Let me introduce an unbelievable delicious Vietnamese dish: PHO!
Pho is miraculously healthy. It is a noodle soup with a whole lot of ingredients. It is adjustable, suitable for vegans and you can cook it with your choice of tofu, beef, chicken, pork or shrimp. As you eat, your face will light up with amazement!
Pho fell into my lab as I was wandering around to get a vegan meal in London. One of my friends told me that I would love to eat it and took me to one of the best Pho places, a place where people wait for hours to get a table. After a horrifying 43-minute-delay, I took a sip and Voila! I was a slave for Pho.
I had thought only restaurants could really make Pho well. Then, I have tried a lot to develop the best homemade Pho recipe and here is what I’ve found— you need to master the rich and complex savory broth to make the best Pho.
You can prepare the ingredients in advance if you would like. You can cook the noodles and broth and then refrigerate (separately) in sealed containers. Then heat them when you are ready to eat.
The Ingredients for Pho
For the broth:
5 to 6 pounds of beef knuckles or leg bones
6 glasses of cold water
2 medium onions, quartered
4-inch piece of fresh ginger, halved lengthwise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
6 star anise
6 whole cloves
1 black cardamom pod
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
1/4 cup fish sauce
1-inch piece yellow rock sugar
Toppings:
1 pound small (1/8-inch wide) dried or fresh “banh pho” noodles
1/2 pound raw eye of round, sirloin or tri-tip steak, thinly sliced across the grain
1/4 cup thinly sliced spring onions
1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
To serve
Sprigs of fresh mint and/or Asian/Thai basil
Bean sprouts
Thinly sliced red chilies
Lime wedges
Fish sauce
Hoisin sauce or sriracha
Preparation of Pho
To start with, I would recommend you make the broth the day before you are going to serve the pho. But today, I’ll make them on the day of cooking.
Put the bones in a large pot and add cold water until they are covered. Boil the bones for 5 minutes. The bones will release a foam on the top of the water. Take the bones out and rinse the bones and the pot. Then put the bones back in the pot, add 6 glasses of cold water and place the pot on to high heat. Let the bones boil and then lower to a gentle simmer.
Quarter the onions and half the ginger, put them on a baking sheet. Broil for 15 minutes until they are brown on both sides. Charred onion ans ginger is an essential for the Pho.
Get a frying pan. Toss the coriander, fennel, cinnamon, star anise cloves and the black cardamom and cook on low heat. You need to stir the spices occasionally. When they are fragrant, get them from the heat and place them into a cotton muslin bag/herb sachet or cheesecloth then tie with kitchen twine to seal.
Get back to the broth and toss the onion and ginger. Add salt, half a cup of fish sauce, the sachet of toasted spices and the sugar. Simmer the broth for at least 2 hours. If you have time, 3 hours would be perfect. Do not cover the pot and remove the foam that forms on the surface. When it is ready remove bones, onion and ginger from broth then strain broth through a fine mesh strainer.
It is time to cook the noodles. Bring the water to boil, put the noodles in a pot and soak for 20 minutes. Drain noodles then divide between bowls.
Arrange slices of raw meat into bowls, and then top with the hot broth. Finish broth with onion slices and cilantro. Serve bowls with a plate of sprigs of fresh mint, Thia basil, bean sprouts, red chilies, lime wedges and hoisin sauce or sriracha.
Bon appetit!