Traditional Vietnamese Beef Pho Recipe

Authentic traditional style Vietnamese Pho- this family recipe is so comforting and richly seasoned. Steeping hot fragrant beef broth is ladled over flat rice noodles and thinly sliced beef and topped off with fresh herbs and vegetables like cilantro, basil, mint, bean sprouts, lime juice and bean sprouts.

This was always a Trinh staple on Sunday afternoons. My dad would actually start cooking the beef bone broth on Saturday and would continue to cook the broth into Sunday which made for a very deep and fragrant broth (keep in mind that a good beef bone broth steeps for 12-24 hours so you can imagine the flavor with extended broth times). A few things that my dad does differently is his special dry spice ratio, charring ginger and onions; and adding daikon to the broth which adds a little sweetness to the pho without adding too much sugar.

When choosing bones for your stock try to get some femur bones. Our boy, Stef, at The Meat Wagon, in Kingston says it’s the most coveted bone because it has the most bone marrow inside. The chilles tendon and foot also has some really good pieces of tendon as well!

Tips:
*About the meats: my dad likes to freeze the eye round steak for about an hour or so until it’s almost frozen so that it’s SUPER easy to cut ultra thin pieces of the rare sliced beef!
*You need about 2-2.5 lbs of beef bones per gallon of water.
*Don’t stir your broth: When making the broth and simmering the key to a clear broth is to avoid stirring the pot and moving things around. Also keep it at a low simmer and remove as much of the top of the impurities as possible and this will also help with a purer broth.
*Parboil bones- this will release most of the impurities from the bones and will result in a clearer broth.

BEEF STOCK INGREDIENTS

5 lbs beef bones (Mixed bones, whatever you can get: shank bones, or beef bones, mixed beef leg bones, shin, knuckle and marrow bones, achilles tendon/foot, femur bone)
2 lb beef brisket (cut in 2-3 large pieces)
1.5-2 lbs eye round beef steak (place in freezer for 1 hour to cut thin strips)
*Few pieces of tendons / cartilage pieces (optional)
24+ cups water (~1.5 gallons)
2 tbs salt
2 tbs sugar (rock sugar or white sugar)
2 tbs vegetable powder
2 large onions (charred)
4 thumb sizes of ginger (charred, rinsed off)
1 large piece of Daikon cut in two half pieces

*1 tbs fish sauce or to taste, see note below, add as LAST ingredient to go in.

DRIED SPICE BAG
2" asian cinnamon stick cracked in quarters or smashed
8 pieces of dried cloves
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
3 whole pieces of star anise
1 tsp fennel seeds
3/4 tbs black peppercorns

PHO
1 bag vermicelli pho rice noodles

GARNISHES
1 bunch green scallions, chopped thinly
1 bunch fresh mint
1 bunch cilantro (large stems removed, chopped semi-finely)
*1 handful of thai basil leaves (optional, since these are seasonal and hard to find)
1 thinly sliced red onion (add 1 tbs of vinegar and lightly mix and put in bowl to neutralize the onion some)
1 bag of bean sprouts
2 limes, cut into quarter wedges
Red chillies, chopped (served on side, chili seeds removed)
2-3 jalepenos cut into small slices
Deep fried shallots (served on side)

CONDIMENTS
Hoisin sauce (served on side)
Fish sauce (served on side)
Sriracha hot sauce (served on side)

PREPARATION
1. Clean the beef bones. Bring a large pot of water (enough to cover bones) to a rolling boil and 2 tbs salt. Add beef bones and tendons and boil for about 4-5 minutes until all bones has released all its impurities and blood. Rinse bones under running water and clean using your hands to remove any grit off bones and set all aside in a bowl. Rinse and clean stock pot.

*See tip above if you want to roast your bones for a deeper broth.

2. Place in freezer eye round for 1 -2 hours until it’s partially frozen, at this point it will be easy to cut into super thin slices. Cut into thin slices, and place in a tupper ware and set in fridge until ready to serve.

3. Roast spices: In a small frying pan roast all the dried spices until fragrant on high to medium high heat until fragrant and lightly smokey (do not burn spices). Shake pan occasionally to prevent any burning. Transfer to bowl and let spices cool for handling. Then place into a spice colander container or tea bag (tie tightly so the spices don't spill out loose in your stock).

4. Roast ginger / onions: peel outer shell of onions, in broiler grill the ginger and onion until it's charred on all sides (turn as sides are charred).

OR dry roast to frying pan on medium high heat. When the pan is hot add ginger slices and onions to slightly burned and fragrant (If you have a grill char it on a grill!).

5. Bring to a boil a fresh pot of about 1.5 gallons of water in large stock pot. Add salt and sugar.

6. Add washed bones, tendons and brisket; and roasted shallots/onions and ginger and boil for about 30 min (no lid) on high until you get a nice boil and then set to a LOW simmer for 3-12 hours (uncovered). (Occasionally remove any scum or impurities from top of broth without stirring too much).

7. After 3-4 hours when your broth is super fragrant, onions, daikon, ginger from your stock and discard. If you want a deeper, richer bone broth remove onions/daikon/ginger from stock after 3-4 hours and keep boiling bones up to 8-12 hours total. I like to put the broth in the fridge after day 1 (removing all daikon/onions), and one day 2 continue to cook broth then move on to step #8 below.

*Check the brisket after 3-4 hours of it simmering. When the brisket is super tender, remove, and let them rest at room temperature for at least 15 minutes,. Then thinly slice across the grain and place in a tupper ware and set in fridge.

8. When your broth is done to your liking add your spice bag and let simmer for 30 minutes then remove and dispose of spice bag after 30 min. Taste stock, and add sugar or salt to taste and add fish sauce.

9. To serve: Plate in bowl a nice helping of hot cooked vermicelli noodles to center of individual serving bowls. On top of each bowl add bean sprouts, onion, cooked brisket and a few slices of raw beef (it will cook in the piping hot broth bowl). Ladle in a few scoops of boiling broth to generously fill the bowl with your broth. Top with fresh onions, scallions, cilantro and thai basil.

Condiments and extra garnishes: Serve with side of extra bean sprouts, limes, jalepeno, cilantro, mint, thai basil, sriracha and hoison sauce.