AI-generated image
Hu tieu
Hủ tiếu: Saigon's clear pork and prawn noodle soup with crispy garlic
Hủ tiếu came to southern Vietnam with Teochew Chinese and Cambodian influences, and in Saigon it's as everyday as pho, sold from street carts at dawn and again late into the night. The broth is light and clear, sweet from pork bones, daikon and dried shrimp, and the bowl is loaded with sliced pork, minced pork, prawns and often quail eggs. Clear, chewy noodles and a spoon of crispy garlic oil set it apart. Many people order it khô, dry, with the noodles tossed in sauce and the soup on the side. Chef's tip: toast the dried squid over a flame before it goes in the pot; it gives the broth a sweet, savoury depth that's hard to place.
- Total time
- 60 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the broth
For the toppings
For the garlic oil
For the bowls
Method
0/11 doneStep 1: Cover the 2 ¼ lb pork bones with cold water in a large pot, bring to a hard boil for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse the bones and pot.
10 minStep 2: Hold the 1 dried squid over a gas flame with tongs for a few seconds each side until it smells toasty and curls slightly, or toast it in a dry pan.
Step 3: Return the bones to the pot with the 10 ½ cups water, 10 ½ oz daikon (mooli), 1 onion, ⅔ oz dried shrimp, the squid and ½ oz rock sugar. Bring to the boil, skim, then lower to a gentle simmer.
10 minStep 4: Add the 10 ½ oz pork loin to the simmering broth and poach until it reaches 145°F/145 °F in the centre. Lift it out and rest for at least 3 minutes before slicing thinly.
20 minStep 5: Drop the 12 raw prawns, shell on into the broth for 2–3 minutes, until pink and opaque all through. Lift out, peel and halve lengthways.
3 minStep 6: Put the 7 oz pork mince in a small pan with a ladle of broth and stir over a medium heat to break it into small crumbs. Simmer until no pink remains and it reaches 160°F/160 °F, then tip it, juices and all, back into the pot.
5 minStep 7: Strain the broth and season with the 3 tbsp fish sauce and 1 tsp salt. It should taste clean, savoury and lightly sweet. If making ahead, cool quickly and refrigerate within 2 hours.
Step 8: Put the 6 cloves garlic and 4 tbsp vegetable oil in a cold small pan and heat gently, stirring, until the garlic is pale gold. Pour into a heatproof bowl at once. Common mistake: waiting until the garlic looks golden in the pan. It keeps cooking in the hot oil and turns brown and bitter.
4 minStep 9: Soak or cook the 14 oz dried clear rice or tapioca noodles (hủ tiếu) following the packet until tender but chewy. Blanch them with the 5 ½ oz bean sprouts in boiling water for 20 seconds just before serving and drain.
8 minStep 10: Divide noodles and sprouts among four bowls. Top with pork slices, mince, prawns and 8 quail eggs, boiled and peeled, then a spoonful of garlic oil, the ½ oz Chinese celery or celery leaves, 3 spring onions and 1 handful garlic chives. Ladle over the broth at a rolling boil and dust with ½ tsp ground white pepper.
Step 11: Serve with 4 leaves lettuce, 1 limes and 2 red chillies. For the dry version, toss the noodles with a little garlic oil and fish sauce instead and serve the broth in a separate bowl.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 640 kcal
- Protein
- 42 g
- Carbs
- 76 g
- Fat
- 18 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does hu tieu take?
- About 60 minutes in total: 15 minutes to prepare and 45 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- What can I use instead of onion?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of rock sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
Caramelised clay-pot tofu and mushrooms
Kho is the slow braise of the Mekong Delta: food simmered in a little clay pot (nồi đất) with dark caramel and seasoning until the sauce is sticky and the flavours go deep. This vegetarian cousin of cá kho tộ (braised fish) uses golden tofu and meaty mushrooms in place of fish, cooked in coconut water, as cooks do in the south, and finished with plenty of black pepper. Serve it bubbling in its pot with steamed rice and a sour soup or plain boiled vegetables. Chef's tip: take the caramel (nước màu) to a deep mahogany, darker than you think, just before it smokes; pale caramel only tastes sweet, while dark caramel gives the bittersweet, smoky flavour of a real kho.
Vegan nuoc cham
Nước chấm is the dipping sauce that goes with almost everything in Vietnam: spring rolls, bánh xèo, noodle salads and broken rice. Buddhist vegetarian cooks, all over the country, make it without fish sauce, using light soy sauce and a little coconut water for the deep, rounded taste. It should be thin, clear and pale amber, with flecks of garlic and chilli floating on top. Chef's tip: dissolve the sugar in the warm water first, then add the lime and soy, and stir in the garlic and chilli last, pounded with a pinch of sugar, so they float on the surface instead of sinking.
Soto Banjar
Along the rivers of Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, breakfast often means soto Banjar eaten at a wooden riverside warung, sometimes after a dawn trip to the floating market. Unlike the turmeric sotos of Java, this broth is pale and clear, perfumed with the sweet spices that traders brought up the river centuries ago: cinnamon, cloves, star anise, cardamom and nutmeg. Shredded chicken, glass noodles, carrot and a boiled egg go into the bowl with rice cakes, and lime and a little chilli sharpen it at the table. Chef's tip: toast the whole spices in the pan for a minute before the paste goes in; it brings out their sweetness without the dusty edge of ground spice.
