Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Bún Bò Huế
The imperial city’s fierce beef-and-lemongrass noodle soup, spiked with chili oil and shrimp paste, bolder than pho.
Vietnamese (Central) · medium · serves 4
prep 25 min · cook 120 min
~699 cal · 55g protein · 36g carbs · 35g fat · 3g fiber · 3g sugars · 12g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
↓ Jump to Recipe
AI-generated illustration
Bún bò Huế is the bold, spicy noodle soup of Huế, Vietnam's former imperial capital, thick round rice noodles in a fierce broth of beef and pork bones, , and , spiked with chili oil. Where Hanoi's pho is delicate, this central-Vietnamese bowl is deep, funky, and fiery.
The broth reflects Huế's refined yet robust royal cuisine, layered with and the pungent depth of and 's red color. It is loaded with sliced beef shank, pork knuckle, and often cubes of congealed blood, a deep, complex bowl.
Served with a heap of fresh herbs, lime, and banana blossom, bún bò Huế is found across Vietnam, and plenty of people rate it above pho.
Saved recipes and passport stamps are kept on this device. Sign in to keep them across your devices and leave reviews.
Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, nut-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 4
1.5 lbs beef shank
a few beef bones (for the broth)
1 lb thick round rice noodles (bún bò)
5 stalks , bruised
2 tbsp (mắm ruốc)
Hard to find? Thai shrimp paste (kapi), used sparingly - kapi is denser and saltier than Hue's fine mam ruoc, so start with half and taste the broth as you go
3 tbsp
2 tbsp oil
to taste chili
4 shallots
4 cloves garlic
a handful Thai basil, to serve
a handful cilantro, to serve
a handful banana blossom, sliced, to serve
a few lime wedges, to serve
a handful bean sprouts, to serve
Instructions
1
Simmer the beef and bones (or mushrooms and kombu) with the lemongrass, shallots, and garlic in 10 cups water for 90 minutes (40 for the plant version), skimming often.
2
Dissolve the shrimp paste (or soybean paste) in a ladle of broth, let it settle, then stir the clear liquid back in for depth.
✎ Chef’s note
Letting the fermented paste settle and using only the clear liquid gives its deep savoury funk without clouding the broth.
3
Season the broth with fish sauce, annatto oil, chili, and salt until it is bold and glowing red.
4
Slice the beef, and cook the thick round noodles separately, dividing them into bowls.
5
Ladle the boiling broth over, add the beef, and serve with a platter of fresh herbs and lime for each person to add.
Huế imperial-city tradition.
Ratings & reviews
Cooked it? Rate this dish:
No account needed. Sign in to leave a full review with a comment.
Cooked it?
Kept on this device, no account needed. Sign in to leave a review and keep your passport across your devices.
No reviews yet, be the first to cook it.
🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Huế (Central). Central Vietnam's Huế, a former imperial capital, cooks refined, spicy food, the lemongrass beef noodle bún bò Huế and dozens of delicate royal dishes. Its cuisine is Vietnam's most elaborate and fiery.
🗺️
Vietnam. Vietnam cooks differently along its length. The north is the most restrained, using less sugar and less chilli; the centre around Hue is the spiciest and the fondest of many small dishes at once; and the south is sweeter and richer, with more coconut and more fruit. Bun bo Hue announces the centre with fermented shrimp paste as much as with lemongrass.
🌍
Asia. A grain line runs across the continent. Rice dominates the wet south and east, wheat the drier north and west, and the tools follow it: the wok and the steamer where rice is milled, the tandoor and the griddle where wheat is ground. Tea travels the other way, drunk green, black, salted, buttered or with milk depending how far it got from China.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Vietnam
Phở Gà (Hanoi Chicken Pho)A clear, star-anise-scented chicken broth over rice noodles, finished with herbs and lime at the table.
Bánh XèoSizzling turmeric-rice crepes stuffed with shrimp, pork, and sprouts, wrapped in lettuce and dunked in nuoc cham.
Bánh MìA crackly baguette stuffed with pâté, pork, pickled daikon-carrot, cilantro, and chili, French bread reborn in Saigon.
Browse all Vietnam recipes →
Good to know
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Vietnam meal
Egg Coffee (Cà Phê Trứng)Drink
Chè Ba MàuDessert
Bánh MìLunch
Similar dishes from around the world
Guriltai Shul (Mutton Noodle Soup)Mongolia
Taiwanese Beef Noodle SoupTaiwan
Chorba FrikAlgeria
Sopa de PataEl Salvador
Gulyás (Herdsman’s Goulash)Hungary
KjötsúpaIceland
Cuisine
Diet
Gluten-Free Recipes from Around the World
Dairy-Free Recipes from Around the World
Nut-Free Recipes from Around the World
Egg-Free Recipes from Around the World
Pork-Free Recipes from Around the World
Gluten-Free Dinners from Around the World
Dairy-Free Dinners from Around the World
Nut-Free Dinners from Around the World
Egg-Free Dinners from Around the World
Frequently asked questions
What is Bún Bò Huế?
The imperial city’s fierce beef-and-lemongrass noodle soup, spiked with chili oil and shrimp paste, bolder than pho.
Where does Bún Bò Huế come from?
Bún Bò Huế is a Vietnamese (Central) dish from Huế (Central), Vietnam.
Can Bún Bò Huế be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Bún Bò Huế recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Bún Bò Huế safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Bún Bò Huế take to make?
About 145 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 120 minutes cooking), serving 4.
Get the Sunday Spin
One dish from somewhere in the world, in your inbox every Sunday. No spam, just dinner inspiration you can cook that day.