Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm: Vietnamese noodles for adventurous palate

Name: Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm: Vietnamese noodles for adventurous palate
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 4 people
Ingredients: 1 pack Thin round rice noodles; 2 packs medium-firm tofu; cooking oil; 0.5 lbs Vietnamese Ham (Chả Lụa); 0.5 lbs Pork Belly or Pork Trotter; 1 shallot; 0.5 lbs Nem Rán (Hanoi-style spring rolls); Vietnamese Balm / Cockscomb Mint; Vietnamese perilla; Thai basil; mint; cucumber; lettuce; 4 tbsp Mắm Tôm (fermented shrimp paste); 4 tbsp sugar; 1 pinch MSG; 8 calamansi; 3 tbsp thinly sliced shallots; 3 tbsp cooking oil; chili; 3.5 oz carrot; 7 oz Kohlrabi (Green Papaya / Cucumber); 1 tsp salt; 2 tbsp sugar; 2 tbsp rice vinegar (5%); 2 tbsp fish sauce; 10 tbsp water; 1½ tbsp sugar; minced garlic; minced chili

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Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
1 hr
Servings
4 people
Course
Main Course
Cuisine
Vietnamese

Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm: Vietnamese noodles for adventurous palate

Gael Pickett

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Bún Đậu Mắm Tôm, a cherished Hanoi street food, features rice vermicelli with fried tofu and pungent fermented shrimp sauce. Once you acquire the taste, you'll be hooked!

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Ingredients

Servings

1 pack Thin round rice noodles (or "Bún" in Vietnamese)
2 packs medium-firm tofu (read my note 1)
cooking oil

Other toppings are optional but highly recommend (be around 1.5 lbs / 700g in total)

0.5 lbs Vietnamese Ham (Chả Lụa) (230g) (store-bought or homemade)
0.5 lbs Pork Belly or Pork Trotter (230g)
1 shallot (or scallions or a small piece of ginger)
0.5 lbs Nem Rán (Hanoi-style spring rolls) (230g) (read my note 2 about the spring rolls)

Herbs & Vegetables

Vietnamese Balm / Cockscomb Mint (Kinh Giới) (read my note 3 about the herbs)
Vietnamese perilla (Tía Tô)
Thai basil (Húng Quế)
mint
cucumber
lettuce

Fermented Shrimp Paste Dipping Sauce (Mắm Tôm)

4 tbsp Mắm Tôm (fermented shrimp paste)
4 tbsp sugar (to your taste)
1 pinch MSG (optional)
8 calamansi (only juice) (to your taste) (read my note 4 about substitutes)
3 tbsp thinly sliced shallots
3 tbsp cooking oil
chili (sliced) (to your taste)

Nước Mắm Chấm (Northern-style Dipping Fish Sauce) (If you can't handle Mắm Tôm)

3.5 oz carrot (100g)
7 oz Kohlrabi (Green Papaya / Cucumber) (200g)
1 tsp salt (for the pickle)
2 tbsp sugar (for the pickle)
2 tbsp rice vinegar (5%)
2 tbsp fish sauce
10 tbsp water
1½ tbsp sugar
minced garlic (to your taste)
minced chili (to your taste)
black pepper powder (to your taste)

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Instructions

Vermicelli Rice Noodle:

Boil the dry noodles following the package instructions. Drain the rice noodles without rinsing.
Spread the drained noodles on a tray, adjusting the thickness to your preference.
Press the rice noodles with a plate or cutting board, and a weight on top (I use a water-filled pot). Allow them to rest for 30 minutes.
Finally, use a knife to cut the noodle block into bite-sized parallelogram-shaped pieces.

Veggies & Herbs:

Pluck the leaves from the herbs and lettuce. Gentle wash and drain them well.
Wash and thinly slice the cucumber.

Tofu:

Slice the tofu into cubes.
Fry the tofu until they turn golden with a crispy exterior.

Vietnamese Ham:

Thinly slice and fry them until crispy.

Pork Belly / Pork Trotter:

Bring a pot of water to a boil, adding shallots (or scallions, ginger, etc.) since aromatics help remove the pork's odor.
Simmer the pork belly or pork trotter until there is no visible pink or red color when pierced with a chopstick.
Take the meat out of the pot and let it cool completely.
Slice the pork thinly.

Nem Rán (Hanoi Fried Spring Rolls):

Prepare Nem Rán in advance; you can store them in the freezer for several months.
Reheat the spring rolls either by deep-frying or air-frying.
Then, cut them into smalll pieces.

Mắm Tôm (Fermented Shrimp Paste Dipping Sauce):

In a bowl, mix the shrimp paste with sugar, MSG (optional) and calamansi juice until well-combined
In a pan, heat some oil, add the sliced shallots, and fry until they become lightly golden.
Add the fried shallots with some hot oil into the shrimp paste mixture. Mix well.
Add chili slices to your liking, and your Mắm Tôm is ready to enjoy.

Nước Mắm Chấm (if you can't handle Mắm Tôm):

Peel the carrot and kohlrabi, then thinly slice them.
Combine the vegetables with salt and sugar, allowing them to rest for 15 minutes.
In a separate bowl, whisk together fish sauce, sugar, vinegar, chili, garlic, and black pepper.
Add the drained carrot and kohlrabi to the fish sauce mixture.

Assemble & Savor:

Arrange all the components on a spacious platter: rice noodles, fried tofu, boiled pork, spring rolls, Vietnamese ham, herbs, and vegetables.
Dip each element into the sauce and savor your meal!

Notes

Opt for freshly-made tofu from an Asian market for the best flavor.
Stick to Hanoi-style spring rolls; Saigon-style or egg rolls (chả giò) are not for this dish.
If you can't find authentic herbs like Vietnamese Balm and Vietnamese Perilla, mint and Thai basil are suitable replacements.
In your Mắm Tôm dipping sauce, you can replace calamansi juice with lime/lemon juice or rice vinegar.
Opt for freshly-made tofu from an Asian market for the best flavor.
Stick to Hanoi-style spring rolls; Saigon-style or egg rolls (chả giò) are not for this dish.
If you can't find authentic herbs like Vietnamese Balm and Vietnamese Perilla, mint and Thai basil are suitable replacements.
In your Mắm Tôm dipping sauce, you can replace calamansi juice with lime/lemon juice or rice vinegar.