Hanoi Special Rice Noodle Soup Recipes

HANOI BEEF AND RICE-NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Make the beef broth (this takes about a day to prepare but can be made ahead of time and frozen). Clean the beef bones under cold running water, then place them in a pot, cover with water and soak overnight at room temperature.
• The next day, place the beef bones, oxtails and short ribs in a large stockpot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Cook for 10 minutes, then drain and rinse the pot and the bones.
• Return the bones to the pot, add 6 quarts of water and boil. Skim the foam off the surface and stir occasionally. Add 3 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Skim whatever residue rises to the top. Turn heat to low.
• Meanwhile, char the clove-studded onions, shallots and ginger - either by piercing them with a fork and holding them over a gas flame or by putting them in the broiler - until they release their fragrance. Tie the charred vegetables, star anise and cinnamon stick in a double thickness of dampened cheesecloth. Add the spice bag, parsnips and salt to the broth and simmer for 1 hour.
• Remove the short ribs and cut the meat away from the bones. Reserve the meat, discard the fat and return the bones to the pot. Continue simmering the broth, uncovered, for 4 to 5 hours. Keep an eye on it; as the liquid boils away, add enough water to cover the bones.
• Meanwhile, cut the sirloin steak against the grain into paper-thin slices, roughly 2 inches by 2 inches. Slice the meat from the short ribs paper-thin. Set aside.
• In a small bowl, combine the scallions, coriander and half the onion slices. Place the remaining onion slices in another small bowl and stir in the hot chili sauce, blending well.
• Soak the rice sticks in warm water for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Discard all the bones from the broth. Strain the broth into a clean pot through a strainer or colander lined with a double layer of dampened cheesecloth. Refrigerate for several hours to allow the fat to rise to the top and harden. Remove the fat, heat the broth and add the fish sauce. When the broth boils, reduce the heat and simmer.
• In another pot, boil 4 quarts of water and put in the soaked rice sticks. Drain immediately. Divide the rice sticks among 6 to 8 large soup bowls and top them with the sliced meats. Bring broth to a rolling boil and ladle it directly over the meat in each bowl (the boiling broth will cook the raw sirloin instantly). Garnish with the scallion mixture and freshly ground black pepper.
• Serve the onions in hot chili sauce and the accompaniments on the side.

HANOI SPECIAL RICE NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Put the chicken pieces, salt, and the 4 quarts water into a stockpot (about 12-quart capacity) and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and then use a ladle or large, shallow spoon to skim off any scum that rises to the top. Add the onion and continue to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Remove the breast from the pot and set aside in a bowl of cold water for 5 minutes to prevent it from drying out. Add the pork bones, squid, and fish sauce to the pot. Raise the heat to high to return to a boil and then lower the heat to simmer gently. Again, skim off any scum. Simmer, uncovered, for 2 hours.
• When the breast has finished soaking, drain the water and set the breast aside. Allow it to cool completely, then shred the meat with your fingers into fine pieces about 1/8 inch wide, pulling it along its natural grain and discarding the bones and skin. Put the chicken shreds in a small container, cover, and refrigerate.
• To rehydrate the dried shrimp, put them in a small saucepan with the 1 1/2 cups water, bring to a simmer over medium heat, and cook for 10 minutes, or until slightly soft. Drain the shrimp into a sieve placed over a bowl. Add the cooking liquid to the simmering broth. Let the shrimp cool completely, then put it into a food processor or electric mini-chopper and process to grind to a fine texture. Transfer to a small container, cover, and refrigerate.
• When the broth is ready, use tongs to transfer the pork bones to a large bowl filled with cold water. Let them soak for 5 minutes to prevent them from drying out and turning dark. Drain the pork bones, let cool until they can be handled, and then remove the meat, discarding the bones and any odd bits. Use your fingers to break the meat into pea-sized pieces or tear it into fine shreds. Put in a small container, cover, and refrigerate.
• Position a fine-mesh sieve (or a coarse-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth) over a pot and gently ladle the broth into the sieve. Discard the solids, including the chicken parts. (Th is seems wasteful, but these parts are spent.) Use a ladle to skim as much fat from the top of the broth as you like. (To make this task easier, you can cool the broth, refrigerate overnight, lift off the solidified fat, and then reheat before continuing.) There should be about 3 quarts (12 cups) broth.
• Bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat while you are assembling the bowls. At the same time, bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil, for reheating the noodles. Make sure the chicken, shrimp, pork, egg, and sausage are at room temperature; ready the Vietnamese coriander and pepper for assembling the bowls; and put the shrimp sauce, preserved radish, and chiles on the table.
• Place a portion of the noodles on a large vertical-handle strainer (or mesh sieve) and dunk the noodles in the boiling water. After 5 to 10 seconds, pull the strainer from the water, letting the water drain back into the pot. Empty the noodles into a bowl and repeat with the remaining portions, while proceeding to assemble each bowl as the noodles are reheating and draining. Visually divide up each bowl into quadrants. Cover 1 quadrant with chicken, the next quadrant with egg, and the third one with sausage. If you have less shrimp and pork than the other ingredients, fill the remaining quadrant with half of each; if you have lots of pork, cover the quadrant with it, and put the shrimp in the center. Put some Vietnamese coriander in the middle, and then sprinkle with pepper.
• Raise the heat on the broth and bring to a rolling boil. Do a final taste test, adding more salt, if necessary. Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl, distributing the hot liquid evenly to warm all the ingredients. Serve immediately with the fine shrimp sauce, preserved radish, and chiles. Diners should stir in about 1/4 teaspoon shrimp sauce to finish their bowls. The radish and chiles add crunch and heat.

HANOI BEEF AND RICE NOODLE SOUP (PHO BO)

Steps:

• To prepare broth, heat a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add oxtail, ginger, and shallots; sauté 8 minutes or until ginger and shallots are slightly charred.
• Add water and next 8 ingredients (through cinnamon stick); bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 4 hours. Strain broth through a sieve into a large bowl; discard solids.
• Return broth to pan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, and cook until reduced to 10 cups (about 30 minutes).
• Skim fat from surface; discard fat. Keep warm.
• To prepare remaining ingredients, add sliced onion to broth. Place noodles in a large bowl, and cover with boiling water.
• Let stand 20 minutes. Drain. Place 1/3 cup bean sprouts in each of 6 soup bowls.
• Top each serving with 1 1/3 cup noodles and 2 ounces eye-of-round.
• Carefully ladle 1 2/3 cups boiling broth over each serving (boiling broth will cook the meat). Serve with cilantro, basil, chiles, limes, and hoisin, if desired.

HANOI BEEF NOODLE SOUP

Steps:

• Make broth:
• Roast onions and ginger directly on rack of a gas burner over high heat, turning with tongs, until blistered and blackened, 10 to 15 minutes. (Alternatively, broil onions and ginger on foil-lined rack of a broiler pan about 5 inches from heat, turning occasionally, until charred, 20 to 25 minutes for onions; 25 to 30 minutes for ginger.) Transfer to a bowl and cool. When cool enough to handle, rinse and rub under cold running water to remove any blackened pieces (some areas will remain browned).
• While onions and ginger roast, cover shanks with 2 quarts cold water in a 6- to 8-quart pot. Bring to a boil, then drain in a large colander (discard cooking water) and rinse well with cold water. Clean pot.
• Wrap star anise, cinnamon stick, cloves, and peppercorns in cheesecloth and tie into a bundle with kitchen string to make a spice bag, then add to cleaned pot along with 4 quarts water, shanks, onions, and ginger. Simmer, uncovered, skimming froth occasionally, 2 hours. Add remaining quart water and return to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, skimming froth occasionally, until shanks are very tender, about 1 hour more.
• Prepare sirloin and noodles for soup while broth simmers:
• Freeze steak until firm but not frozen solid, 30 to 45 minutes, then slice across the grain with a sharp thin knife into less than 1/8-inch-thick slices.
• Soak rice noodles in cold water to cover until softened, about 30 minutes, then drain in cleaned large colander. Cook noodles in a 6-quart pot of boiling water, uncovered, stirring, 1 minute, then drain.
• Finish soup:
• Transfer shanks with tongs to a cutting board. Clean pot. When shanks are cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones and cut into small pieces, discarding bones, fat, and sinew. Set aside 2 cups beef (reserve remainder for another use).
• Pour broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a large heatproof bowl, discarding solids. Measure broth: If there is more than 3 quarts (12 cups), boil in cleaned pot until reduced; if there is less, add water. Let stand until fat rises to top, 1 to 2 minutes, then skim off fat if desired.
• Combine broth and beef (2 cups) in cleaned 6- to 8-quart pot and bring to a boil, then add fish sauce and salt and return to a boil just before serving.
• Divide noodles among 6 large deep bowls. Top noodles with uncooked sliced steak and ladle boiling-hot broth (with pieces of beef shanks) over steak and noodles. (Hot broth will cook steak.)
• Serve soup with accompaniments.