Beef Pho

I fell in love with Vietnamese food in the early 2000s when I worked in Austin as a technical recruiter.  Being newly married and living in Belton, I spent a lot of time on the road to and from work. I can tell you, I do not miss the drive! 60 miles each way. Ugh!

Needless to say, I had a long work day. To get some relief from the beat-down, I loved getting out on my lunch break to try new foods and restaurants – and there’s no better place than Austin for great food.  One of my colleagues invited me to lunch one day and took me to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant and introduced me to Bun Thit Nuong (Vietnamese Pork Noodle Bowl) and Pho (an aromatic Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup), and the rest was history, I was in love.

Pronouncing it “foe” for so long, I’ve had trouble saying it properly. I’ve learned that it’s really pronouced “fuh”, so I’m practicing that now when I order.  We don’t have many places locally that serve Pho, so I’ve decided to learn to make it in my home and I couldn’t be happier with the results! This soup takes some patience in allowing it to simmer for some time, letting the broth develop a rich, deep flavor – but believe me, it’s so worth the wait.

If you cannot find a local asian grocer, and you have trouble finding thinly sliced raw meats, then buy a lean sirloin roast and set it in the freezer for about 30 minutes to firm up and you will be able to slice it thinly by hand.

This broth can easily be done in a slow cooker *after* step #13. Make sure to fill the slow cooker with clean water to almost the top and set to low for 6 to 8 hours.  I hope you enjoy!

If you’re looking for a short cut version, scroll to the bottom for a quick, less intensive recipe.

Print Recipe

Beef Pho

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time6 hours hrs

Total Time6 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

Servings: 8 servings

Author: Jennifer Locklin

Ingredients

• 1 head garlic halved crosswise
• 2 onions peeled & halved
• 4- inch piece ginger peeled & quartered
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 6 pounds beef soup bones
• 6 whole cloves
• 5 whole star anise
• 1 whole cinnamon stick
• 1 pound piece of beef chuck rump, brisket or cross rib roast, cut into 2-by-4-inch pieces (weight after trimming)
• 5 quarts water enough to cover ingredients
• 1 tablespoon Kosher salt
• 1 small square of cheesecloth
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt to taste
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce to taste
• 1 teaspoon sugar if you can find yellow rock sugar, use 1 ounce
• 
  
• For Serving:
• 2 pounds thin vermicelli or flat rice noodles
• 1/2 pound sirloin thinly sliced (about 1/16th of an inch)
• 1/2 onion sliced very thin
• 4 scallions thinly sliced
• 1 bunch cilantro coarsely chopped
• 
  
• Condiment Plate:
• 2 cups raw bean sprouts
• 2 limes cut into wedges
• 3 large fresh jalapeños sliced
• 1 bunch Thai basil leaves
• 1 bunch cilantro leaves coarsely chopped
• 
  
• Serving Sauces:
• Hoisin Sauce
• Sriracha Sauce

Instructions

• Place soup bones in a large soup pot and fill with enough water to just cover the bones.
• Bring to a boil and allow to boil hard for about 5 minutes, watching carefully so as not to boil over the top. (You will notice a scummy foam form on the top).
• During the 5 minute boil, use a large kitchen spoon to skim off the scum as it forms on top and discard. After 5 minutes, remove from heat.
• In a clean sink, place a colander and carefully pour bones and liquid to strain.
• Rinse the bones until they are clean of scum. Keep all meat pieces that fall off. Also rinse pot clean at this point. —This step will help keep the broth clear.
• Place bones and meat back into soup pot and set aside.
• Set oven to broil.
• Place the unpeeled, halved head of garlic, halved onions and quartered ginger onto a baking sheet. Toss with oil and spread out onto baking sheet.
• Broil, watching closely.
• Once pieces show some color and char, remove the baking sheet from oven and carefully turn the pieces over. Return to oven and char on the other side. (Just the edges and random spots should be charred, you don’t want the entire piece blackened.)
• Place all charred ingredients into pot with soup bones.
• In a dry saute pan, saute the star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick to lightly toast the spices.
• Place toasted spices onto a piece of cheesecloth and tie shut. Place spice bag into pot.
• Fill pot with fresh water (about 5 quarts or enough to fully cover the ingredients, about an inch over the ingredients.
• Heat on high just until it is about to boil (you don’t want it to boil hard again), immediately reduce to a low simmer.
• Simmer on low for about 6 hours, skimming often.
• When ready, remove all ingredients from the broth and carefully strain through a fine mesh sieve. Return strained broth to cleaned pot. (You should have about 4 quarts of broth)
• Season the broth to taste with fish sauce, salt and sugar.
• Skim off any fat that has risen to the top of the broth.
• In a separate pot, cook noodles according to package directions. Drain and rinse under cold water.
• When ready to serve, portion out the cooked noodles into serving bowls. Divide the thinly sliced raw sirloin on top of the noodles. Top with thinly sliced onion, scallions and cilantro.
• Generously ladle piping hot broth over the ingredients in each bowl, filling the bowl near to the top.
• Serve immediately with Condiment Plate and Serving Sauces.