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Vietnamese Pork Udon Soup - Banh Canh Gio Heo

Vietnamese Pork Udon Soup (Bánh Canh Giò Heo)

Print Recipe
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 45 minutes
Servings 8 bowls

Ingredients

For the broth

  • 4 lb pork soup bones
  • 2 lb pig trotters
  • 1 large white radish (daikon) peeled, cut into large chunks
  • 1 large white onion whole, peeled
  • ½ cup dried shrimp soaked in water
  • 2 dried squid
  • water about 6 qt, plus more for parboiling
  • salt plus more for parboiling

To season the broth

  • 3 tablespoon fish sauce to taste
  • ½ tablespoon sugar to taste
  • 1 tablespoon chicken powder to taste
  • salt to taste

To serve

  • bánh canh noodles
  • 1 tub cooked pork blood cubes cut into cubes
  • fried fish cakes sliced
  • green onion sliced
  • cilantro chopped
  • fried shallots
  • black pepper freshly crushed

Instructions

Parboil

  • Add the pork soup bones and pig trotters to a large pot, cover with water and salt heavily. Bring to a boil to parboil and release all the scum.
  • Drain, then clean the bones and trotters thoroughly under running water. Add them back to a clean pot with clean water.

Make the broth

  • While the pot heats, peel the daikon and cut it into large chunks. Soak the dried shrimp in water; they help sweeten the broth. Add the dried squid as well.
  • Add everything to the pot along with 1 whole white onion. Add salt and bring to a boil.
  • Once boiling, skim the foam from the top. Lower the heat and simmer.
  • After two hours, take out the pig trotters and let them cool in a bowl of cold water.
  • After another hour, remove the bones and everything else from the broth.
  • Add more water as needed and season with fish sauce, sugar, chicken powder and salt to taste.

Prep the toppings

  • Cut the cooked pork blood into cubes and slice the fried fish cakes.
  • Cook the bánh canh noodles according to the package, then drain.

Assemble

  • Before serving, blanch the noodles, trotters, fish cakes and blood cubes in the hot broth to warm them through, then add to a bowl.
  • Garnish with green onion, fried shallots and cilantro, crack fresh black pepper over the top, and ladle in the hot broth.

Notes

Pork blood: I buy raw pork blood at 99 Ranch and cook it into cubes, or look for pre-cooked blood cubes at Asian grocery stores.