Ingredients
- BROTH
- 4-5 lemongrass
- 300g beef muscle
- 500g ribs
- 1 ginger
- 1 whole onion
- A quarter of a pineapple to make meat soft faster (Optional)
- Seasoning: ruốc huế (Vietnamese shrimp paste), sugar, fish sauce, MSG, annatto
- CHILI OIL
- 3 star anise
- 2 tsb seasame seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 garlic cloves
- 1 cup oil
- 8 fresh chilies, deseeded
- 8 dried chillies
- TO SERVE:
- 500g rice vermicelli
- Spring onion
- 1 red onion
- Vietnamese coriander (rau răm) - completely different from coriander. You can use coriander if you cannot find Vietnamese coriander but it will change the flavor profile of the dish.
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
1. Boil water and preheat the oven at 180 degrees with a fan. Cut onion and ginger into half and wrap in aluminum foil paper. When the oven is ready, put the wrapped onion and ginger in the oven, roast for 20 minutes.
2. Marinate ribs, beef muscle, beef bones with salt. Mash 3 lemongrass and tie them together. When water is boiled, blanch the meat to get rid of all the scraps on the meat.
3. Put everything in the pot with 3L of water, ginger, onion and lemongrass, bring to boil. Then let the broth simmer for at least 2 hours. Take out the foam here and there to keep the broth translucent.
4. Take the beef muscle out after 30 minutes and put it in the fridge or freezer depending on serving time for the meat to tighten up.
5. When the broth is still going, mix 2 tbsp of shrimp paste with hot water then filter till water has no residue and set aside.
6. In another pan, put annatto in vegetable oil and bring to high heat and decrease till you see oil turn to red color.
7. Mince 2 lemongrass, half red onion, 4 garlic cloves, chilies without seed or chili powder. Filter the used annatto and use that oil to saute minced mixture (lemon grass, chilies, onion, garlic). Put the shrimp paste liquid in it and blend everything together.
8. 40 minutes before serving, soak the vermicelli in warm water . When ready to eat, cook the vermicelli for 15 minutes or longer until the vermicelli is bitten through and gooey, wash it with cold water after taking it out of the pot and mix with a bit of cooking oil or chili oil to keep them separate.
9. After 1,5 - 2 hours, when the bones and ribs becomes soft, take out the meat and add more water to compensate for the lost liquid
10. If you want to have a thick and savory soup, add the aromatic saute mixture in the broth and season with fish sauce, sugar and msg if needed. If you want the broth to be thin and translucent, put the blended mixture in a cloth and soak in the broth as soon as possible for the broth to infuse all of the flavors.
11. While waiting for the broth, prepare chili oil (read below) and garnish: Finely chop spring onion, cover with a wet towel to keep them from drying out then slice onion and soak in cold water
12. To serve, put together cooked vermicelli, sliced meat and broth then garnish with chopped green onion, sliced onion and chopped Vietnamese coriander.
CHILI OIL
1. In a skillet, toast star anise, sesame seeds whole chillies till fragrant.
2. Heat up oil and infuse bay leaves, toasted star anise and sesame seeds.
3. Mince garlic with a bit of salt to help break down the garlic faster and mince chilies. Or you can speed up the process by putting everything in a food processor if you have one.
4. Pour the heated and infused oil into the garlic and chillies.
