The Vietnamese dish of Bún Bò Nam Bộ or the warm beef noodle salad is one of my favorite Vietnamese dishes. Bún Bò Nam Bộ is a delicious Vietnamese dish that is bursting with flavors.

The Vietnamese dish of Bún Bò Nam Bộ or the warm beef noodle salad is a wonderful Vietnamese dish. Bún Bò Nam Bộ is a very popular food in North Vietnam. It is quite an easy Vietnamese recipe to make and you should be able to find most of the vegetables and ingredients you need to make Bún Bò Nam Bộ at home.

Table of Contents

• What is the Vietnamese Dish called Bun Bo Nam Bo?
• Our Bun Bo Nam Bo Recipe
  • Video On How To Make Bun Bo Nam Bo
• Bun Bo Nam Bo or Warm Beef Noodle Salad Recipe
• Bun Bo Nam Bo -Warm Beef Noodle Salad Recipe
• Related Questions
  • How Do You Eat Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls?
  • How Do You Eat Vietnamese Bun Cha?

What is the Vietnamese Dish called Bun Bo Nam Bo?

The Vietnamese dish of Bún Bò Nam Bộ translates from Vietnamese into English to – The beef noodle dish from the southern region. What is interesting about Bún Bò Nam Bộ is that even though the North Vietnamese consider it to be from South Vietnam, it is actually a more popular dish in North Vietnam than in South Vietnam.

Some people say that Bún Bò Nam Bộ was brought from South Vietnam to North Vietnam. Others say that it originated in North Vietnam, but as the dish is considered to have a more southern Vietnamese style to it, that is why they consider it to be from South Vietnam. The truth is that no one really knows for sure where Bún Bò Nam Bộ came from or how it became so popular in the Northern Vietnamese capital of Hanoi, Vietnam.

Bún Bò Nam Bộ is one of the top 10 dishes that CNN Travel says everyone should try to eat in Vietnam. CNN Travel has said this about Bún Bò Nam Bộ:

Our Bun Bo Nam Bo Recipe

Like many Vietnamese dishes, there are several parts to the Vietnamese Bún Bò Nam Bộ dish. Our recipe has three main parts for the Bún Bò Nam Bộ or Vietnamese Warm Beef Noodle Salad.

Here are the different parts of Bún Bò Nam Bộ or the Vietnamese Warm Beef Salad:

• Beef – The beef used in Bún Bò Nam Bộ is very thinly sliced beef. The beef is marinated and then cooked with garlic and oil on very high heat. This allows the beef to not only cook quickly but also to be full of flavor.
• Rice Noodle – Rice noodles are a staple in Vietnam. In Vietnam, we purchase fresh rice noodles the day we use them. But when you make your Bún Bò Nam Bộ, if you cannot purchase them fresh, you can buy some dried rice noodles and then boil them as per the instructions on the rice noodle packet. Try to get a packet of Vietnamese rice noodles since not all are alike. Some Vietnamese brands, such as Annie Chun’s, Three Ladies, and Caravelle, have good rice noodles. If you cannot find these brands and you live near a large Asian Grocery store, you can go there and ask them what Vietnamese Rice Noodles they recommend. If you want, you can try to make your rice noodles, click here for a straightforward recipe from Epicurious that you can try to make.
• Vegetable Salad – One of the great things about Bún Bò Nam Bộ is that it is filled with many fresh vegetables. If you live in a place like America, you should be able to get most of these vegetables. The vegetables for Bún Bò Nam Bộ include lettuce, fresh cilantro, fresh mint, and fresh bean sprouts.

Video On How To Make Bun Bo Nam Bo

Here is a video to guide you through making your own Vietnamese Bún Bò Nam Bộ or warm beef noodle salad.  

In this video, we will show you how to:

• Marinate and cook the beef for the Bún Bò Nam Bộ
• Make the Bún Bò Nam Bộ sauce
• Prepare the vegetables for the salad
• Prepare and serve your Bún Bò Nam Bộ

Bun Bo Nam Bo or Warm Beef Noodle Salad Recipe

This is our recipe for Bún Bò Nam Bộ or the Vietnamese Warm Beef Noodle Salad.

You can download the PDF copy of the recipe by clicking on our Bún Bò Nam Bộ recipe below:

Bun Bo Nam Bo -Warm Beef Noodle Salad Recipe

For this recipe, you will need about 100 grams or 3.5 ounces of garlic that is finely cut up or pressed.  This is about 6 gloves of small size garlic.  You can feel free to add or take out the garlic as to your preferred tastes.  

6 servings per recipe

Beef: 

600  grams or 1.3 pounds of thinly sliced beef. 

2 Tablespoons Sugar

1 Teaspoon sea salt

2 Teaspoon pepper

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil 

1 Teaspoon Fish Sauce (feel free to add more if you like the fish sauce taste) 

2 heaping teaspoons minced garlic 

2 Tablespoons Vegetable Oil 

Vegetable oil for cooking the meat

Extra garlic to fry the meat with.  

Bún Bò Nam Bộ Sauce:

4 cups water

1/2 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cups Fish Sauce

1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar

3  heaping teaspoons of garlic

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

3 pieces fresh small red chill cut up in small pieces, or about 2 heaping red chili peppers cut up.   (you can add more or less depending on how spicy you want it)  

You can add or delete the sugar according to your taste.  You can put in less sugar or more.  

For the Bún Bò Nam Bộ Salad

225 grams or 1/2 pound peanuts (cut up in small pieces) 

400 grams or about .88 pounds of fresh bean sprouts

1 kilo or 2.20 pounds of rice noodles (cooked) 

2 large heads of lettuce or about 300 grams or .66 pounds.  

67 grams or 2.35 ounces of cilantro (this is about one bunch of cilantro) 

30 grams of fresh mint or 1.05 ounces of fresh mint (about 1/2 bunch of fresh mint) 

Directions:

Mix the sugar, salt, pepper, garlic, fish sauce, and vegetable oil into the thinly sliced beef  Let it marinate for at least 1 hour.  You can also prepare ahead of time and let it marinate overnight.  

While the beef is marinating, you can mix up the Bun Bo Nam Bo sauce.  Just add the water. sugar and then stir until the sugar dissolves in the water.  Then add the fish sauce and apple cider vinegar. Red chili peppers, garlic, and black pepper.   You can allow this to sit, but this sauce is usually best if used the same day you make it. 

For the salad, cut up all the salad into small bite-size pieces.   For the fresh bean sprouts, quickly steam or blanch them in water.  You want them to be slightly crunchy.  You can also do a quick fry on these if you prefer that.  

Heat the vegetable oil in the pan until hot.  Then put in about a tablespoon of garlic.  Cook the garlic until it is brown, then add the beef and let the beef cook.  You may need to do this twice with the amount of beef you have.   Cook the beef right before serving.

Boil the noodles so you can serve them hot.  

You should serve the following warm (they do not need to be hot) – noodles, beef, and bean sprouts.  You can also heat up the Bun Bo Nam Bo sauce.   

Serving Bún Bò Nam Bộ – The Bún Bò Nam Bộ Bowl

Cilantro and mint cut up at the bottom

Put noodles on top of it. 

Add the Lettuce, beef, peanuts, and more cilantro and mint on the top

Pour in as much of the Bun Bo Nam Bo as you want. Some people like it dry but I prefer to use a lot of sauce.  Mix it all up and eat it with the sauce.   To see more of how to eat it and to serve it you can watch our video on Bun Bo Nam Bo on our YouTube Channel A Bus On A Dusty Road 

I really love the Vietnamese Bún Bò Nam Bộ or the warm beef noodle salad. It is a fresh and wonderful Vietnamese dish with many great flavors. The Vietnamese Bún Bò Nam Bộ is an easy Vietnamese dish to make that is also fresh and delicious.

Related Questions

How Do You Eat Vietnamese Fried Spring Rolls?

Vietnamese spring rolls are usually eaten with rice noodles, vegetables, and a spring roll sauce. There is really no fixed recipe, as many parts of Vietnam may use their recipes. So we will share with you our own special Vietnamese Spring Roll or Nem Recipe. We have a video to show you how to mix, roll, fry, and eat Vietnamese spring rolls.

So if you want to know how to properly eat Vietnamese fried spring rolls, go read our blog Fried Vietnamese Spring Rolls (Nem), What You Need to Know by clicking here. If our video, we show you how we eat Vietnamese fried spring rolls here in Hanoi, Vietnam.

How Do You Eat Vietnamese Bun Cha?

Bun Cha is a Vietnamese food dish with rice noodles, vegetables, grilled pork, and bun cha sauce. The Vietnamese dish of Bún Chả is thought to have originated in North Vietnam. It is a dish you can learn to make and serve in your home.

You can watch our video about how to make and eat Bun Cha. The video shows you how we eat Bun Cha in Hanoi, Vietnam. You can also read our blog on The Vietnamese Bun Cha Food Dish, All You Need To Know by clicking here.