The Soul of Vietnamese Pho

Making your own amazing bowl of Vietnamese Pho soup at home is not difficult.  All you need is a straightforward recipe, a few amazing spices, a large stockpot, and some time.  I make Pho at least once a month (preferably during the day on a Saturday) and I always making sure to make enough broth for another meal. My family and I love Pho. It is nothing short of soup perfection. There are many ways of making Pho and so many variations.  It was trial and error, until I got it right. 

The first step and most important one is making the broth. Pho broth is the soul of the dish. It is what makes the dish Vietnamese Pho.

Ingredients for the Beef Broth:

7 pounds Beef Bones (Knuckle and Leg Bones that contain marrow, Beef Shanks, and Oxtails)

Spices (place all spices except for the cinnamon sticks into two sachets)

         4 cinnamon sticks

         24 star anise

         24 cloves

         3 tablespoons coriander seeds

         3 tablespoons  fennel seeds

         3 black cardamom pods

Other ingredients needed:

         2 medium onions, quartered

         4 finger length pieces of fresh ginger, halved lengthwise

         2 tablespoons of salt (or to taste)

         2 inch pieces of yellow rock sugar

Steps to Making the Broth:

1.  Add beef bones to a large pot that will hold at least 10 quarts.  Cover bones with cold water.  Place pot onto high heat and bring to a boil.  Boil for about 5 minutes. During this time, impurities and scum will be released and rise to the top.

2.  Drain bones, discarding the water.  Then, rinse bones with warm water.  I use another large stockpot, but you can use the same pot, but make sure to scrub it to remove any residue that has stuck to the sides. Add the bones back to the clean stockpot and cover with 7 ½ quarts of cold water. Bring to a boil then lower to a gentle simmer.

3.  Toast Spices:  Add cinnamon sticks, cardamom seeds, fennel seeds, star anise, cloves and black cardamom pods in a dry frying pan.  Place on low heat and cook, stirring occasionally for about 3-5 minutes until fragrant.  Place toasted spices, except for the cinnamon sticks, into two herb sachets.  Set aside.

4.  Place quartered onions and halved ginger onto a baking sheet lined with foil.  Broil in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, turning onions and ginger occasionally so that they become charred or browned on all sides. Remove from oven and set a side.

5.  Add the charred onions and ginger, as well as the spice sachets to the simmering pot.  Next, add the salt and the rock sugar pieces.

6. Continue to simmer the broth for about 7-8 hours. 

7.  When broth is done, let cool.  Use tongs or a wide mesh spoon to remove bones, onion and ginger, and spice sachets from broth.  Discard. Strain the broth through a fine mesh strainer.

8.  I use two Rubbermaid containers that each holds about 3 ½ quarts of broth.  Each container serves 4.  I have enough broth for two Pho dinners.

9.  I keep one container in the refrigerator to be used later in the week.  The other container I store in the freezer for a future dinner.  I prefer doing this because when the broth cools, the fat solidifies, and it is easy to remove.  The broth tastes so much better when the fat is removed. 

The broth is everything.  It is an incredibly fragrant, clear, and delicious beef broth.  It will be the most important element to our Vietnamese Pho dinner that we will enjoy at a later date. 

Pho is actually pronounced “fuh”…rather than “fo”…just saying!

Sometimes you need variety, even when it comes to  beef broth.

Buon Appetito!