Spicy Lemongrass Beef Shank Broth

Funk and spice to revive a bored palate.

This recipe is loosely based on bun ho hue, the Vietnamese spicy noodle soup. I’ve never been to Vietnam but I’ve always had a hankering for the food - I love the lightness of it, and how rice features so heavily (paradise for those of us who avoid wheat).

This is not anything authentic, but purely what I came up with on a whim one day when I was craving noodles and broth.

It’s warming, soothing, invigorating, deeply savoury, and yet light at the same time. The addition of bone marrow makes this a nutritional powerhouse!

Ingredients (for the broth)

- 3 beef shanks

- 1 split marrow bone

- 6 lime leaves

- 1 large white onion

- 4 whole dried red chillies

- 5 bashed stalks of lemongrass

- 3tsp coconut sugar

- 3tsp sea salt

- 1tsp fish sauce

- 1/4tsp fermented shrimp paste

- filtered water

Ingredients (for the chilli oil)