Bún Quậy Recipe

Bún quậy, or Vietnamese quick-stirred seafood noodle soup, is a delicacy of Phu Quoc island in Southern Vietnam.

It consists of chewy rice noodles, various seafood, refreshing vegetables, and a flavorful sauce based on calamansi juice. Trying Vietnamese bún quậy in its hometown is wonderful, but making it at home is even better!

Scroll down for in-depth information about the special features of this noodle soup, the tools and ingredients you must have to prepare it, how to cook it at home from scratch, cooking tips to increase its quality, the best ways to store and reheat it, and suggestions for similar dishes.

Let’s begin with bún quậy specialty and what makes it distinctive!

What Makes Bún Quậy Special?

Bún quậy is a specialty of Phu Quoc, a tropical island in Kien Giang Province and one of the most famous tourist attractions in Southern Vietnam. After visiting the stunning beaches or vibrant local markets, eating a hot bowl of noodle soup is a great thing to do.

While bún quậy is a Phu Quoc delicacy, the noodle soup has its roots in Binh Dinh, a coastal province in Central Vietnam. It was brought to Phu Quoc in the 2000s by Binh Dinh immigrants and adapted to suit the local palate.

The best place to try Vietnamese quick-stirred seafood noodle soup in Phu Quoc is Bun Quay Kien – Xay, a restaurant that claims to be the birthplace of bún quậy. Outside Phu Quoc, a few places offer this noodle soup in Southern Vietnam, especially Ho Chi Minh City.

Bún quậy contains various kinds of seafood, such as fish, shrimp, squids, etc. The broth is made from boiling rice noodles and seafood, creating a lot of umami. The noodle soup is always paired with a calamansi juice-based dipping sauce, which balances the flavor with tangy notes.

To serve the noodle soup correctly, the eater has to make their dipping sauce by stirring chili peppers, soup powder, sugar, and salt in calamansi juice. That is the origin of the name, which is literally “stirred noodles.” Stirring is also necessary to distribute the toppings.

Now, let’s find out the proper cooking tools first.

What Are Tools for Making Bún Quậy?

To make bún quậy from start to finish, you’re going to need these tools:

What Are the Main Ingredients of Bún Quậy?

The ingredient list of this Vietnamese quick-stirred seafood noodle soup is pretty long. But don’t worry! Most of them are easy to buy at supermarkets or Asian grocery stores.

Seafood

Other Ingredients

The dipping sauce needs calamansi juice, sugar, salt, and soup powder. It is made at the end of the preparation, right before serving.

How Can I Prepare Bún Quậy at Home?

The main steps of making Vietnamese bún quậy from scratch consist of 7 steps as below. They may sound a little complicated but read on, and you will find out that it is no big deal!

Step 1: Prepare the Ingredients

Rinse the vegetables and let them drain.

Finely chop the shallots.

Cut the lemongrass stalks in half. Chop the fleshy parts. Bash the rest with the blade of your knife.

Remove the heads of the shrimp before peeling them. But don’t throw away the heads and shells: they are the ingredients for making this noodle soup.

For each squid, slice it as if you were prepping it for squid rings, but only move the knife half the way down or so. Making such cuts improves the presentation of the dish.

Step 2: Make the Shrimp Paste

Pound the shrimp finely with a mortar and pestle. Add pepper powder, ground pepper, soup powder, and half the shallots. Continue pounding until well blended.

Cover and refrigerate the shrimp paste.

Step 3: Make the Fish Paste

In a bowl, add ground fish, red pepper powder, ground pepper, soup powder, and the remaining shallots.

Dissolve a teaspoon of salt in a cup of water.

Put on a pair of plastic gloves, and mix the fish paste for 1 – 2 minutes.

Dip your fingers in the salt water, then use them to mix the fish paste for 20 seconds. Repeat the process for 3 – 5 minutes. This step improves the consistency of the fish paste, preventing it from breaking apart when cooked.

Cover and refrigerate the fish paste.

Step 4: Prepare the Broth

Sauté lemongrass in oil. Add the shrimp heads and shells. Cook for 1 – 2 minutes.

Add pork bone broth and cook on low heat for 12 – 15 minutes.

Occasionally scoop out the white scum on top.

Remove the lemongrass and shrimp heads.

Add sugar, soup powder, and salt.

Step 5: Cook the Shrimp and Fish Paste

Get the shrimp paste and fish paste out. Use a spoon to coat the inside of a serving bowl with them in a ring-like shape. The ring should be half shrimp paste and half fish paste. Don’t make an overly thick layer.

While the broth is piping hot, add it into the bowl until it covers the shrimp and fish paste. Cover the bowl for 2 – 3 minutes.

Return the broth to the stock pot and repeat the process.

Step 6: Boil the Rice Noodles and Squids

Cook the rice noodles according to the instructions on the package. My method is to add the rice noodles to boiling water and a teaspoon of cooking oil and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.

Remove the rice noodles. Add the squid and boil for 3 – 5 minutes. After that, transfer the squids to cold water to keep them crunchy.

Step 7: Complete the Dish

Add the rice noodles to the bowl. Pour hot broth into it. Garnish with scallions, cilantro, chili peppers, and ground pepper.

Make the dipping sauce by mixing calamansi juice, salt, soup powder, chili peppers, and sugar.

Stir the broth to get the fish paste and shrimp paste out of the bowl’s sides. Dip it in the sauce and enjoy!

I’ve shown you a few tips to prepare Bun Quay perfectly, but there are still more to come.

What Tips and Tricks Can I Apply to Prepare Bún Quậy?

These tips and tricks will make your bún quậy taste better. I also mention the ways of storing and reheating it.

Don’t forget to prepare the dipping sauce just before serving the noodle soup.

How To Store and Reheat Bun Quay?

Bún quậy is ideal for long-term storing and reheating if you keep the broth and the other ingredients separately. It can stay good for 2 – 3 days in the fridge and 2 – 3 months in the freezer.

Due to the unique way of preparing the fish paste and shrimp paste for the noodle soup, you should store them in their raw forms and cook them when serving. Don’t freeze rice noodles; instead, prepare a new batch to eat with the reheated broth and seafood.

How to reheat it? The most convenient way is to cook on the stovetop. Refrigerated rice noodles can also be reheated this way. It is the same thing as with other Vietnamese noodle soup dishes.

You Can Eat Tasty Bún Quậy Without Visiting Phu Quoc!

By making bún quậy at home, you can bring a part of the tropical paradise Phu Quoc to your home. It showcases the seafood bounty of the island and delivers it to you in an interesting preparation method. Enjoy it, and picture the sun-kissed beaches bathed in sea winds!

Please also share this recipe with your friends; they may need more Vietnamese noodle soups! Don’t hesitate to tell me any great tips you discover or questions about it.