Quick history of me and my family. I am a first generation Chinese born in the United States. My parents are ethnically Chinese, but were raised in Vietnam. They tried to escape Vietnam during the height of communism, but ended up being captured and put into refugee camps. Thankfully they were eventually sponsored to the United States. They brought with them their love of both Chinese and Vietnamese food.
My parents love making Vietnamese noodle soups like bun bo hue, bun rieu, and pho in a giant vat for our entire extended family to come over and enjoy. They would spend days making the broth to make sure that it had enough flavor. I love that my mom still calls me up to invite me over to have bun bo hue on the weekends all the time.
I decided to turn the tables on her one weekend and invite her and my dad over for bun bo hue. I had NEVER made bun bo hue on my own before. My parents use this premade base in their soup, but I wanted to do everything from scratch. I went to the Asian market with Chef K and we picked out all the ingredients for this dish. We were really struggling to figure out what annatto seeds were, but thankfully someone overheard our struggle and helped us figure it out.
To shorten the cook time without losing the flavor, I used my trusty Instant Pot to make the soup. Be careful with the amount of bones because you don’t want to overfill your Instant Pot. Save the bones because that meat gets nice and tender. Also, you should be careful with the annatto seed oil. That stuff will stain EVERYTHING.
I hope you all enjoy this dish as much as my family does!
Keep your bones in your broth, not the floor,
Your favorite alternative chefs, K & T
Instant Pot Bun Bo Hue
Ingredients
Stock
- 2 lbs pork hock
- 2 lbs pork neck bones
- 2 lbs oxtail bones
- 4 stalks lemongrass bruised
- 2 onions halved
- 3 tbsp shrimp paste
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 2 lumps rock sugar
- 2 tbsp salt
Aromatics
- 3 tbsp annatto seeds
- 2 tbsp oil
- 6 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp grated ginger
- 1 shallot sliced
- 2 lemongrass stalks cut in half
Noodles
- 24 oz thick rice noodle soaked overnight
Toppings
- 1.5 lbs beef shank
- 1 pack of cha lua sliced
- 12 oz fish paste
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- 3 cups bean sprouts
- 1 bunch mint leaves
Instructions
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Start by parboiling your pork hock, pork neck bone, and oxtail. Next, pour out your bones and rinse off all the grimy stuff.
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Place bones in Instant Pot with lemongrass stalks and onions. Fill pot with enough water to cover everything. Set Instant Pot to manual for 20 minutes. Let natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release any remaining pressure.
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Remove bones and onions from Instant Pot and set the bones aside. Add beef shank to the pot with salt, shrimp paste, fish sauce, and rock sugar. Place the lid back on the Instant Pot and set to manual for 60 minutes. Let natural release for 10 minutes, then quick release remaining pressure.
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While your beef shank is cooking, boil water and add noodles. Cook for 10 minutes or until noodles are cooked through. Drain the water and set noodles aside.
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Heat a pan over medium heat and add the oil and annatto seeds. Cook for 1-2 minutes. Remove the annatto seeds (I poured the oil and seeds through a strainer and poured the oil back into the pan). Add the shallots to the oil and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the remaining aromatics. Cook until mixture becomes fragrant. Remove from heat and set aside.
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When your beef shank is done, remove it from the pot, and switch the Instant Pot to saute. Pour the aromatics and oil into your pot and wait for the soup to boil.
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Drop dollops of fish paste into the boiling soup. The fish paste will float to the top when they are done.
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Slice your beef shank into thin slices.
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Assemble your bowl by adding noodles, cha lua, and beef shank. Ladle broth and fish paste into your bowl. Eaters can add bean sprouts and mint as they please. I recommend squeezing some lime over everything!