Bún Bò Huế - Hue Beef Noodles
Okay, let's start!
Ingredients:
FOR MEAT STOCK/BROTH:
- 1/2 cup (125ml) HUE shrimp sauce (This is very important, because other types of shrimp sauce won't work. Just brought this picture to your local Asian market and ask them if they have it :D).
- 2 pounds (around 1kg) beef shank (thịt bò bắp/naudan potka). What is it? Here is a picture from About.com:
- ***1.5 pounds (0.7kg) bone-in pork picnic shoulder (chân giò heo/porsaan potka), chopped into 1-inch-thick pieces.
- 4.2 quarts (4 liters) water.
- 1 double-thumb-sized ginger root, sliced thinly.
- 3 lemongrass stalks, pounded until soft enough to fold in half.
- 2-3 tablespoons salt.
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce.
- 3 tablespoons sugar.
***Pork picnic shoulder: This ingredient is very traditional, but I usually replace it with about 1.5 pounds of pork neck bones, due to limited supply in my local supermarket. The stock still tastes awesome :).
FOR SPECIAL SEASONING SAUCE:
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
- 2 large garlic cloves, minced.
- 2 lemongrass stalks (cut off lower bulbs and remove outer tough leaves), minced.
- 4 Thai chilies, minced or 2 teaspoons hot chili powder.
- 1/4 fresh pineapple, blended into a smoothie or chopped into very fine pieces.
FOR CHILI OIL:
- 1/3 - 1/2 cup (85ml) vegetable oil.
- 2 large shallots, chopped into small pieces.
- 1 tablespoon extra hot chili powder (can be bought in your local Indian store).
- 1 tablespoon normal chili powder (can be bought in any grocery store).