MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.06 Title: Bún Bò Huế (Spicy Beef Noodle Soup) Categories: Soups, Vietnamese Yield: 20 Servings 1 lb Tenton 1 lb Pork blood 1 lg Ginger piece; sliced 6 lb Beefy neck bones or beefy - bone-in beef shank 2 lb Boneless beef shank - (thit bo bap) 1/3 Pineapple; peeled and cut - into large chunks 12 Fresh lemongrass stalks; - trimmed off the upper - halves and bruised the - stalks then tie up in a - bunch 1 lg Yellow onion; skin peeled 1 lg Fresh ginger piece; - (palm size); sliced in - half lengthwise 4 ts Salt 1 tb Chicken bouillon 1 Rock-candied sugar knob - (1") -OR- 2 tb Sugar 1 Loaf Vietnamese uncooked - processed ham/sausage - (gio song/cha lua song) - [Store-bought; can be - purchased at most - Vietnamese grocery stores - in the freezer section] 1 ts Black pepper 1/4 lb Ground pork 3 cl Garlic (1 ts); chopped 1 tb Shallot; chopped 2 Green onions; chopped 1 ts Red paprika powder or dry - bun bo hue seasoning * 1/2 ts Sugar 2 tb Fish sauce 2 ts Baking powder 4 tb Cooking oil 5 cl Garlic (2 ts); - finely chopped 3 tb Lemongrass; finely chopped, - (frozen ok) 1/4 c Shallots; sliced 1 tb Fish sauce 1 tb Crushed red peppers - (optional) 2 tb Red paprika powder or dry - bun bo hue seasoning * 6 tb Fish sauce 3 tb Bun bo hue seasoning Sauce 1 tb Fine shrimp paste - (mam tom/ruoc) (optional) Thick rice vermicelli - noodles; cook 30 to - 45 minutes prior Cilantro; chopped Lime wedges Yellow onions; thinly sliced Banana blossom or green - cabbage; thinly sliced - (optional) Cooking time: 3 hours First step is to cook the beef tendons because this process will take about 3 hours. Boil a small pot of water and cook this separately for 3 hours until it softens. Rinse it once it's done and refrigerate for firmness, then slice into 2" pieces. Cover and keep it in a fridge until ready to serve. (Do not cook this together in your stock pot. The nasty film that releases from the tendon will not be good for your broth.) Carefully cut the block of pork blood into 3rds if it's too big. Bring a separate pot of water covering the blood by 3" above. Add the 1 medium size ginger to the pot. This helps remove the smell of the blood and cook it on low heat for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until cooked through. Once it's cooked, remove from heat, rinse under cold water and let it cool in a fridge. When it's cooled, cut into 2" cubes. Cover and keep it in a fridge until ready to serve. It's important that you cook this slow and low to prevent the honeycomb holes. Let's prepare the main broth! First off you want to par boil all the beef neck bones & beef shanks for about 10 minutes. Drain & wash the bones well to remove all muddy residues and wash the pot as well. This process is to remove all the dirty residues from the bones and to also maintain a very nice clean broth. continued in part 2 MMMMM