Pho Viet

Przygotowanie

Including fish sauce (said Vietnamese friend told me that one of the secrets to a great pho recipe is to not add salt, and instead add enough fish sauce to bring the broth to the correct level of saltiness.)
It's a lot of fish sauce, I know! However, she said that this method tastes the best, but most people don’t do it because fish sauce is so expensive.
She also mentioned, rather proudly, that the Vietnamese brands of fish sauce are much more flavorful (and expensive at $9-$12 a bottle) than the Thai brands most people buy. This is merely some food for contemplation.
Based on this insider knowledge, feel free to reduce the salt content and increase the amount of fish sauce in the soup. As is our mantra here at The Woks of Life, it’s all up to your own taste preferences!
Oh, and for this pho recipe, make sure to purchase premium fish sauce. It will only make your broth better! Red Boat is a favourite!
Recipe for Pho
Recipe Instructions for Pho
Preparing the Broth
Place the bones and beef chuck in large stockpot, and add water to cover. Bring to a boil, and boil for 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and thoroughly clean the stockpot. This process removes any impurities/scum, and will give you a much cleaner broth.
Meanwhile, char your ginger and onions. Use tongs to hold the ginger and onions (one at a time) over an open flame, or place each directly on a gas burner. (You can also do this on a grill.)
Turn until they’re lightly blackened and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Rinse away all the blackened skins.
charring onion over the stove
Add 5 quarts fresh water back to the stockpot and bring to a boil. Transfer the bones and meat back to the pot, along with the charred/cleaned ginger and onions. Add the scallions, fish sauce and rock sugar. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the beef chuck is tender, about 40 minutes. Skim the surface often to remove any foam and fat.
Remove one piece of the chuck and transfer to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process. Then transfer this piece of beef to a container and refrigerate (you will slice this to serve with your pho later. If you were to leave it in the pot, it would be too dry to eat). Leave the other piece of chuck in the pot to flavor the broth.
Now toast the spices (star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod (if using), fennel seeds, and coriander seeds) in a dry pan over medium low heat for about 3 minutes, until fragrant. Use kitchen string to tie up the spices in a piece of cheesecloth, and add it to the broth.
pho broth in pot
Aromatics tied in cheesecloth in broth, by thewoksoflife.com
Cover the pot and continue simmering for another 4 hours. Add the salt and continue to simmer, skimming as necessary, until you’re ready to assemble the rest of the dish. Taste the broth and adjust seasoning by adding more salt, sugar, and/or fish sauce as needed.
Assembling the Pho
To serve, boil the noodles according to package instructions. Add to a bowl. Place a few slices of the beef chuck and the raw sirloin on the noodles. Bring the broth to a rolling boil and ladle it into each bowl. The hot broth will cook the beef.