Flavorful and peppery with a herbaceous pork filling, here is a delicious and authentic recipe for Vietnamese pork blood sausage my mother-in-law taught me.
I’m not going to sugarcoat it. This recipe takes some prep, and the intestinal smell? Let’s just say it’s an experience.
If you’re lucky enough to live near a Vietnamese community, you might find pre-made sausage at Asian grocery stores or delis, usually on a styrofoam tray wrapped in plastic or in the freezer for your convenience. Pick some up and call it a day. You’re welcome.
But if you’re brave enough to take on the full DIY experience, this step-by-step guide will walk you through the whole process.
What is Doi Huyet or Doi Heo?
Dồi huyết (or dồi heo) is Vietnamese pork blood sausage. It’s made by stuffing large pork intestines with a mixture of ground pork, raw pork blood, chopped herbs, aromatics, and seasonings.
After stuffing, the sausages are boiled, then pan-fried until caramelized and slightly crispy on the outside.
It’s often sliced thin and served with cháo lòng (Vietnamese offal porridge) with a sweet and savory Vietnamese ginger fish sauce (nuoc mama gung) for dipping. It can also be enjoyed on its own as an appetizer.
The taste is savory, herby, and slightly spicy from coarsely ground black pepper and chili peppers.
What You Will Need
Ruột Già Heo
Ruot gia heo is the Vietnamese translation for pork large intestines. These are the traditional casings for Vietnamese pork blood sausage.
They’re thicker and meatier than your typical sausage casing. They’re also easier to stuff because they’re wider.
But since they come from the tail end of the pig, they require a very thorough cleaning. Let me repeat. A thorough cleaning is a must.
You can easily find large intestines at Asian supermarkets. They’re usually stocked with the other organ meats. At 99 Ranch Market, they’re labeled as pork bung.
If possible, get them fresh instead of frozen. That way, you can sniff out the least smelly one. Frozen ones won’t reveal their odor until defrosted. By then, your life may be filled with regret.
To clean the pork intestines, we will need salt, all-purpose flour, and vinegar. The salt acts as a natural abrasive to help scrub the surface clean. The vinegar’s acidity helps reduce odors. The flour grabs onto impurities and residue, making them easier to rinse away.
Fresh Herbs
What makes Vietnamese pork blood sausage stands out is the use of fresh herbs. Fresh Vietnamese herbs are collectively known as Rau Thơm. This typically includes the following:
- Spearmint (Húng Lui)
- Peppermint (Húng Cây)
- Perilla/Sesame Shiso (Tía Tô)
- Vietnamese Balm (Kinh Giới)
- Thai Basil (Húng Quế)
- Cilantro (Ngò)
- Green Onions (Hành Lá)
- Culantro also known as Sawtooth Herb (Ngò Gai)
- Vietnamese Coriander/Vietnamese mint (Rau Răm)
- Rice Paddy Herbs (Ngò Om)
You need a few cups of fresh herbs so pick and choose whatever you have or whatever you prefer. I simply use whatever is leftover from making pho or other noodle soups or spring roll dishes.
I personally like to use a combination of Vietnamese coriander (rau ram) and Thai basil (hung que).
Green onions and cilantro is the bare minimum if you don’t like to use the more aromatic herbs. These two are also very easy to find.
Fresh Aromatics
Along with the leafy herbs, you will also need lemongrass, yellow onion or shallots, and garlic.
You can find pre-ground lemongrass in the freezer section at Asian grocery stores or as a paste in most American stores. I’m using freshly minced lemongrass from my garden.
Ground Pork
Ground pork is the base of the stuffing. You can grind your own using pork shoulder, also known as pork butt, or get them already ground from the grocery store.
Pork Blood
Can’t have blood sausage without blood. Raw pig’s blood is key. If you rather not include pork blood, that’s fine too. You will simply be making Vietnamese pork sausage.
Seasonings
Salt, sugar, chicken bouillon powder (a commonly used all-purpose seasoning in Southeast Asian cooking), MSG (a widely used and perfectly safe flavor enhancer in Southeast Asian cuisine), and coarsely ground black pepper.
If you prefer to avoid bouillon powder or MSG, feel free to omit them.
Other Equipment
- Disposable gloves are highly recommended. That intestinal smell lingers on your skin. I learned this the hard way.
- A small funnel helps with stuffing the sausage. I didn’t use one because I couldn’t find mine. But since I used large intestines with a wide opening, hand-stuffing worked just fine, albeit messy.
- Cooking twine is needed to secure the sausage.
- A toothpick or something short and sharp, like a small paring knife, is useful for piercing the sausage before boiling to prevent it from bursting.
How to Make Doi Huyet/Doi Heo
Step 1: Clean the Intestines
Wear disposable gloves and clean the large intestines thoroughly, inside and out. Start with a bit of salt, vinegar, and flour. Rub and massage well. Flip the intestines inside out and scrub with the mixture as well, then rinse.
Repeat as needed using more salt, vinegar, and flour. Rinse thoroughly until water runs clear.
Large pork intestines usually has excess fat along the inside, so make sure to remove it. You can gently pull it off by hand, but be careful not to tear the intestines. Alternatively, use scissors to snip off the fat to avoid accidental tearing.
Step 2: Make the Sausage Filling
In a bowl, mix ground pork, pork blood, herbs, aromatics and seasonings until evenly combined.
Step 3: Blanch the Intestines
In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add ginger slices, shallots, and coriander seeds or whole ground black pepper if you have them. This will make for an aromatic boiling mixture that will help with the smell, but the aromatics are not necessary.
Blanch the cleaned intestines for 30 seconds to slightly tighten for a more uniform elongated shape when stuffing.
Step 4: Stuff the Intestines
Tie one end of the large intestine with cooking twine. Use a funnel or spoon to fill the intestines with the pork mixture. After every few spoonfuls, gently push the filling down to distribute it evenly.
You can create smaller sausages by twisting sections of the stuffed intestines and tying them off with twine to form links, if preferred.
When done stuffing, tie the other end with a cooking twine to secure. Pierce the sausage with a toothpick evenly. This helps prevent bursting during boiling.
Step 5: Boil the Sausage
Return to the pot and bring the water to a low simmer if needed.
Add the sausages and simmer for 45 minutes. Once done, remove, rinse thoroughly, and pat dry with paper towels.
Step 6: Pan-Fry & Serve
In a large skillet, add a thin layer of neutral oil. Pan-fry the sausage (in batches if needed) until crispy and golden on all sides.
You’re done! You can set them aside until you’re ready to make Vietnamese offal porridge (chao long) or slice them up to enjoy as is as an appetizer with Vietnamese ginger fish sauce (nước mắm gừng).
FAQs
Can I use a different casing?
Yes. If you want a shortcut, you can get pork casings from a reputable sausage making company.
These casing are usually the pork small intestines also known as chitterling or chitlins. They are higher up on the pig so it’s less work to clean.
The only drawback is that the final texture won’t be quite as authentic.
These pork casings are also thinner and usually much smaller in width and will likely require a sausage stuffing machine.
Do I have to pan-fry it?
Technically no, as the sausages are already cooked thoroughly after boiling. But pan-frying adds flavor and helps get rid of any leftover smell. It also creates that beautiful crust.
Storage & Reheating
This is a labor intensive process so if I’m making this, I make a large batch and I’ll finish it from start to end. This means cleaning, stuffing, boiling and frying.
After that, allow it to cool then wrap them tightly with plastic wrap and store in an airtight bag or container in the fridge (up to 3 days) or freezer (up to 1 month).
Pan fry it again to quickly reheat or in the air fryer or toaster oven at 350F for about 5-8 minutes or until crispy and warmed through.
Vietnamese Blood Sausage (Dồi Huyết)
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 4 large sausages 1x
Description
Savory and herby, this Vietnamese pork blood sausage is perfect for offal porridge (cháo lòng) or on its own as an appetizer. This recipe yields 4 large sausages (about 1-1/2 inch wide and 7 inches long).
Ingredients
Pork Mixture
- 2 lbs ground pork
- 12 oz raw pork blood
- 4 cups fresh herbs leaves (roughly chopped; see notes)
- 3 tablespoons minced lemongrass
- 2 green onions (thinly sliced)
- 1/2 cup finely diced yellow onions
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 2–4 red chili peppers (thinly sliced)
Pork Casings
- 2 lbs pork large intestines (see notes)
- 1/2 cup salt (for cleaning)
- 1 cup vinegar (for cleaning)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (for cleaning)
Seasonings
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 3 tablespoons chicken bouillon powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon MSG
- 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper
Instructions
- Clean the Intestines: Wear disposable gloves and clean the large intestines thoroughly, inside and out. Start with a bit of salt, vinegar, and flour. Rub and massage well. Flip the intestines inside out and scrub with the mixture as well, then rinse. Repeat as needed using more salt, vinegar, and flour. Trim off excess fat along the inside.
- Make the Sausage Filling: In a bowl, mix ground pork, pork blood, herbs, aromatics and seasonings until evenly combined.
- Blanch the Intestines: In a large pot, bring water to a boil. Add ginger slices, shallots, and coriander seeds or whole ground black pepper if you have them. Blanch the cleaned intestines for 30 seconds to help them tighten. Remove and drain well. Set the boiling mixture aside while you make the sausage.
- Stuff the Intestines: Tie one end of the large intestine with cooking twine. Use a funnel or spoon to fill the intestines with the pork mixture. After every few spoonfuls, gently push the filling down to distribute it evenly. You can create smaller sausages by twisting sections of the intestine to form links. Tie the other end when you’re done stuffing, then pierce the sausage evenly with a toothpick.
- Boil the Sausage: Return to the pot and bring the water to a low simmer if needed. Add the sausages and simmer for 45 minutes. Remove, rinse thoroughly, and pat dry with paper towels.
- Pan-Fry & Serve: In a large skillet, add a thin layer of neutral oil. Pan-fry the sausage (in batches if needed) until crispy and golden on all sides. You can store the sausages in the fridge until you’re ready to make offal porridge or slice them up to enjoy as an appetizer with Vietnamese ginger fish sauce (nước mắm gừng).
Notes
Fresh herbs that you can use: mint (any variety), perilla, Vietnamese balm, Thai basil, cilantro, green onions, culantro, Vietnamese coriander, and rice paddy herbs. Use whatever herbs you have on hand or prefer, like Vietnamese coriander and Thai basil. Green onions and cilantro are the basic must-haves if you prefer simpler flavors.
If you can’t find pork large intestines, you can use large hog casings. which may be smaller and require a stuffing machine.
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: Asian, Vietnamese
