Vietnamese Chicken and Bamboo Noodle Soup (Bun Mang Ga)

Vietnamese Chicken and Bamboo Noodle Soup (Bun Mang Ga)

Vietnamese chicken and bamboo noodle soup (Bun Mang Ga) is rice vermicelli noodles in a hearty bamboo-infused chicken broth. The bowl is garnished with green onions, cilantro and a couple of vibrant red slices of chili for that spicy kick.

Whenever I make the trip home to the motherland, I always bring back dried bamboo. Once you prep them by boiling it a couple of times, they turn out to be much more delicious and with better texture than the fresh bamboo I get here in the states.

I usually prep all my dried bamboo all at once so I have them ready to go. I first presoak the dried bamboo overnight. In the morning, I drain and rinse them a couple of time until water runs clear. Next, I boil the bamboo a few times as needed until they are softened and remove any hard stubs. Lastly, the now ready-to-go bamboo gets divided into family portions and stored in the freezer for next time. Future hungry Vicky is always so thankful for past proactive and awesome Vicky.

Because I have prepped the bamboo, this Vietnamese chicken and bamboo noodle soup takes no more than one hour, which is a lot quicker than all other noodle soups.

I really love eating bamboo shoots. They not only provides great flavor, but also has a nice crunch. It makes eating the noodle soup fun when you can hear that bite.

Recipe below. Enjoy!

Vietnamese Chicken and Bamboo Noodle Soup (Bun Mang Ga)

Vietnamese Chicken and Bamboo Noodle Soup (Bun Mang Ga)

Vietnamese Chicken Bamboo Noodle Soup (Bun Mang Ga)

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

Bamboo Shoots

• 1 lb bamboo shoots (boil and rinse until water runs clear and repeat; shred by hand along the grain then cut into bite-size pieces)
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 5 cloves garlic (peel and mince)
• 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon chicken stock powder

Broth

• 1 whole chicken
• 1 tablespoon salt (for cleaning chicken)
• 5 quarts water
• 5 oz ginger (unpeeled; cut into thick slices)
• 100 grams rock sugar
• 2 tablespoons sea salt
• 2 tablespoons chicken stock powder
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce

Noodles & Garnish

• 1 14.1 oz package rice vermicelli noodles
• Green onions (slice thin)
• Cilantro (roughly chop)
• Shredded white or purple cabbage
• Lime/lemon wedges

Instructions

1. Prep the bamboo shoots. In a large skillet or wok, add vegetable oil and heat on medium high. Add garlic and saute until fragrant. Add shredded bamboo. Season bamboo with sugar, salt and chicken stock powder. Toss evenly and set aside.
2. Clean the chicken by rubbing 1 tablespoon salt all over the skin and the insides. The abrasive action of the salt will remove the foul poultry smell and scrub the surface clean. Rinse chicken and drain dry.
3. In a large stock pot, bring 5 quarts water to a boil. Add chicken and ginger. Simmer on medium low and occasionally skim off any foam that rises to the top. After 30 minutes, test doneness of chicken then remove to prevent overcooking. Remove chicken from the stock and set aside to cool. Remove and discard ginger pieces. Add sauteed bamboo to the stock pot and simmer on medium low for 30 minutes. Season stock pot with rock sugar, salt, chicken stock powder and fish sauce.
4. Once chicken has cooled, chop into bite-sized pieces with a large cleaver. Set aside.
5. Cook noodles per package instructions.
6. To serve, add noodles, chicken and bamboo to a bowl. Ladle in hot broth and garnish bowl with green onions, cilantro and lime/lemon wedge.