Pho

Pho

The secret to any great steaming bowl of pho is the broth made with different types of bones. Most cooks use any combo of beef, chicken, and pork bones. Par cooking the bones before making the broth removes solids and clarifies the broth so it is nice and clear. You can buy chopped up bones and seasoning packages that include the star anise and other spices in any Vietnamese grocery store. Generally, you cannot find chuck and brisket in small enough portions. I cut them in half and save them in the freezer for the next time I make pho.

For eight servings

For broth:

5-6 lb beef soup bones (shin, oxtail, leg bones)

1 small chicken or 1-2 lb of chicken neck bones

2 medium yellow onions

4-inch piece of ginger

1 lb chuck

1 lb brisket

3 cloves garlic

1 lb daikon radish, peeled and cut into 3-inch pieces

14 C water or more to cover bones

5 star anise

6 whole cloves

1 3-in cinnamon stick

4 T fish sauce

1 T salt

1-inch chunk of yellow rock sugar

1.     Put all meat and bones in stockpot and cover with cool water. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil for 15 minutes. Dump water and meat into the sink (you can catch the bones in a colander). When cool enough to handle, rinse and scrub debris off of the bones and out of the cracks in the meat. Return to the cleaned pot with 14 cups of water.

2.     Add garlic, onion, ginger, daikon, star anise, cloves, and cinnamon stick. Put the last three in cheesecloth if you have it for easy removal.  Bring to a boil over high heat and when it starts to bubble turn to low and cook for at least 3 hours. If any remaining debris comes to the top, skim it off and discard. After 1 ½ hours remove chuck, brisket, and chicken. Cover meat with cool water to stop cooking and refrigerate. The cooked chicken can be used for another purpose.  

3.     After at least three hours (the longer the broth cooks with the bones the deeper the flavor), remove everything from the pot, leaving only the broth. Remove meat and tendons from the bones and keep with other meat to add to soup bowls. Discard the remainder. Strain broth through a fine sieve. Refrigerate for several hours or overnight to deepen flavor and remove fat.

4.     Reheat and add fish sauce, salt and rock sugar to the broth. Taste and adjust seasoning. Keep broth warm so it is ready to assemble soup bowls.

In bowls:

1 lb raw lean meat sliced thin (sirloin or round)

1 sweet onion, sliced thin

4 green onions, chopped

thinly sliced cooked meat from above

8 C water

1 pkg pho noodles (fresh or dried) check number of servings on the package

8 C boiling water

1.     Have all of the above ready to go so you can assemble quickly.

2.     If using dried noodles, soak in cool water for about 15-20 minutes until opaque white. Drain. If using fresh noodles, rinse in a colander. 

3.     Blanch individual portions of noodles in boiling water for about 20-30 seconds in a long-handled strainer. Drain over boiling water. Place noodles in individual serving bowls. Filling bowls ¼ to 1/3 of the bowl with noodles.

4.     Place slices of cooked meat, raw meat, tendon, sweet onion, and green onion on the noodles.

5.     Cover with boiling beef broth. Serve to each individual.

Garnishes:

½ lb mung bean sprouts

sliced chili peppers (jalapeño or others)

Fresh Thai basil, cilantro, saw tooth plant, mint

Lime wedges

Roasted crushed peanuts

Let diners garnish their own bowls with any of the above.

Hoisin sauce and Sriracha – allow diners to mix their own combination of these sauces in little bowls on the side to dip the slices of meat taken from the soup bowl.