Thuy Diem Pham’s Bún Gà Huế

Thuy Diem Pham's Bún Gà Huế as seen and heard on The Recipe podcast.

Prep Time: 20 mins
Cooking Time: 70 mins
4 people

Used in this recipe

Ingredients

For the noodles and garnish

400g vermicelli rice noodles (1.5mm), follow packaging instructions
10g Thai basil
10g coriander
10g Morning Glory
5g Vietnamese mint
50g Banana blossom
10g Perilla leaves
10g chives
2 red chillies, sliced
½ lime, cut into wedges
20g crispy shallots

For the broth

1 whole corn-fed chicken (1.5kg)
2 onions, unpeeled and charred
5 lemongrass stems
1 fresh pineapple (small)
100g ginger, unpeeled and charred
20g star anise
20g cinnamon sticks
1 daikon (30cm), peeled
100ml fish sauce
30g rock sugar, crushed
2 tsp salt

For the lemongrass oil

100ml tbsp vegetable oil
2 tbsp annatto seeds
1 stem fresh lemongrass, finely chopped
5 small shallots, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp chilli powder
2 tsp fish sauce
1 tsp sugar

Method

Char onions, lemongrass, and ginger 6-8 mins. Set aside.
Heat oil in a small pan, add annatto seeds, and simmer for 20 mins. Strain and set aside.
In a pan make the lemongrass chilli oil. Add a little oil, sautee the lemongrasses, garlic, shallots till brown, add the annatto oil, chilli flakes and chilli powder in. Stir till blend through and turn off heat, set aside.
Char star anise and cinnamon for 1–2 mins until fragrant.
Bring 3.5L water to the boil with the chicken. Skim impurities for 13 mins.
Add onions, ginger, spices, lemongrass, pineapple, and daikon. Simmer for 10 mins, skimming further impurities if any.
After 45 mins, remove the chicken. Separate the meat and return the carcass to simmer for 30–45 mins more.
Strain, discard solids, and season broth with fi sh sauce, rock sugar, salt, and Lemongrass chilli oil.
To serve, place noodles and sliced chicken in bowls. Pour over the hot, red-tinted broth. Garnish with herbs, chillies, crispy shallots, and a wedge of lime.

Top Tips

Don’t skip charring the aromatics. This is the real secret, charring unlocks depth and brings so much more flavour out of very simple ingredients.
Use corn-fed chicken if you can. It gives you that golden, glistening broth. More colour, more richness, and that signature fatty shimmer on the surface.
Be gentle and be patient. Don’t move things around until it’s time to. Let the ingredients do their thing. Don’t rush it, the wait is always worth it.
Just skim skim skim, clarity is the goal!

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