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Vietnamese Beef Pho

Homemade pho the best cure for anything.

 

Roasting ingredients

 

2 pieces of osso buco or chuck steak

1kg beef soup bones

1 beef bone marrow ( try get your butcher to cut in half for you otherwise you can stick it in the pot as it is )

2 garlic bulbs cut in half

1 knob ginger sliced

3 brown onion cut in half

Place these ingredients on a baking tray, spray with oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake on 200 degrees Celsius for 1 hour.

 

Aromatics

 

5 star anise

6 whole cloves

1 teaspoon fennel seeds

1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1 teaspoon white peppercorns optional

1 cinnamon stick

4 Bay leaves

You will also need 4 fresh spring onion for the stock

 

If you can't find any of the aromatics just leave them out. Before using toast all aromatics in a dry fry pan to boost the flavour.

 

Add the roasted ingredients into a large stock pot with the aromatics and the spring onion, cover with water. Bring to to a simmer and turn down to the lowest heat to very gently simmer away for 3 hours. Once the 3 hours is up remove all the bones and meat then strain the stock. Remove all the meat off the bone and set aside. Add the strained stock back to your stock pot and place back on a low heat to keep warm.

 

Rice noodles

Sesame oil

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It's a good idea to soak your rice noodles in recently boiled kettle water for a couple hours whilst your stock is cooking away so when its comes to cooking the noodles they will only 30 seconds in boiling water. you can cook your noodles and coat in a little sesame oil and then divided amongst serving bowls whilst you prepare the garnishes.

 

Garnishes

 

Fresh thin slices of lean beef

Fresh chopped Coriander

Fresh basil leaves

Fresh sliced red chilli and jalapeno optional

Fresh bean shoots ( I find these nicer if you Blanch before use )

Fresh lime wedges

Fresh sliced brown onion

Fish sauce to season broth

Sambal olek or sriracha optional

 

To serve first make sure you have seasoned your broth with a few tablespoons fish sauce, salt and pepper or msg if you wish. Then make sure your broth is boiling hot. Divide the noodles amongst bowls, add some of the cooked beef meat we set aside earlier, then add some of the fresh sliced lean beef, ladle over the boiling hot stock then add the garnishes, fresh herbs, chilli, lime juice, bean shoots, raw onion and serve immediately!.

Some pho recipes boil the bones first rather than roast. They do this to remove impurities from the broth. I've found the roasting process works just as well and adds so much more amazing flavour

 

Note. You can use any cut of beef for this that you like as long as you have atleast 2 varietys of beef