Recipe for Vietnamese Beef Pho

This Vietnamese soup features rice noodles and thin beef slices in a fragrant spiced broth.

Ingredients

Broth

• 2 Liters beef stock
• 50 grams ginger
• 1 onion
• 2 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 30 milliliters fish sauce

Bowl

• 400 grams rice noodles
• 300 grams beef sirloin, thinly sliced
• 100 grams bean sprouts
• 10 grams fresh basil
• 1 lime

Preparation

Broth

1. Char the onion and ginger over a flame then add to stock
2. Add the star anise and cinnamon and simmer for three hours total
3. Strain the broth and stir in the fish sauce and some sugar

Noodles

1. Soak the rice noodles in warm water then boil for one minute
2. Place the noodles in large bowls and top with raw beef slices
3. The boiling broth will cook the thin beef when poured over top

Finish

1. Pour the hot broth into the bowls and serve with fresh sprouts
2. Add the fresh basil leaves and a squeeze of lime to the soup
3. Serve immediately while the broth is steaming and the beef is tender

Tips

• Freeze the beef for thirty minutes to make slicing it thin easier
• Charring the aromatics is the secret to a deep and traditional broth
• The broth must be boiling when poured to cook the raw beef