Seafood Hu Tieu Noodle Soup

By Sprig Originals ✓ · cooked up in Sprig

A bowl of clear, sweet-savory Vietnamese noodle soup built on a shortcut broth of pork bones, dried shrimp and daikon that comes together in about an hour instead of half a day. Shrimp, squid and springy fish balls are poached to order and ladled over chewy tapioca noodles, then finished with crackling fried garlic oil, herbs and a squeeze of lime.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lb pork neck bones or country-style pork ribs
• 1/3 cup dried shrimp, rinsed
• 1 piece dried squid (about 1 oz), optional but traditional
• 1 medium yellow onion, peeled and halved
• 1 lb daikon radish, peeled and cut into 1-inch rounds
• 4 dried shiitake mushrooms
• 8 cups water
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 tbsp crushed rock sugar (or 2 tsp granulated sugar)
• 2 1/2 tbsp fish sauce, plus more to taste
• 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

• 12 oz dried tapioca hu tieu noodles (hu tieu dai)
• 12 oz large shrimp, peeled and deveined, tails on
• 8 oz cleaned squid bodies, cut into 1/2-inch rings
• 8 oz fish balls, halved if large
• 8 oz pork loin or pork shoulder, in one piece
• 8 cooked quail eggs, peeled (optional)

• 1/4 cup neutral oil
• 6 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 4 scallions, thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves
• 1/4 cup Chinese celery or regular celery leaves, chopped
• 3 cups bean sprouts
• 1 lime, cut into wedges
• 2 Thai chiles, thinly sliced
• white pepper, for serving
• hoisin and Sriracha, for dipping

Instructions

1. Put the pork neck bones in a large pot, cover with cold water and bring to a rolling boil over high heat, about 8 minutes. Boil hard for 3 minutes, then drain into a colander and rinse each piece under cold running water to wash off the grey scum. Scrub out the pot — this parboil is what buys you a clear broth in an hour instead of four.
2. Return the rinsed bones to the clean pot with 8 cups water and 2 cups chicken broth. Add the dried shrimp, dried squid, halved onion, daikon rounds and dried shiitakes. Bring to a boil over high heat, then immediately drop to a bare simmer (small bubbles only, around 195°F). Skim any foam for the first 5 minutes.
3. Nestle the whole piece of pork loin into the simmering broth and cook 25 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer reads 145°F. Lift it out, plunge into a bowl of ice water for 5 minutes to keep it juicy and pale, then drain, pat dry and refrigerate. Slice thinly across the grain just before serving.
4. Continue simmering the broth, uncovered, for a total of 55–60 minutes. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot; discard the bones, dried squid and onion but reserve the daikon and shiitakes if you like them in the bowls. Season the strained broth with the rock sugar, fish sauce and salt, then taste — it should be gently sweet, savory and clean. Adjust with more fish sauce or a pinch of sugar. Keep at a low simmer.
5. While the broth simmers, make the garlic oil: combine the oil and sliced garlic in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring often, 4–6 minutes, until the garlic is pale gold — pull it off the heat the moment it turns straw-colored, as it will keep browning. Scrape oil and garlic into a heatproof bowl.
6. Soak the dried tapioca noodles in warm tap water for 20 minutes, until pliable. Bring a separate large pot of unsalted water to a boil, add the drained noodles and cook 1–2 minutes, until chewy and translucent with no chalky center. Drain, rinse briefly under warm water to remove surface starch, and divide among 4 deep bowls. Toss each portion with 1 teaspoon of the garlic oil so they do not clump.
7. Poach the seafood to order in the simmering broth: add the fish balls and cook 3 minutes, then add the shrimp and squid and cook 90 seconds to 2 minutes, just until the shrimp curl and turn opaque and the squid rings are firm and white. Do not let the broth boil — squid toughens fast. Lift the seafood out with a spider or slotted spoon and arrange over the noodles.
8. Top each bowl with sliced poached pork, a few quail eggs, and the reserved daikon and shiitakes if using. Ladle about 1 1/2 cups of very hot broth over each bowl, then finish with fried garlic and its oil, scallions, cilantro, celery leaves and a dusting of white pepper. Serve immediately with bean sprouts, lime wedges, sliced chiles and small dishes of hoisin and Sriracha on the side.

Chef's tips

Nutrition (per serving, estimated)

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