Duck and Bamboo Noodle Soup / Bun Mang Vit

If you LOVE Vietnamese food, Bún Măng Vịt should be at the top of your must-try list. This savory duck and bamboo shoot noodle soup is a symphony of flavors and textures that will transport your taste buds straight to the vibrant streets of Vietnam. Bun Mang Vit is a traditional Vietnamese soup featuring succulent duck meat, tender bamboo shoots, and chewy rice vermicelli in a light and flavorful broth. The dish is renowned for its complex flavor profile, combining savory, umami, and slightly sweet notes with a hint of tanginess from the bamboo shoots. Bun Mang Vit is always served with a side salad with a ginger fish sauce dipping sauce that we’ll all make from scratch!

What is Bun Mang Vit?

Key Ingredients

• Duck: The star of the dish, typically cooked to juicy perfection, offering a light and delicate taste
• Bamboo Shoots: These add a unique crunch and subtle tang, balancing the richness of the duck
• Rice Vermicelli: These fine, round noodles provide the base for the soup, soaking up the flavorful broth
• Broth: Made from simmering duck bones with aromatics, the broth is the heart of Bún Măng Vịt, imbued with depth and warmth

Types of Bamboo Shoots

My mom strictly used dried bamboo in her bun mang vit exclusively growing up, but you have many different options when it comes to bamboo. For my recipe, we’re using two different types of dried bamboo. The darker brown variation is from the motherland that my mom shipped over, while the yellow variation is the type of dried bamboo that you can typically find at your local Asian grocery store.

The dark brown bamboo is much more fibrous and must be soaked overnight before use. Meanwhile, the yellow shoots can be soaked for a few hours before becoming pliable.

After the dried bamboo shoots are soaked, you’ll need to boil them with salted water 2-3 times, draining and rinsing them with cold water.

Alternatively, using fresh or canned bamboo shoots could save a ton of time. All of them will have slightly different tastes and textures, and it’s entirely up to your preferences. The dried bamboo will have a meatier and almost leathery texture that absolutely makes this dish for me.

Making the Goi (Side Salad)

Bun mang vit is almost always served with a goi or slaw and ginger fish sauce, which perfectly complements the soup with its bright, fresh taste. The goi can either be served on the side or directly on top of the bun mang vit!

• Using a sharp knife, thinly shred a head of cabbage. You can soak the cabbage in cold water to help remove some of its raw cabbage flavor. Make sure you drain and let the cabbage dry completely before serving
• Chop up green onions and cilantro
• Thinly slice white onion. Same thing here for onions; if you don’t like the bite or how punchy raw onions are, soaking them in some cold water will reduce some of their raw essence
• My favorite part of this salad is the Rau Ram, or Vietnamese coriander. Its slightly citrusy and peppery flavor profile is amazing! You’ll want to remove the leaves from the woodsy stem, then gently roll the leaves together and chiffonade them into ribbons
• Add shredded cabbage, green onions, cilantro, white onions, and Vietnamese coriander to a plate to assemble the salad. Top with fried shallots and pair with the ginger fish sauce!

The ginger fish sauce is one of the most essential components of the entire dish. It’ll be used to dress the salad and as a dipping sauce for your duck!

• Peel ginger, then cut into small pieces. Chop up Thai chili, add both ingredients to a mortar, and pound until it turns into a paste. Cutting these ingredients beforehand will make it easier to pound out
• Add fish sauce, sugar, and lime juice, and then mix well.