Ingredients

• 1.5kg beef shin or brisket, in one piece
• 1kg pork hock, cut across the bone
• 500g pork bones
• 4 litres water
• 10 lemongrass stalks
• 1 large onion, halved
• 2 tbsp mam ruoc (fermented shrimp paste)
• 80ml fish sauce
• 60g rock sugar
• 1 tbsp salt
• 600g thick round rice noodles (bun bo Hue noodles)
• 200g cured pork sausage (cha lua), sliced
• 5 tbsp annatto seeds
• 120ml neutral oil
• 6 shallots, finely chopped
• 8 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp Korean or Vietnamese chilli powder
• 1 banana blossom, shredded, optional
• Beansprouts, shredded cabbage, mint, perilla and lime wedges, to serve

Before you cook

• Cover the beef, pork hock and bones with cold water in a large pot, bring to the boil for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse every piece clean
• Bruise 8 lemongrass stalks with the back of a knife and tie them into a bundle with kitchen string
• Finely mince the remaining 2 lemongrass stalks for the sate
• Halve the onion and char the cut sides in a dry pan until blackened
• Chop the shallots and garlic finely

Steps

1. Return the blanched meat and bones to a clean pot and pour over the four litres of water.
2. Add the lemongrass bundle, the charred onion and the tablespoon of salt.
3. Bring the pot to a boil, then drop it to the barest simmer and skim off every bit of foam that rises in the first twenty minutes.
4. Simmer uncovered for one hour, then lift out the beef and set it aside to cool.
5. Keep the pork hock and bones simmering for another two hours until the hock is spoon-tender.
6. Make the sate while the broth cooks: heat the oil in a small pan and add the annatto seeds.
7. Warm the seeds for two minutes until the oil runs deep red, then strain out and discard the seeds.
8. Return the red oil to the pan and fry the minced lemongrass, shallots and garlic over medium heat for five minutes.
9. Stir in the chilli powder, take the pan off the heat immediately, and set the sate aside.
10. Dissolve the shrimp paste in a mugful of hot broth, let the grit settle for two minutes, then pour the liquid back into the pot and discard the sediment.
11. Season the broth with the fish sauce and rock sugar, then taste it and add more fish sauce until it is assertively savoury.
12. Stir three tablespoons of the sate into the pot and reserve the rest for the table.
13. Slice the cooled beef thinly across the grain and lift the pork hock out onto a board.
14. Cook the thick rice noodles in boiling water according to the packet, usually eight to ten minutes, then drain them.
15. Divide the noodles between six deep bowls and lay over the sliced beef, a piece of pork hock and a few slices of cha lua.
16. Ladle the boiling broth over each bowl.
17. Serve with the herb platter, banana blossom, lime wedges and the remaining sate.