Bun Bo Hue Chay (Vegetarian Spicy Noodle Soup) | Wok And Kin

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Spoil your family with Bun Bo Hue Chay, the vegetarian take on a classic Vietnamese spicy noodle soup. The broth is exquisitely sweet from slow cooked vegetables and topped with a fragrant lemongrass blend that just explodes with incredible flavor!

Noodles, mushrooms and tofu in a bowl of soup with carrots and mint

The noodle soup to impress everyone

Let me preface the post by saying this:

You won’t find a Bun Bo Hue Chay recipe like this anywhere on the web.

Most noodle soups of this nature have the basics that one would expect – a few vegetables for the stock, a quick boil, some toppings and a few sprigs of garnish.

Not Mum’s Bun Bo Hue Chay.

The beauty of this recipe is that it’s entirely meatless and doesn’t compromise on any flavor!

The soup is LOADED with the classic Bún Bò Huế aromatics – a spicy lemongrass blend that’s pan fried until golden.

Every slurp is light, yet tastes amazingly complex with the perfect balance of sweet and savory. One sip and you’ll be blown away!

Not to mention, when you lift the rice noodles up after having been submerged in the soup, every bit of lemongrass will latch on, meaning that first mouthful – and every mouthful after – will be glorious.

Noodles twirled around chopsticks in a bowl of soup with tofu, mushrooms and carrots

Why this recipe works

Slow cooking the stock vegetables for hours and using coconut water results in a naturally sweet stock that is second to none.
Stir frying the aromaticsadds an exciting kick of flavor. Get ready for your house to smell amazing.
Cooking the toppings in the lemongrass blend adds dimension to every layer of this dish so no mouthful will be boring!

What you’ll need

The Vegetable Stock

Bottled coconut water, carrots, lion's mane mushrooms in a bowl, daikon and cabbage

About the selection

The beauty of making your own stock is that you can use whichever fruit and vegetables you have on hand. We use a large quantity for our stock to make it sweeter, but you can certainly use less or switch them out for others. Here are some alternatives:

Apple
Pineapple
Jicama
Pear
Chinese cabbage
Celery
Corn

Mum also sources lion’s mane mushrooms pre-prepared and pre-seasoned from a vegetarian shop, but they can be easily replaced with another flavorful variant like the shiitake mushroom.

Stock Seasoning

Vegetable stock powder tin, vegan fish sauce bottle, annatto seeds in a dish, Chinese cinnamon, bun bo hue chay stock cubes, salt, rock sugar and ginger

About the seasoning

We get all of these vegetarian sauces and spices from our local Asian supermarket, but they can also be found in Asian vegetarian specialty stores.

The Toppings

Vegan fish balls, shiitake mushrooms, yam chunks and vegetarian ham slices in bowls along with a bag of burdock gean

About the produce

We use many ingredients readily available from our local Asian vegetarian grocery store. The vegetarian ham, burdock gean, vegetarian fish balls and yam were all sold in the frozen section.

You can even use vegan beef slices for it to closely resemble to the meat version of Bún Bò Huế!

If these ingredients aren’t available in your region, you can simply use mushrooms instead. Enoki, king oyster, oyster, cup, swiss brown, portobello and straw mushrooms work wonderfully in this dish!

The Lemongrass Blend

Vegetable stock powder, salt and honey in dishes along with lemongrass stalks and chili in a colander

About the lemongrass blend

Adding chili is entirely optional. If you would like its flavor without the as much heat, remove the seeds first.

The Garnish

Thai basil, mint and lizard's tail in bundles along with quartered whole purple and green cabbage and a bag of bean sprouts

About the herbs

All the garnish can be found in Asian fresh produce markets. The herbs are often sold in bundles while the cabbage might be cut into smaller portions and wrapped in cling wrap.

The Noodles

About the noodles

Use the thick round rice noodle, often labelled as ‘rice vermicelli’ on packets. These are easily found in Asian supermarkets.

How to make this recipe

Cut the vegetables into large chunks and bring a large pot of water to boil. Put the vegetables in to simmer on high heat for 3 hours or until soft.

Cabbage and carrot chunks in a pot with shiitake and lion's mane mushrooms

When the vegetables have started to soften, add the shiitake and lion’s mane mushrooms and continue to cook for the remaining 2 hours. This will give it an extra depth of flavor.

Lemongrass cut into chunks in a bowl along with a bowl of chili where both are then blitzed until fine

Meanwhile, chop the lemongrass and chili into 1.5 cm (0.6″) pieces and blitz them in a food processor until fine.

Blitzed lemongrass and chili brown in a pan

Add the oil to a pan on medium heat then brown the lemongrass and chili with the salt, vegan fish sauce, vegetable stock powder and honey. Transfer to a jar when done.

Burdock gean in a pan with a wooden spoon

In the same pan, cook each topping in separate batches with 1/4 US cup of the lemongrass blend for 3 minutes each. Transfer to serving dishes when cooked.

While the stock is still simmering, cook the noodles in a pot of boiling water for 10 minutes or until al dente. Drain and run under cold water until cool then transfer to a colander to drip dry.

Tip: Stir the noodles every few minutes while cooking to prevent them from sticking to the bottom of the pot.

Fine lemongrass in a pot with vegetable stock

When the vegetables have softened enough for a chopstick to pierce right through, scoop them out along with the mushrooms and add the coconut water along with 1 US cup of the lemongrass blend, the stock cubes, ginger, cinnamon bark, fish sauce, salt and rock sugar.

Let it simmer for 20 minutes.

Thinly slice the mushrooms and transfer to a serving dish.

Heat up oil in a small pan and cook the annatto seeds on low heat for 1 minute or until it just starts to darken.

Annatto seeds in a sieve over a pot of vegetable stock

Pour the annatto seed oil into a sieve hovering over the vegetable stock and run it through broth until it no longer releases a red liquid.

Assemble your bowl with noodles, toppings, hot soup and the lemongrass blend then serve with fresh garnish and a squeeze of lime!

FAQs

What if I don’t have the bun bo hue chay stock cubes?

You’ll get most of the flavor from your lemongrass blend, so just add more of that into your broth.

I can’t find annatto seeds. What do I do?

The annatto seeds are used purely for adding a red color to the broth. You can leave them out if they’re not easily available.

Tips for the tastiest broth

Use fresh seasonal produce. Every season will have its variety of fruit and vegetables that are at their prime. Take advantage of the best ones at the time and use them for your stock.
Cook the broth before all else. Not only does simmering for longer result in a more fragrant soup, it will also give you the chance to prepare the other ingredients while the stock is cooking in the background.
Be generous with the lemongrass. This dish is traditionally served with a small jar of the lemongrass blend for anyone to add extra flavor to their bowl, but it doesn’t hurt to add a punch of aromatics as soon as you can!

Noodles held up by chopsticks in a bowl of soup with mushrooms, carrots and mint

Try these other amazing vegetarian dishes!

Easy Lemongrass Tofu – Super simple, fragrant and quick to make, Mum’s lemongrass fried tofu is perfect for those emegency dinners!
Buddha’s Delight (Lo Han Jai 罗汉斋) – Grandma’s famous vegetable stew that she makes only once a year. It beautifully balances sweet, salty and tangy flavors to become one of our family’s the most anticipated dish.
Bún Riêu Chay (Vegetarian Tomato Noodle Soup) – A light and tangy broth with silky thin rice noodles that’s finished with fresh herbs and tomato-infused toppings!

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Bún Bò Huế Chay (Vegetarian Spicy Noodle Soup)

This Bun Bo Hue Chay recipe proves that vegetarian noodle soups don't have to be boring! Full of spicy lemongrass flavor, you'll love how delicious and light it is. It's the perfect weekend meal! 5 from 9 votes Print Pin Rate Prep Time: 1 hour Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes Servings: 10 Calories: 415kcal Author: Jeannette

Equipment

▢ Food processor