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Spicy Hue noodle soup
Serves 4 Starters and mains
Ingredients
- 3⁄4kg pork spare ribs, cut across the bones into 5-8cm-wide strips (ask your butcher to do this)
- 450g bone-in beef shank (sold as cross-cut slices, around 21⁄2cm thick)
- 1tbsp rapeseed or other neutral oil, plus extra as needed
- 1 medium-large yellow onion, cut into 21⁄2cm chunks
- 2 large or 3 medium lemongrass stalks, untrimmed, cut into 71⁄2cm lengths and bruised
- rounded 1tsp paprika or ground annatto
- 900g beef leg bones (marrow and knuckle) in 5-8cm pieces
- 1 x 115g Fuji apple, peeled, cored and cut into thumbnail-sized chunks
- 1 1⁄2tsp fine sea salt
- 1 1⁄2tbsp fish sauce
- 1tbsp anchovy paste
- 2tsp maple syrup or 1tsp sugar (optional)
For the chilli-lemongrass mix
- 21⁄2tbsp rapeseed or other neutral oil
- 1 1⁄2tsp red chilli flakes
- 1 1⁄2tsp crushed garlic
- 2tbsp crushed lemongrass or 1 1⁄2tbsp grated lemongrass
- 1⁄2tsp sugar
- 1 1⁄4tsp fish sauce
To serve
- 340g dried rice noodles, boiled until tender but chewy, rinsed under cold water, and drained
- 1⁄2 small yellow or red onion, sliced very thinly against the grain, soaked in water for10 minutes and drained
- 2 salad onions, green part only, thinly sliced
- 5g fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Optional extras
- 175g thinly sliced romaine lettuce or shaved cabbage
- 3 handfuls bean sprouts
- 1-2 limes, cut into wedges
- 4-6 fresh mint sprigs
- 6-litre-capacity pressure cooker
Method
Bring a kettle of water to the boil, and allow to cool just a little, but is still hot. Cut the strips of ribs between the bones into 3-4 shorter sections. Lightly season the ribs and beef shank with salt and pepper.
Warm the rapeseed oil, in your pressure cooker over a medium- high heat. In batches, lightly brown the meat for around 1 minute on each side, then set aside.
Add a splash of oil to the cooker, if needed, then add the onion and lemongrass and cook for around 1 minute, stirring, until fragrant. Add the paprika and stir for 10-15 seconds until fragrant, then add 1 litre of water to arrest the cooking process. Add the beef bones, seared ribs, beef shank, apple, salt, fish sauce and another 1 litre of water. If the ingredients, including the water, fill more than two-thirds of the pot (its maximum fill line), remove some of the water. You can add a little more later, after cooking.
Lock the lid in place. Bring to high pressure, adjust the heat to maintain pressure, and cook for 16 minutes. Then, remove from the heat, depressurise naturally for 20 minutes, and release the residual pressure. Have the anchovy paste and maple syrup (if using) ready for finishing the broth.
While the broth is cooking, combine the rapeseed oil, red chili flakes, garlic and lemongrass in a small saucepan over a medium- low heat, and bring to a gentle simmer. Lower the heat to gently bubble and sizzle for 3 minutes, until fragrant and orange, swirling or stirring occasionally for even cooking. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugar and fish sauce. Transfer to a small serving bowl and allow to cool completely. (The mix can be transferred to an airtight container and stored, chilled, for up to 5 days.)
Unlock the cooker and, once the bubbling stops, use a metal ladle to remove some of the fat. Use tongs to transfer the ribs and shank to a bowl filled with water; if the bones fall off, that’s fine. Soak for 10 minutes to avoid dry meat, then drain, partially cover and set aside. Fish out and discard the remaining large, bulky solids from the meat broth.
Strain the broth through a sieve positioned over a large saucepan. (Line the sieve with muslin for a super-clear broth.) You should have 1.5 litres; if needed, place over a high heat and boil down to concentrate the flavours or add a little water to dilute.
In a small bowl, whisk the anchovy paste with 2tbsp of the broth until smooth, and add to
the remaining broth. Sweeten with the maple syrup and, if needed, add more salt, 1⁄4tsp at a time, for a strong, savoury-sweet flavour. For a moderately spicy edge, add 1tbsp of the chilli-lemongrass mix.
Around 30 minutes before serving, warm the broth over a medium-high heat. Meanwhile, cut the ribs between the bones or cartilage; then debone the beef shank and cut or pull the meat into bite-sized pieces. Add the pork and beef pieces to the broth. (Or, for more elegance, keep the beef in large pieces and slice at an angle or across the grain, then arrange on the noodles in each bowl at the time of serving; the broth will warm the beef.) Cook the noodles for 5 minutes. Divide among 4 noodle or soup bowls.
Set the lettuce, bean sprouts, lime, mint and remaining chilli- lemongrass mix on the table, to add as you wish. Bring the broth to a boil, then divide the meat and broth among the soup bowls. Top the bowls with the yellow onion, salad onion and coriander and serve immediately.
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