Vietnamese dishesNoodle SoupsSouthern Vietnamabout 1 hour 30 minutes, not counting soaking the dried bamboo shoots overnight
Bun mang vit stands or falls on the broth: it has to be clear, sweet with duck, and fragrant from the sauteed dried bamboo shoots. The duck is chopped into thick pieces, ladled over with hot broth and dipped in a sharp ginger sauce. The hardest parts are taking the gaminess out of the duck and the faint bitterness out of the dried bamboo.
Scrubbing the duck with bruised ginger, coarse salt and white rice wine, then rinsing it thoroughly, is a step that cannot be skipped. The dried bamboo soaks overnight and then boils again, because a single boil leaves the broth with a bitter edge.
This batch weighs about 7.8kg, at roughly 113 calories per 100g.
Method
Soak 50g dried bamboo shoot in rice washing water overnight, then rinse it 2 to 3 times. Boil for 10 minutes from the moment the water bubbles, lift it into cold water to cool, then drain.
Fry 1 tablespoon minced shallot in 1 tablespoon cooking oil until fragrant, add the bamboo shoots, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon MSG, toss until seasoned and turn off the heat.
Char 50g shallots and scrape off the burnt skin. Divide 150g ginger into three parts: char one, bruise one, and blend the last one, keeping the pulp. Peel 200g daikon radish and cut it into chunks, then mince 1 bird's eye chili.
Put the bruised ginger, 30g coarse salt and 2 tablespoons white rice wine in a basin and scrub the 2kg duck inside and out, then rinse it clean 2 to 3 times.
Bring 5 liters of water to a bare simmer, add the duck with the charred ginger, charred shallots and daikon, and cook for 30 minutes. Season with 30g salt, 54g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend and 30g seasoning powder, stirring to dissolve.
Pierce the thickest part of the meat with a chopstick; the duck is done when no red juice runs out. Lift it into cold water to cool, then chop it into bite sized pieces.
Strain the broth and discard the vegetables. Return it to the stove with 3 tablespoons fried shallots, 50g fish sauce and 20g MSG, bring it to a boil and turn off the heat.
Mix the ginger sauce: dissolve 40.5g kOBE Monk Fruit Blend in 30g fish sauce, 20g vinegar and 1g MSG, then add the blended ginger pulp and the minced chili.
Put fresh rice vermicelli in a bowl, top it with duck and bamboo shoots, ladle over the broth, and scatter spring onion, cilantro, rau ram and fried shallots. Serve with bean sprouts, banana blossom, mixed herbs, shredded water spinach and the ginger sauce.
Tips
The blended ginger pulp in the dipping sauce keeps the bowl clear rather than cloudy or bitter.
Boiling the bamboo twice, with a cold water bath each time, takes the bitterness right out.
The duck goes in when the water is at a bare simmer, since a rolling boil tightens the meat and makes it tough.
Skimming the foam constantly for the first 10 minutes is what keeps the broth clear.
kOBE Monk Fruit Blend dissolves slowly in a big pot, so the broth needs another stir after 5 minutes before tasting.
Cooling the duck in cold water before chopping firms up the grain, so the pieces cut cleanly and hold together.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.