Combination Hu Tieu Noodle Soup with Pork, Shrimp and Squid

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A Saigon-style bowl built on one crystal-clear pork broth sweetened with daikon and dried shrimp. The shortcut is the point: buy the fish cake and pork roll at the Asian market, and poach the shrimp and squid right in the broth in the last three minutes so nothing turns rubbery. Chewy tapioca hu tieu noodles, fried garlic oil, and a mountain of herbs finish it.

Ingredients

• 3 lb pork neck bones or pork leg bones
• 1 lb boneless pork shoulder, in one piece
• 4 quarts cold water, plus more for blanching
• 1 lb daikon radish, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 large yellow onion, peeled and halved
• 3 oz dried squid (optional, for classic depth)
• 2 tbsp dried shrimp, rinsed
• 1 1/2 oz yellow rock sugar (about a 2-inch piece), or 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 3 tbsp fish sauce, plus more to taste
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp white pepper

• 1/2 lb large shrimp (26/30), peeled and deveined
• 1/2 lb cleaned squid bodies, scored and cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 lb store-bought Vietnamese pork roll (chả lụa), sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 6 oz store-bought steamed or fried fish cake, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb ground pork
• 1 tbsp fish sauce (for the ground pork)
• 12 cooked peeled quail eggs (optional)

• 14 oz dried tapioca hu tieu noodles (or flat dried rice noodles)
• 1/3 cup neutral oil
• 8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 3 tbsp fried shallots (store-bought)
• 4 oz bean sprouts
• 1/2 cup garlic chives or scallions, cut into 1-inch lengths
• 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, very thinly sliced

• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 2 Thai chiles, sliced
• Hoisin sauce and sriracha, for dipping

• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar

• 2 tbsp oyster sauce
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar

Instructions

1. Blanch for clarity: put the pork bones and the whole piece of pork shoulder in a large pot, cover with cold water, and bring to a hard boil over high heat. Boil 6 to 8 minutes, until a thick gray foam rises. Drain everything into the sink, then rinse each bone and the pork under cold running water, scrubbing off any clinging scum. Scrub the pot clean too — this single step is what keeps the broth clear.
2. Return the rinsed bones and pork to the clean pot with 4 quarts fresh cold water. Bring to a bare simmer over medium heat (small bubbles, never a rolling boil), skimming any foam for the first 10 minutes.
3. If using dried squid, toast it in a dry skillet over medium heat for 2 minutes per side until fragrant, then add it to the pot along with the daikon, halved onion, and dried shrimp. Simmer uncovered at 195–205°F for 2 hours, skimming occasionally and topping up with hot water if the level drops below the bones.
4. After 45 minutes of simmering, fish out the pork shoulder — it should read 160°F and feel firm. Plunge it into a bowl of ice water for 10 minutes (this keeps the surface pale and the slices tidy), then pat dry, wrap, and refrigerate until serving.
5. While the broth simmers, make garlic oil: heat the 1/3 cup neutral oil with the sliced garlic in a small skillet over medium-low. Stir constantly for 3 to 5 minutes until the garlic is pale gold, then immediately pour oil and garlic into a heatproof bowl — it will keep browning off the heat. Set aside.
6. Cook the ground pork: heat 1 tablespoon of the garlic oil in a skillet over medium-high. Add the ground pork and 1 tablespoon fish sauce, breaking it into small crumbles, and cook 5 to 6 minutes until browned and dry. Set aside.
7. Finish the broth: strain it through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot, discarding the solids (or keep a few daikon chunks for the bowls). You should have about 3 quarts; add hot water if short. Season with the rock sugar, 3 tablespoons fish sauce, 2 teaspoons salt, and the white pepper. Simmer 5 minutes, taste, and adjust — it should be clean, faintly sweet, and savory enough to drink on its own.
8. Soak the dried hu tieu noodles in warm tap water for 20 minutes while you set up. Slice the chilled pork shoulder as thinly as you can against the grain. Arrange the sliced pork, pork roll, fish cake, ground pork, and quail eggs on a tray so assembly is fast.
9. Bring a separate large pot of water to a boil for the noodles. In the broth pot, raise the heat to a gentle simmer and poach the shrimp for 90 seconds, until just pink and curled; lift them out with a spider. Add the squid and poach 45 to 60 seconds only, until opaque and barely firm, then remove. Turn the broth back down to low.
10. Boil the drained noodles 30 to 60 seconds (taste one — tapioca noodles should be springy and chewy, not soft), adding the bean sprouts to the pot for the last 10 seconds. Drain well, shaking off all water, and divide among 4 large warmed bowls.
11. Toss each portion of noodles with 1 teaspoon of the garlic oil so they don't clump. Top with sliced pork, pork roll, fish cake, ground pork, quail eggs, and the poached shrimp and squid. Scatter over the garlic chives, cilantro, sliced celery, and fried shallots.
12. Ladle about 1 1/2 cups of very hot broth down the side of each bowl so it doesn't wash the toppings out of place. Serve immediately with lime wedges, sliced chiles, and small dishes of hoisin and sriracha for dipping the meats.
13. For dry-style (hu tieu khô): whisk the oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and 2 tablespoons garlic oil, toss the drained noodles in it before topping, and serve the broth alongside in mugs.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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