Beef Pho

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Beef Pho

Yield 4

Author Lucy Tweed

Prep time

3 Hour

Cook time

1 H & 30 M

Total time

4 H & 30 M

From scratch, but as always… you can hack it and skip the long bits if you want.

Ingredients

• 2 kg beef soup bones, heavily seasoned with salt and pepper
• 1 tbs coriander seeds
• 1 piece of ginger (8 cm), sliced
• 1 whole onion, cut into wedges
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 6 cloves
• 8 star anise
• 1 tbs sugar
• 2 tbs fish sauce
• 1 kg flank steak
• 1kg fresh rice noodles
• 1/4 small cabbage, finely shaved, about 2 cups
• 1/4 white onion, peeled and very finely sliced
• 250 gm bean sprouts, hairy tails removed if you can be fucked (worth it!)
• Thai basil, coriander, lemon wedges, chilli paste and hoisin for serving

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).
2. Place the bones on a paper-lined tray and roast in the oven until they turn a very dark golden color, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
3. In a large stockpot (enough to hold about 4ltrs), toasted the coriander, cinnamon, star anies and the cloves for 5m ins over medium heat until you can smell the aromatics being released.
4. Add the roasted bones, ginger, onion, sugar, fish sauce and then cover the ingredients with 2 litres of water.
5. Place the stockpot on medium heat and allow the mixture to simmer for 2 to 3 hours. If you have a pressure cooker, you can cook it for 1 hour to save time.
6. Once the broth is done, strain it to remove the bones and spices, leaving a flavorful stock. You can make this beef stock ahead of time and store it in jars in the freezer or fridge until ready to use.
7. You can of course, flavour a good qual store bought broth by toasting the spices then simmering them with the broth and remaining seasonings until you are happy with the flavour.
8. To prep the pho.
9. Place the flank steak in the freezer for 20mins to partially freeze.
10. Prepare the rice noodles according to the package instructions, either by preheating them in the microwave or soaking them in warm water to soften.
11. Take the partially frozen flank steak and slice it as thinly as possible. Freezing the meat helps in achieving thin slices. Alternatively, you can find pre-sliced raw beef at an Asian supermarket.
12. To assemble the pho bowls, start with a layer of finely shaved cabbage at the bottom. Add a generous pile of soft rice noodles, followed by the thinly sliced raw beef and finely sliced white onion. Top with a handful of bean sprouts.
13. In a separate pot, bring the beef stock to a gentle simmer. Carefully ladle the steaming broth over the beef and other ingredients, poaching the beef in the process.
14. Serve the pho bowls hot, allowing each person to customize their soup with a squeeze of lemon, chili paste, fish sauce, and a handful of fresh Thai basil and coriander.

Nutrition Facts

Calories

1326

Fat

15 g

Sat. Fat

6 g

Carbs

224 g

Fiber

8 g

Net carbs

216 g

Sugar

9 g

Protein

66 g

Sodium

195099 mg

Cholesterol

150 mg

This information is a guide only, and can vary due to a number of factors including precision of measurements, brands, ingredient freshness, or the source of nutrition data.