🇻🇳 Vietnam · Hanoi
Bún thangHanoi chicken noodle soup
A Hanoi rice-vermicelli soup in a clear, naturally sweet broth of chicken, pork bones and dried shrimp, topped with fine strands of shredded chicken, omelette and Vietnamese ham, with mushroom, herbs, shrimp paste and lime.
Origin and history
Bún thang is regarded as a signature dish of Hanoi, a clear, light soup in which finely cut chicken, egg and ham are arranged sparingly in the bowl. Vietnamese food writers describe it as less famous than phở but just as much part of northern cooking, and as a dish that shows a cook's skill and refinement; one cooking expert is quoted saying northern families once valued it when choosing brides. The sources give no date of origin.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Total time
- 2 h 30 min
- Hands-on
- 1 h
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg2 3/4 lb free-range chicken (gà ta), whole, rubbed with salt and rinsed
- 500 g1.1 lb pork bones, blanched and rinsed
- 50 g1 3/4 oz dried shrimp (tôm khô), soaked 30 min and rinsed
- 2 to 3 pieces dried squid tentacles, grilled (sá sùng if you can find it)
- 20 g3/4 oz dried shiitake mushrooms, soaked, stems trimmed
- 1 medium onion, grilled until fragrant, then smashed
- 6 shallots (hành khô), 5 grilled and smashed, 1 sliced
- 1 thumb ginger, grilled and smashed
- 2 eggs, beaten with a pinch of salt
- 100 g3 1/2 oz giò lụa (Vietnamese pork sausage), cut in fine strips
- 1 kg2.2 lb fresh rice vermicelli (bún), blanched and drained; about 400 g (14 oz) dried works
- 50 g1 3/4 oz dried shredded daikon (củ cải sợi khô), soaked 40 min, squeezed; tossed with 2 tsp vinegar, 2 tsp sugar, 1 tsp fish sauce
- rau răm (Vietnamese coriander), scallion, chilli, lime, chopped, to serve
- fish sauce, salt, sugar, cooking oil, to taste
- shrimp paste (mắm tôm), cà cuống essence (from a giant water bug), optional, at the table
Method
-
1. Put the chicken in a pot of water with 3 of the grilled shallots and the grilled ginger, bring to a gentle simmer and cook about 15 minutes on low heat.
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2. Lift out the chicken, cool it, then chill it; once cold, pull the meat and tear or slice it into fine strands, keeping the bones.
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3. Return the chicken bones and the pork bones to the cooking liquid and simmer 1 to 2 hours, skimming so the broth stays clear.
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4. After about 1 hour add the squid or sá sùng, mushrooms, one-third of the dried shrimp, the onion and the remaining grilled shallots; season with fish sauce and a little sugar and taste.
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5. Meanwhile fry the sliced shallot in a little oil, add the remaining dried shrimp and dry-fry until golden; cool and pound to a fine floss.
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6. Brush a hot nonstick pan with oil, pour in a thin layer of egg, cook, and lift out; repeat, then shred the omelettes into thin strips.
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7. Divide the vermicelli among bowls and arrange the chicken, shrimp floss, giò lụa, egg strips, mushrooms, rau răm and scallion in separate piles on top.
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8. Add a dab of shrimp paste and a few drops of cà cuống essence if using, pour on hot broth, and serve with the daikon, chilli and lime on the side.
Notes
- Quantities follow a VnExpress Cooking recipe by a Hanoi reader for four to five people, with the vermicelli reduced.
- Bún thang is a Hanoi dish known for clear, delicate broth and for the fine, even cutting of each topping. The long knife work is the real labour: shred the eggs and ham as thin as you can.
- Cà cuống essence (from a giant water bug) is expensive and hard to find, and many cooks leave it out; one Hanoi writer recalls only the grandfather got it. Mắm tôm is used sparingly and is diluted with a little lime or hot broth, and the bowl still tastes light.
- Mushrooms are expected by some Hanoi cooks and left out by others.
- Keep the broth at a gentle simmer and skim often, using pork bones with marrow; a hard boil clouds it.
- The broth can be made a day ahead; blanch the noodles and fry the omelette just before serving.
Adapted from Bún thang chuẩn vị Hà Nội, VnExpress and Bún thang thương nhớ, Znews.
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