Vietnamese Beef Pho Noodle Soup

Vietnamese Beef Pho Noodle Soup

Pho noodle soup is very popular in the US; the Vietnamese make their Pho with Spices and serve with fresh noodle and herbs. There are different kind of Pho, American like beef and chicken Pho the most. This recipes make a lot if you don’t have many people to feed cut in half or you can freeze it for later use that what I do all the time.  It take 2 hours or longer to make this soup broth so make it ahead of time.

To make Pho broth you need

2 ½ lbs of beef knuckle bone (wash)
2 lbs of beef chuck bone (wash)
1 white onion cut in half and grills until brown in color
1 big fresh ginger cut in half and grills
1 cinnamon stick
5 Star Aniseeds
10 cloves
20 cups of water
1/2 cup of fish sauce
1/3 cup of sugar or one big piece of Rock sugar
2 T of salt

To garnish the bowl
Thinly sliced good beef set aside
Meat balls cut in half cook in soup broth set aside
hoisin sauce
chili sauce
black pepper
For Veggie you need
Bean sprouts
Cilantro
Thai basil
Green onion
Jalapeno pepper
Lime wedges

In a deep big pot start to boil enough water to parboil the bone for 5 minutes then drain the bone and wash it set aside (if you parboil the bone first it will make your broth clear)

In the same pot boil 20 cups of water. When the water is boiling add the bone back in and cook for 30 minutes scrap off anything that come to the top so the broth is clear.

After 30 minutes add white grill onion and ginger, cinnamon stick, star aniseeds, and cloves cook on medium heat for 30 more minutes,

Now add fish sauce, sugar, and salt to it turn the heat down to low and let the soup broth simmer for 1 hour.

Taste your soup broth and adjust the flavor to your taste.

For the noodle you need
You can use dried noodle or fresh it is best to find fresh noodle, if you use dried noodle soak in warm water for 20 minutes drain and set aside.

In a big pot boil enough water to cook the noodle. Take a handful of noodle and put in a colander and dip it in the hot boiling water for just few minutes until the noodle is soft ( fresh noodle will not take long if you cook it too long it will turn to mash)

When ready to serve turn the heat back on the soup broth then add the meat ball cook until it float to the top then turn the heat down to low.

Take the noodle out and put in a big Pho serving bowl, add meat ball and cooked sliced beef on top add enough broth to cover the noodle, garnish with bean sprouts, Thai basil, green onion, Jalapeno pepper, chili sauce, hoisin sauce and lime wedge. Serve hot on a cold day.

Enjoy!