Hu Tieu Nam Vang (Vietnamese Pork & Prawn Noodle Soup)
A clear, delicately sweet pork and prawn broth over silky rice noodles — Southern Vietnam's answer to pho, loaded with fresh herbs and crispy garlic.
Ingredients
- 500g pork bones
- 300g pork loin, thinly sliced
- 200g prawns, peeled
- 1 onion, halved
- 4cm ginger, sliced
- 1 tbsp rock sugar
- 3 tbsp fish sauce
- 400g dried thin rice noodles
- 4 cloves garlic, fried until golden
- Bean sprouts, garlic chives and coriander, to serve
- Lime wedges, to serve
Instructions
- Blanch pork bones in boiling water for 5 minutes, then drain and rinse.
- Char the onion and ginger under a grill or over a gas flame until lightly blackened.
- Place bones, onion and ginger in a large pot with 2.5L water. Simmer gently for 1.5 hours, skimming occasionally.
- Add rock sugar and fish sauce, then simmer pork loin slices in the broth for 10 minutes until just cooked. Remove and set aside.
- Poach prawns in the broth for 2–3 minutes until pink, then remove.
- Strain the broth and season to taste.
- Cook rice noodles according to packet instructions, then divide among bowls.
- Top with sliced pork, prawns, fried garlic, bean sprouts and herbs. Ladle over hot broth to serve.
About this dish
Hu Tieu Nam Vang hails from the Mekong Delta, with roots in Cambodian and Chinese cooking that give it a lighter, slightly sweeter broth than its northern cousin, pho. Pork bones and dried squid (or prawn heads) simmer low and slow to build a broth that's clean but deeply savoury.
The bowl comes together with tender pork slices, plump prawns, and thin rice noodles, all finished with a scatter of fried garlic, chives and bean sprouts. It's lighter than a beef pho but every bit as satisfying.
This home version streamlines the broth without losing the character — a solid stock, a short simmer with aromatics, and a good seasoning balance of fish sauce and rock sugar do most of the work.
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