Vietnamese Pho – Beef Rice Noodle Soup Recipe (Pho Bo) with Shortcut and Slow Cooker Options
Ingredients
Broth:
- 12-14 cups water or enough to cover stock pot
- 3 pounds beef soup bones marrow and knuckle bones
- 3 pounds oxtail bones
- 1 medium yellow onion
- 8 whole cloves studded into onion
- 5 star anise
- 2 3-inch cinnamon sticks
- 5 green cardamom pods
- 7 coriander seeds
- 1 4-inch piece ginger
- 5 cloves garlic
- 1 medium daikon peeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 carrot peeled, cut into 2 inch pieces
Seasonings:
- 1-1/2 tablespons kosher or sea salt or to taste
- 4 tablespoons fish sauce or to taste
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar yellow rock or palm (for more authentic results I usually use 1 oz. yellow rock sugar (roughly a 2-inch cube)
Noodles:
- 2-3 pounds dried or fresh rice stick noodles banh pho prepared according to directions on package
Serving Toppings and Garnishes:
- 1/2-1 pound of beef cuts sliced very thinly across the grain (you can choose to use any cuts of beef combination of your choice you enjoy for pho - flank steak, sirloin, top round etc.)
- 1/2 to 1 medium yellow onion sliced paper thin, soaked in a bowl of cold water for 15 minutes
- 2-3 scallions finely chopped
- 1 small bunch cilantro finely chopped
Other Optional Herbs or Garnishes:
- 2 cups fresh bean sprouts washed
- 1 bunch Thai basil
- 1 bunch Vietnamese mint
- 1 bunch of Vietnamese coriander
- Thai bird chilies
- lime wedges
Condiments:
- Sriracha sauce
- Hoisin sauce
Instructions
For the broth:
Parboiling bones:
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Parboil the bones by placing them in a large stockpot filled with enough cold water to cover the bones.
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Bring the water to a boil on high heat, and turn the heat down to medium, and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.
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The bones will start releasing impurities, skim out with a fine mesh strainer or ladle.
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Once the water has simmered for about 10 minutes, empty the entire pot and collect the bones in a colander.
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Rinse the bones to remove any impurities and scum. The cleaner the bones are, the clearer the broth will be.
Char Onion and Ginger:
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Insert the cloves into the onion and char onion and ginger either over a gas stove or a BBQ grill to release the aroma of the spices.
Boil and Simmer Broth:
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Wash out the stockpot pot and put the bones back in, filling the pot with water until it is 3/4 full. Turn the heat to high to bring back to a boil.
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Add the charred onion and ginger to the pot along with the garlic, carrot, daikon and spices into the pot. If you don't want loose spices in your broth, tie up the spices either in a mesh ball or cheesecloth prior to adding to the pot.
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Bring the pot to a boil and lower the heat to medium-low to a very gentle simmer.
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Gently simmer for about 1.5-2 hours. Regularly skim the impurities rising to the surface of the broth using a fine mesh strainer or ladle. Remove the beef and oxtail bones with a slotted spoon to another bowl, rinse with cold water and set aside until almost ready to serve. This prevents unnecessary discoloration of the bones and meat.
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Season the broth with fish sauce, salt and sugar and keep pot gently simmering for another hour.
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Adjust seasonings at this point with more fish sauce or salt.
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Add the cooked beef bones back into the pot 20 minutes prior to serving.
Rice Noodles:
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Prepare noodles as per directions on package. Set aside until the beef broth is ready.
Preparing the Beef Slices:
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You can ask your butcher to thinly slice it for you or to get the slices really thin, place the entire piece of meat in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then thinly slice the meat across the grain with a sharp knife.
Assemble Pho Bowls:
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When ready to serve, assemble bowls by distributing the cooked noodles among individual bowls. Lay thin slices of your choice of raw cuts of beef (sirloin or eye of round etc. ) on top of the noodles.
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Top the bowl off with thin slices of onion and a sprinkling of chopped scallions and cilantro.
Serve:
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Bring the broth up to a very gentle simmer.
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Ladle the hot broth over the contents of each bowl ensuring that the raw slices of meat are covered with enough hot broth to just cook them. (This is why it is essential to cut the beef into very thin slices so they will cook through).
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Add a daikon piece or beef bone to the bowl if desired.
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Top with fresh bean sprouts. squeeze in some lime into the broth and serve with the optional herb plate/garnishes and condiments.
Recipe Notes
This recipe makes enough for 10 servings, feel free to adjust the amounts if you want to make less. Or you can freeze the leftover broth in freezer safe bags or containers to have it handy for next time.
****See Notes below for an easier less fuss version using prepared stock*
**** Also See Notes below for a Crock-Pot / slow cooker version*
Easier Pho Method - If you don't have the time to simmer the bones, a great shortcut is to substitute beef broth, chicken broth or vegetable broth with 3/4 of the water and simmer for 30-60 minutes with the charbroiled onion, ginger, garlic, daikon, carrot, spices and seasonings.
Follow steps 14 - 21 for assembly and pouring steaming broth over cooked rice noodles and serve with favorite herbs and lime wedge.
Crock-Pot / Slowcooker Method - For a less fuss Pho fix using your Crock-pot or slow cooker, you can simply throw the cleaned parboiled bones along with the charbroiled onion, ginger, garlic, daikon, carrot, spices and seasonings covered with clean water into your slow cooker and simmer on low for 6-8 hours.
Follow steps 14 - 21 for assembly and pouring steaming broth over cooked rice noodles and serve with favorite herbs and lime wedge.