Bun Thang, or Northern Style Variety Noodle Soup, is a popular dish to eat after Vietnamese Lunar New Year’s parties, because it can be made with leftover items. Thang translates to ladder, symbolizing the multiple components of the dish. Therefore, there is no one traditional set of ingredients for this dish.
Although the dish originated in the Northern Vietnam, there are many variations within one small town. However, there’s two terms that are a must – sliced egg ribbons and thin pork sausage slices (cha lua). Some recipes can be seen with shredded chicken, roasted port similar to chashu, and even grilled shrimp.
On our daily Hanoi food tours, we often pass by families cooking bun thang on the sidewalks. Many of our customers asked for a recipe to cook this interesting soup. This is the recipe from our grandma to cook Bun Thang, follow the steps and make your own soup at home.
INGREDIENTS
Broth
- 2 lb chicken
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 small ginger knob
- 1 medium lotus rôt
- 2 tbsp dried shrimp
- 1 tbsp of fish sauce
- 10 cups of water
- Salt
Toppings
- Shredded chicken
- 1 bag of rice Vermicelli
- 5 eggs
- ½ tbsp of fish sauce
- ½ lb of Vietnamese port
- Vietnamese sausage (cha lua)
- Scallions
- Cilantro
- Vietnamese coriander (rau ram)
- Red onion
STEPS
- Char 1 medium yellow onion and 1 small ginger knob. Halve the lotus root. In a large pot, add the 2 lb chicken, lotus root, onion, ginger and the 10 cups of water. Set on high heat until start to boil. After 30 minutes, discard the onion. For the pot, turn to medium heat and cover the pot for about 1 hour.
- Meanwhile, prepare the eggs. Beat 5 eggs in a bow. Add ½ tbsp of fish sauce to add a salty taste and to thin the mix. Lightly oil a pan, set on medium heat, and add about 2 tbsp of egg to make a thin layer. Repeat until there is no more egg mixture. Layer each of the thin egg slices on top of each other.
- When all of the egg mixture is used, loosely roll the egg slices together. Cut the roll into thin strips. Set aside.
- Remove chicken once it’s fully cooked. Shred when it has cooled. Set a side. Julienne the Vietnamese port sausage with equal thickness as the egg strips. Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions.
- Chop the scallions, cilantro, red onion, and Vietnamese coriander. Assemble each serving bow with a handful of noodles, egg strips in one are, pork sausage in another, and shredded chicken in the last part. Add herbs and a dash of fish sauces as desired.
That’s is the recipe to cook Vietnamese’s bun thang at home for 4 persons, with total preparation of about 20 minutes and another 50 minutes cooking. We believe you can confidently cook it at home, and proudly enjoy a traditional Vietnamese dish with your loved ones.
Please kindly let us know via email if you have any question.
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