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Spicy Vietnamese Vegan Noodle Soup | Bun Bo Hue Chay

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By: Cindy Lam Lorimer
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 4 hours
Servings: 15 bowls
Bun Bo Hue Chay is a vegan version of the classic Vietnamese spicy beef noodle soup, featuring a rich, flavorful broth infused with lemongrass and chili, served with rice noodles, tofu, mushrooms and an array of fresh herbs and vegetables.

Ingredients 

Broth:

  • 3 onions, peeled and leave whole, charbroiled
  • 3 inch long ginger , peeled, charbroiled
  • 10 lemongrass stalks, smashed
  • ½ cup mushroom seasoning
  • ½ cup kosher salt
  • 1 whole pineapple, peeled and cut into 4, lengthwise
  • 8 inches long daikon, peeled
  • 3 Fuji apples, peeled
  • 2 Asian pears, peeled
  • 3 chayotes, peeled
  • 1 jicama, peeled
  • 1 opo squash, peeled
  • 1 head cabbage
  • 1 whole napa cabbage
  • 2 corn on the cob
  • 4 king oyster mushrooms
  • 8 oz white button mushroom
  • 2 portobello mushrooms
  • 1 bunch cilantro stems, stems only and not the leaves

Annatto oil:

  • ½ cup avocado oil, or any neutral oil
  • 1 Tbsp annatto seeds

Saute:

  • 6 Tbsp annatto oil
  • 5 lemongrass stalks, smashed and then chopped
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 large shallots, chopped
  • 8 garlic cloves, chopped
  • 1/2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • ½ cup red chili flakes
  • 2 Tbsp Thai chili peppers, chopped
  • 5 Tbsp vegan fish sauce
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • ½ bag Gia Vi Bun Bo Hue powder, available on Amazon, or an Asian market like 99 Ranch Market
  • 1 10 oz jar fermented bean curd , strain (You can order this on Amazon or get it from an Asian market. Otherwise, you can use miso paste to give it that umami flavor)
  • 3 14 oz packages firm tofu, cut in bite size chunks, sprinkle with salt and deep fry
  • 6 oz bean curd sticks, soaked in water for 15 min and then cut in bite size pieces
  • 6 king oyster mushrooms, cut in bite size pieces
  • ¼ cup annatto oil, to add to the broth at the end

Top broth with:

  • 4 green onions, cut into one-inch pieces

Optional garnish for noodle soup:

  • banana blossom, thinly sliced
  • rau ram
  • onion, thinly sliced
  • cilantro, chopped
  • green onions, chopped
  • limes

Noodles:

  • 2 14 oz bun bo hue noodles

Instructions

Annatto oil:

  • To make the annatto oil, heat oil in a small sauce pan until it’s hot.
  • Take it off the heat, add annatto seeds and leave it in the oil for a couple of minutes. Do not have the oil too hot as it will burn the annatto seeds.
  • Strain and use the annatto oil for the cooking below.

Broth:

  • In a 24-quart pot, add all the broth ingredients.
  • Fill the pot to the brim with water.
  • Bring it to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 3 hours.
  • After 3 hours, turn off the heat for the broth pot and remove all the vegetables. I like to squeeze all the broth out of the vegetables and transfer that broth back to the pot, as vegetables absorb so much water and we don’t want it to go to waste.
  • At this point, a bit of the broth has evaporated. Strain the broth and transfer it to a 16-quarts pot.

Saute:

  • To make the sauté, in a large skillet or wok, on medium heat, add annatto oil then add lemongrass and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add onions, shallots and garlic, then add salt and pepper and cook for another 5 minutes.
  • Add chili flakes, chopped Thai chili peppers, vegan fish sauce, sugar, entire package of Bun Bo Hue powder, fermented bean curd (or miso paste) and sauté for a few minutes until the flavors infuse.
  • Add fried tofu, bean curd sticks and oyster mushrooms. Stir fry for a couple of minutes. If the onion mix looks dry then feel free to add more annatto oil to the pan. Once done, put it aside and let it marinate the tofu and bean curd skins while broth is simmering.
  • Bring strained broth to a boil, then turn heat down to a simmer and cook for an hour so all the flavors infuse together.
  • Add ¼ cup annatto oil to give the broth a nice red color.
  • In a serving bowl, add cooked noodles and pour broth to fill the bowl.
  • Add garnishments and squeeze a lime.

Nutrition

Serving: 1bowl | Calories: 586kcal | Carbohydrates: 94g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 0.001g | Sodium: 5530mg | Potassium: 833mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 7863IU | Vitamin C: 58mg | Calcium: 152mg | Iron: 4mg

Equipment

  • 24 quart pot
  • 16 quart pot

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