Vietnamese Seafood Egg Noodle Soup with Springy Egg Noodles

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A clear, deeply savory pork-and-dried-shrimp broth built in under an hour, then poured over springy egg noodles and seafood poached at the very last minute so the shrimp, squid and scallops stay sweet and tender. Finished the way the best Vietnamese noodle houses do it: fried shallots, garlic chives, white pepper and a wedge of lime.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb pork neck bones or meaty spare ribs
• 1/3 cup dried shrimp, rinsed
• 1 piece dried squid (about 1 oz), optional
• 1 medium yellow onion, halved
• 8 oz daikon radish, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 3 inch piece ginger, halved lengthwise
• 10 cups water
• 1 tbsp rock sugar (or 2 tsp granulated sugar)
• 3 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 tsp ground white pepper

• 12 oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined, shells reserved
• 8 oz cleaned squid bodies, cut into 1/2-inch rings
• 6 oz bay scallops or quartered sea scallops
• 4 oz Vietnamese or Chinese fish cake, sliced thin
• 4 oz imitation crab sticks, pulled into strands
• 12 oz fresh thin egg noodles (mì trứng)
• 6 oz baby bok choy or napa cabbage, quartered
• 1 tsp neutral oil

• 3 tbsp fried shallots
• 1/2 cup garlic chives or scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
• 1/3 cup cilantro leaves
• 1 cup bean sprouts
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 1 red Fresno or Thai chile, sliced
• Ground white pepper, for serving

• 2 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sliced chile

Instructions

1. Put the pork bones in a large pot, cover with cold water by 2 inches, and bring to a hard boil over high heat. Boil 3 minutes, then drain into a colander and rinse each piece under cold running water to remove the gray scum. Scrub out the pot — this is the single step that gives you a clear broth.
2. Return the rinsed bones to the clean pot with 10 cups fresh water, the dried shrimp, dried squid (if using), onion halves, daikon, ginger and rock sugar. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately drop to a bare simmer — you want lazy bubbles, not a rolling boil. Skim any foam for the first 5 minutes.
3. Simmer uncovered 45 minutes. Meanwhile, toast the reserved shrimp shells in a dry skillet with 1 tsp neutral oil over medium-high heat, 2 to 3 minutes, until bright pink and fragrant, then add them to the simmering broth for the last 15 minutes.
4. Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot; discard the solids (or pick the pork meat off the bones and save it for the bowls). You should have about 7 to 8 cups. Season with 3 tbsp fish sauce, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp white pepper and more sugar or salt to taste — it should taste clean, lightly sweet and assertively savory, since the noodles will dilute it. Hold at a low simmer.
5. Pat all the seafood very dry and keep it refrigerated until the moment you cook. Whisk the optional dipping sauce ingredients together and set out the garnishes, so nothing waits once the seafood goes in.
6. Bring a second large pot of unsalted water to a boil. Blanch the bok choy 60 to 90 seconds, until the stems are crisp-tender; lift out and divide among 4 large bowls. Loosen the fresh egg noodles with your fingers, boil 45 to 60 seconds (taste one — they should be springy, never soft), then drain well, shaking off every drop, and nest them over the greens.
7. Bring the broth up to 190°F — steaming with just a shiver of movement at the edges, not boiling. Add the fish cake and squid and poach 45 seconds. Add the shrimp and scallops and poach 60 to 90 seconds more, until the shrimp are just opaque and curled into a loose C. Turn off the heat, stir in the imitation crab, and let it sit 30 seconds.
8. Divide the seafood among the bowls, arranging it in neat piles over the noodles, then ladle in about 1 3/4 cups hot broth per bowl. Top each with garlic chives, cilantro, fried shallots, a pinch of white pepper and a few chile slices. Serve immediately with bean sprouts, lime wedges and the dipping sauce alongside.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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