Go Back
–+ servings

Vietnamese Pho Recipe (Beef Pho)

Jaden Hair
Recipe adapted with permission from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen Cookbook by Andrea Nguyen. Note: You can find "Pho Spice Pack" that includes all the spices at Asian markets. In Andrea's cookbook, she uses star anise, cloves and cinnamon stick. Some prefer the addition of fennel, coriander and cardamom, and I've noted those ingredients as "optional" in the recipe. 
5 from 21 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Course Main Course
Cuisine Vietnamese
Servings 8 people
Calories 292 kcal

Ingredients
  

For the Pho broth

  • 2 yellow onions unpeeled, sliced in half
  • 4 inch piece fresh ginger unpeeled, sliced in half
  • 5 pounds beef leg or knuckle bones
  • 6 quarts water
  • 5 star anise
  • 6 whole cloves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds optional
  • 1 pod cardamom optional
  • 1 tablespoon fennel seeds optional
  • 1 pound boneless beef chuck, rump brisket or cross-rib roast, well trimmed, and cut into large chunks
  • 1/4 cup fish sauce
  • 1 tablespoon sugar or 1-inch chunk of yellow rock sugar

For the Pho Bowls

  • 2 pounds small flat rice noodles dried or fresh
  • Cooked beef from the broth
  • 1/2 pound eye of round sirloin, London broil, flank steak or tri-tip steak, thinly sliced across the grain
  • 1 yellow onion sliced paper-thin, soaked in cold water to cover for 30 minutes and drained
  • 2 scallions green parts only, thinly sliced
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro leafy tops only

Garnish for Pho Recipe

  • 3 cups fresh bean sprouts about 1/2 pound
  • Mint
  • Thai basil
  • 2 Thai or serrano chiles thinly sliced
  • 2 limes cut into wedges

Instructions
 

Make the Pho Broth

  • Set baking rack 8 inches below heating element. Turn oven to low broil. Place the onion and ginger halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Brush the halves with a little bit of oil. Broil until the onion and ginger slightly charred, about 10 minutes, turning half-way. Remove from heat and cool.
  • Parboil the beef bones: Fill a large stockpot (about 12 quart capacity) with water and bring to rapid boil. Carefully lower in the bones. Wait until the water returns to a hard boil. Boil vigorously for 3 minutes to release the impurities. Dump bones and water into a clean sink, and rinse the bones with water to wash off any clinging residue. Quickly scrub pot clean and fill with about 6 quarts of clean water. Return bones to pot. Add the charred onion, ginger, spices, beef, fish sauce, and sugar to pot.
  • Bring water to boil over high heat, and lower heat to gentle simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours.
  • While simmering, use a ladle or fine-mesh strainer to spoon off any scum that rises on top.
  • At this point, the boneless meat should be slightly chewy, but not tough. Use tongs to transfer the meat to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. Meanwhile, maintain the broth at a steady simmer for 1 1/2 hours longer.
  • Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve (or a coarse-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth) positioned over a pot. Discard the remaining solids. Use ladle or fine meshed skimmer to skim as much fat as possible from the top of the broth. Taste and adjust the flavor with salt, fish sauce and sugar. There should be about 4 quarts (16 cups) of broth.

Assemble the bowls

  • If using dried rice noodles, cover them with hot tap water and let them soak for 15 minutes, or until they are pliable and opaque. Drain in a colander. If using fresh rice noodles, untangle them, place in a colander, and rinse briefly under cold running water.
  • Cut the cooked beef across the grain into thin slices. Freeze the raw beef for 15 minutes, then slice it across the grain into very thin slices. Set all beef aside. Ready the raw onion, scallions, cilantro leaves for adding to the bowls. Arrange the garnishes on a plate and put on the table.
  • To ensure good timing, bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat as you are assembling the bowls.
  • At the same time, fill a separate large pot with water and boil. For each bowl, place a portion of the noodles on a strainer (or mesh sieve) and dunk the noodles in the boiling water for 10 seconds. Immediately pull the strainer from the water, letting the water drain back into the pot. Empty the noodles into a bowl.
  • Top each bowl of noodles with cooked and raw beef, arranging the slices flat. Add a bit of raw onion, scallions, cilantro leaves to each bowl.
  • The pho broth needs to be boiling hot, to cook the raw beef slices. Raise the heat of the broth to a boil. Do a final taste and make any last minute adjustments with fish sauce and sugar. Ladle about 2 cups of broth into each bowl. Serve immediately with plate of garnishes.

Nutrition

Calories: 292kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 13gFat: 1gCholesterol: 17mgSodium: 1131mgPotassium: 722mgFiber: 2gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 105IUVitamin C: 12.5mgCalcium: 35mgIron: 1.4mg
Keyword beef noodle soup, noodle soup, pho recipe
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!