Beef Pho
Vietnam's defining noodle soup: a slow-simmered beef bone broth scented with star anise, cinnamon, charred onion and ginger.
Overview
This dish works best with raw beef that has been sliced paper thin, as it cooks in seconds when placed in the hot broth.
Ingredients
Noodles
- 200 grams rice noodles
Broth
- 1 ½ litres beef stock
- 1 star anise
- 4 cm fresh ginger (sliced)
- 2 pigs trotters
- ½ onion studded with 2 cloves
- 2 lemon grass stems (pounded)
- 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
- ¼ teaspoons white pepper
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
Protein
- 400 grams beef fillet (frozen)
Vegetables and herbs
- 90 gram bean sprouts (trimmed)
- 2 spring onions (thinly sliced on the diagonal)
- 25 grams coriander leaves (chopped)
- 25 grams mint (chopped)
- 2 fresh red chillies (thinly sliced)
- mint leaves (extra to serve)
- coriander leaves (extra to serve)
- 2 limes (quartered)
- fish sauce (to serve)
Method
Stage 1 - Prepare beef and noodles
- Slice the frozen beef as thinly as possible. If the beef begins to thaw, put it back in the freezer for 15 minutes.
- Soak the noodles in boiling water for 15 - 20 minutes. Drain.
Stage 2 - Make broth
- Bring the stock, star anise, ginger, trotters, onion, lemon grass, garlic and white pepper to the boil in a large saucepan.
- Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Strain, return to the same pan and stir in the fish sauce.
Stage 3 - Assemble and serve
- Divide the noodles among bowls, then top with beef strips, bean sprouts, spring onion, coriander, mint and half of the chillies.
- Ladle over the broth.
- Put the remaining chillies, mint, coriander, lime quarters and fish sauce in small bowls on a platter and serve with the soup.
Notes
- Beef: Freeze briefly for easy thin slicing; it cooks instantly in hot broth.
- Broth: Simmer gently to extract maximum flavor from spices.
- Noodles: Soak in hot water; avoid boiling to prevent mushiness.
- Herbs: Add fresh herbs at serving for vibrant flavor.
Serving
- Serve hot with accompaniments.
Storage
- Best served immediately; broth can be refrigerated for 2 days.
More like this
Go Bo Hoi an
Go Bo Hoi An is a piquant Vietnamese beef salad featuring thinly sliced seared beef tossed with crisp vegetables, fresh herbs, and a bright tamarind-lime dressing. This dish has delicate undertones of lime and garlic which carry through the tamarind flavours perfectly. The combination of tender beef, crunchy vegetables, aromatic herbs, and crispy rice papers creates a textural and flavourful celebration of Vietnamese cuisine. Quick to make but requires advance preparation, ensure the salad, dressing, and toppings are made and ready to use before cooking the beef.
Gỏi Bắp Cải
Poached chicken is shredded and tossed with finely shredded cabbage, carrot and onion that has been softened in a light vinegar bath. A bright nước chấm style dressing brings everything together and toasted peanuts and fried shallots finish the top. The trick is balance: the salad should be crunchy, not waterlogged, and the dressing should taste sharp on its own before it hits the salad.
Sichuan Hot Pot
Two pots if you have them: a spicy red broth and a clear chicken broth. The red broth fries doubanjiang and chilli bean paste in beef tallow, adds Sichuan peppercorns, dried chillies, star anise, cassia, bay, ginger and garlic, then stock; simmers for 30 minutes. Diners cook their own ingredients in the simmering pot and dip in a small bowl of sesame oil + chopped garlic + coriander. The mala (numbing-hot) sensation comes from green Sichuan peppercorns + dried chilli together.
Beef Rendang
Rendang is a spicy meat dish which originated from the Minangkabau ethnic group of Indonesia, and is now commonly served across the country. One of the characteristic foods of Minangkabau culture, it is served at ceremonial occasions and to honour guests. This rich, aromatic curry features beef slowly simmered in coconut milk and spices until deeply flavoured.