Hanoian Food
HOW TO MAKE PHO
Phở is one of the oldest and popular dishes in Vietnam, unarguably one of the most iconic and greatest noodle soups in the world. It originated in northern Vietnam at the beginning of the 20th century and today different sides of Vietnam prepare this dish using different styles and ending up with slightly different variations, some having sweeter broths, wider noodles, different herbs or different beefs.
Pho is actually a traditional Vietnamese soup consisting of rice noodles (banh pho), broth, simple vegetables, herbs, and meat, with the meat either being beef (pho bo) or chicken (pho ga) but this recipe shall focus on beef.
INGREDIENTS
Beef soup bones
Raw meat - beef fillet
Spices: cinnamon, cardamom, coriander seeds, star anise, cloves, fennel seeds.
Onion, garlic, ginger
Fish sauce
Fresh or dried Noodles
Garnishes
Sugar
Salt
STEP 1: WASHING AND BLANCHING THE BONES
Put the bones into cold water. Boil over high heat and let them simmer for 15-20 minutes before taking them out to wash, rinse and drain with water. You could also roast the bones for about 15 minutes to produce more flavours.
STEP 2: CHAR ONIONS AND GINGER
Place the onions and ginger on the baking sheet directly under the broiler for about 5 minutes for each side to char, or you can use the tongs to pick up the onions and ginger and char them on all sides over a high flame. When the pieces are charred, rinse them in cool water to remove any gritty or too charred bits then set them aside.
STEP 3: TOAST THE SPICES
Gather all your spices, place in a saucepan or dry skillet and place over low heat for about 5 minutes to bring out the flavour and fragrance. Make sure you’re stirring them during this period to prevent burning.
STEP 4: PREPARE THE BEEF
Pho beef is not cooked before adding it to the soup. It is sliced thinly and place on the noodles. When you pour your boiling broth over it, the meat, if sliced thinly enough, will cook. The best thing would be to cover the beef in a plastic wrap and freeze for about 15 minutes to make the edges firmer to touch but make sure not to freeze it thoroughly. This is to help slice it more thinly. After slicing, keep the beef stored separately until it’s ready to be served.
PREPARE THE BROTH
Combine all the broth ingredients: onions, garlic, ginger, spices, water and bones.etc into the stockpot. Increase the heat to a medium-high to boil the broth and reduce the heat to low and simmer.
For quick pho, you can simmer store-bought beef stock for about 30 minutes before proceeding, but for the real pho you have to simmer the broth for at least 6-12 hours.
When the broth is ready, strain it using your mesh strainer and discard the solids.
PREPARE THE NOODLES
Boil water in a saucepan and cook the noodles according to package instructions. You can add oil to prevent them from sticking after cooking.
COMBINE THE DISH
Prepare bowls of noodles with slices of beef placed in a single layer so they’ll cook evenly. Pour the broth over the bowls and watch the meat cook, serve hot.