Use 7 oz (200 g) good quality Huế shrimp paste for 8 1/2 cups (2 L) broth. Boil 8 1/2 cups (2 L) water (use spring or filtered water). Once boiling, turn off the heat, add all the shrimp paste, and stir until it dissolves completely. Let it settle, don’t cover... and go to sleep 😴:-)))

The next day, pour the clear shrimp paste liquid into an Instant Pot, add beef oxtail (already blanched to remove blood, now in clean water); set to high pressure for 1 hour 30 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally. Do not add any seasonings at this stage, and absolutely do not add pineapple (adding pineapple in a pressure cooker will overpower the broth and is hard to fix). The Instant Pot makes the beef tender and lets the beef fat blend with the shrimp paste overnight, creating the perfect deep flavor for bún bò. With this method, pineapple is unnecessary!

Remove the broth from the Instant Pot and transfer to a regular pot on the stove. Now start seasoning the broth to brighten the flavor. The deep note comes from the beef marrow and shrimp paste; the bright note comes from lots of smashed lemongrass and chili powder (the chili powder gives the broth a beautiful color—no need for annatto oil or packaged bún bò seasoning, which would ruin the broth’s flavor).

The balance in the bún bò broth, connecting the deep and bright notes, comes from toasted coarse salt (emphasize: you MUST toast the coarse salt) and rock sugar (absolutely no fish sauce). Add the sugar and salt near the end to maximize the broth’s richness while minimizing the amount of seasoning needed (the earlier you season, the more you’ll have to adjust later, and you’ll end up using a lot more).

Whether the broth is clear and rich or lighter depends on your salt and sugar ratio—adjust to your taste. Personally, I season it richly so that when you add noodles, it’s just right (and to account for people who like to squeeze in lots of lime before tasting the carefully made broth :-)))) 😂)

Don’t throw away the shrimp paste sediment. Use it in the Instant Pot with just enough water to cover, add beef tendon, beef brisket, and pork hock, cook on high pressure for about 15 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally. Remove the meat as soon as it’s just cooked and rinse with cold water. Cooking the meat this way gives it a fragrant shrimp paste flavor, so there’s no need to sauté with extra seasonings (since everyone uses different cuts, I can’t give exact times—just trial and error).
Tada, you’ll have a super clear, super flavorful broth for tomorrow!