Pho

How to make Pho.

Pho is a noodle soup originated in vietnam.  This dish is great for cold weathers, when your feeling sick, or just whenever! the herbs in the Pho makes the dish so refreshing, the noodles fills you up, and the soup is very tasty.  This is what you'll need to make this traditional Vietnamese Pho. 

You'll need 1 lb of sliced round eye beef.  I just have the butcher at the Asian supermarket slice it for me.  

Adding shrimp is optional you'll need about 16 oz of shrimp. Usually in beef pho it is strictly sliced beef and meat balls. I get the shrimp that is a size 31/50 with the shell and tail on.  I peel and devein it myself and leave the 

Tail on.  The reason why I do this is because the texture of the shrimp is completely different from the ones that are peeled and deveined already.  

Parboil 4 lbs of beef bones for about 20 minutes, I prefer the ones with bone marrow, it gives the soup a little more flavor. 

Peel and Roast 1 whole onion in the broiler until it looks like the picture on the bottom. 

In a 30 quart pot filled with water about 75% of the way, add the roasted onion, four cloves of garlic, 2 pieces of perserved raddish, and a cheese cloth draw string filled with anise star seeds, cinnamon stick, corriander seeds, costatum, fennel, and cloves. 

I got this bag of all the spices for Pho at a local Asian supermarket if you do not have an Asian store near you than just a ensemble a drawstring cheese cloth with 1/2 a teaspoon each of the spices listed above and only 1 cinnamon stick. The reason why you would want to put it in a cheese cloth so that it doesn't get loose into the soup.  submerge the cheese cloth into the water and let simmer on low heat. 

After 20 mins of the beef bones parboiling drain it into a colander, and rinse the beef bones, then add the beef bones to the 30 quart pot, and simmer some more. 

Remove the fat and foam that accumulates in the soup from the bones.  

 Add a 1/2 cup of fish sauce to the pot, along with 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/4 a cup of chicken bouillon.  No need to add any sugar, because the roasted onion and perserved raddish will give sweetness to the soup. Let simmer on low for 1 hour.  

Add the halved meatballs into the soup, This should be the last step of making the pho soup.  

In another small pot fill with water and boil. 

Prepare your herbs, thinly chop cilantro, sawtooth herbs, and green onions and halve 3 limes.  Place On one flat dish seperated from eachother. 

Thinly slice half of an onion. 

  Now, let's ensemble the bowl of 

pho.  

 

First add a handful of rice noodles into a wired basket and cook in the boiling water, for about 7 seconds constantly moving the wire basket in a circular motion in the water.  do not over cook! Over cooked noodles is no good! After 7 seconds run the noodles In the wire basket through cold water, this will stop the noodles from being cooked by heat.  Ring the water out from the noodles and add it to a large soup bowl. 

So I put my noodles first then the raw sliced beef, if you like your

Beef cooked just dip in the boil water quickly and remove and place into your bowl.  If you like it slightly rare the soup will cook it just right, after adding the beef then add the soup on top with meatballs and add cooked shrimp (optional), Then add a pinch of the thinly chopped green onions, sawtooth herb, cilantro, and sliced onions.  

Serve the bowl with a side of basil, and beanspouts and the lime on a seperate plate, some will add to their bowl, and others wouldn't. 

DONE! now you can enjoy a traditional bowl of pho anytime you want! And this recipe is good for seconds later on in the day! 

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Ingredients: 

1 lb of sliced Round eye beef 

16 oz of 31/50 shrimp

4 lbs of beef bones

2 large brown onions

1 bunch green onion 

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch sawtooth herb

1 bunch basil

1/2 lb of beanspouts 

1/2 cup of fish sauce 

1/4 cup of chicken bouillon or beef bouillon.  

1 1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 slices of perserved raddish

4 cloves of garlic

1 bag of meatballs with tendon 

2 bags of fresh rice stick noodles 

3 limes halved. 

1/2 teaspoon anise star seeds

1 cinnamon stick 

1/2 teaspoon corriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon costatum 

1/2 teaspoon fennel 

1/2 teaspoon of cloves. 

1 Drawstring cheese cloth 

Directions: 

1. Fill a 30 quart pot with 75% of water.  Add 1 roasted onion, 2 slice of perserved raddish, 4 cloves of garlic, and drawstring cheese cloth filled with spices listed above. 

2. Parboil beef bones for 20 min, drain out, and rinsed and add to 30 quart pot. 

3. Add 1/2 cup of fish sauce, 1/4 cup is chicken or beef bouillon, and 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt.  Simmer on low for 1 hour. 

4. Add halved meatballs into the soup, and simmer for another 15 minutes.  

5. in another small pot boil water. 

6. Cook noodles in a wire basket in the boiled water for 7 seconds than run through cold water.  

7. Add to large soup bowl, then add sliced beef on top of the noodles, then the broth with some meatballs.  If you like to add shrimp, just cook a few in the wired basket in the boiled water for 2 minutes then add to the bowl.  

8. Add a pinch of sawtooth herb, cilantro, and green onion, and sliced onions. 

9. Served with basil, beanspouts, and lime wedges on a seperate dish on the side. Add the basil, bean sprout and squeeze the lime wedge if wanted.  

There you have it! A traditional Vietnamese noodle soup.  PHO.