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Restaurants›Golden Deli Temple City›Bun Rieu Recipe

Bun Rieu Recipe

Name: Golden Deli Temple Citys Bun Rieu Recipe
Cook time: 2 h
Total time: 2 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Ingredients: 10 cups water; 1 cups dried shrimp (or shrimp shells); 1 lbs pork bones (neck or femur, split); 1 item onion, halved; 4 cloves garlic cloves, smashed; 1 inch ginger, smashed; 3 tbs fish sauce; 1 tsp salt; 1 tsp sugar; 1 lbs raw shrimp, peeled and deveined; 0.25 lbs pork shoulder, lean, cut into cubes; 1 item egg; 1 tbs fish sauce; 0.5 tsp sugar; 0.25 tsp white pepper; 1 tbs tapioca starch (or cornstarch); 1 tsp annatto oil (optional for color); 2 tbs cooking oil (for pan-frying); 3 items ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges; 2 tbs tamarind paste (or lime juice); 1 tsp shrimp paste (mắm tôm) - optional, to taste; 1 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar; 1 lbs rice vermicelli (bun), medium thickness, soaked or boiled; 8 oz firm tofu, sliced and pan-fried (optional); 2 items hard-boiled eggs, halved (optional); 3 cups bean sprouts; 1 cup Thai basil; 0.5 cup sawleaf (rau răm) or cilantro; 0.5 cup mint; 3 tbs scallions, thinly sliced

Inspired by Golden Deli Temple City

Time2h

Serves4

fantastic if you like shrimp!

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Ingredients

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Broth & Stock

10 cups water

1 cups dried shrimp (or shrimp shells)

1 lbs pork bones (neck or femur, split)

1 item onion, halved

4 cloves garlic cloves, smashed

1 inch ginger, smashed

3 tbs Fish sauce

1 tsp Celtic sea salt

1 tsp sugar

Shrimp Paste Topping (Crab/Shirmp Mixture - 'chả cua' style)

1 lbs raw shrimp, peeled and deveined

1/4 lbs pork shoulder, lean, cut into cubes

1 item Egg

1 tbs Fish sauce

1/2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp White pepper

1 tbs tapioca starch (or cornstarch)

1 tsp annatto oil (optional for color)

2 tbs cooking oil (for pan-frying)

Soup Seasoning & Tomato

3 items ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges

2 tbs tamarind paste (or lime juice)

1 tsp shrimp paste (mắm tôm) - optional, to taste

1 tsp palm sugar or brown sugar

Noodles & Protein

1 lbs rice vermicelli (bun), medium thickness, soaked or boiled

8 oz firm tofu, sliced and pan-fried (optional)

2 items hard-boiled eggs, halved (optional)

Garnishes & Herbs

3 cups Bean sprouts

1 cup Thai basil

1/2 cup sawleaf (rau răm) or cilantro

1/2 cup mint

3 tbs scallions, thinly sliced

2 tbs fried shallots or garlic

4 items Lime wedges

2 tbs chili slices or chili oil

Method

Broth & Stock

Toast and Simmer

Rinse pork bones. In a large pot, add 10 cups water, pork bones, dried shrimp (or shells), halved onion, smashed garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil over high heat. Skim scum for 10 minutes, reduce to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 1 to 1.25 hours to extract flavor.

Strain and Season

After simmering, remove bones and solids and strain the stock through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot. Return to medium heat and season with 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon sugar. Adjust to taste — the broth should be savory with a slight sweet balance.

Shrimp Paste Topping (Crab/Shirmp Mixture - 'chả cua' style)

Make Shrimp-Pork Paste

Roughly chop raw shrimp and pork shoulder and pulse in a food processor until a coarse paste forms (not totally smooth). Add egg, 1 tablespoon fish sauce, 1 tablespoon tapioca starch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, 1/4 teaspoon white pepper and annatto oil if using. Pulse to combine into a sticky mixture. Taste a tiny piece cooked in a pan and adjust seasoning.

Pan-Fry the Mixture

Heat 2 tablespoons cooking oil in a nonstick skillet over medium. Drop spoonfuls of the shrimp-pork paste to form small patties (about 2-inch). Fry until golden and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate lined with paper towel. These will be added to bowls as the protein and to flavor the broth further.

Soup Seasoning & Tomato

Cook Tomatoes

In the pot with the strained broth simmering, add the tomato wedges and simmer 10 minutes until softened and releasing juices.

Finish Broth Flavor

Stir in 2 tablespoons tamarind paste (or the juice of 2 limes) and 1 teaspoon palm sugar. If you like a stronger fermented note, add up to 1 teaspoon shrimp paste (mắm tôm) — dissolve in a small amount of hot broth first. Taste and adjust fish sauce, tamarind/lime and sugar until balanced: tangy, savory, slightly sweet.

Add Shrimp Patties to Broth

Return the fried shrimp-pork patties briefly to the simmering broth for 2 minutes to warm and release extra flavor.

Noodles & Protein

Prepare Noodles

Cook rice vermicelli according to package instructions (usually soak in hot water for 5–8 minutes or briefly boil 1–2 minutes) until tender but not mushy. Drain and portion into serving bowls.

Optional Tofu/Egg

If using tofu, pan-fry slices until golden and place on bowls. Halve the hard-boiled eggs and add to bowls as desired.

Garnishes & Assembly

Arrange a handful of bean sprouts, herbs (Thai basil, sawleaf/ cilantro, mint), sliced scallions and fried shallots in each bowl over the noodles.

Ladle the hot tomato-shrimp broth over the noodles and garnishes, making sure each bowl gets several shrimp-pork patties and tomato wedges.

Serve immediately with lime wedges and chili on the side. Let diners add more fish sauce, tamarind or chili to taste.