Beef Pho

Enjoy the delicious flavors of Vietnamese Beef Pho at home and without any fuss with this simplified version of the classic noodle soup.

There is a Vietnamese restaurant here that makes a wonderful beef pho, I really wanted to replicate it at home but upon reading recipes found that it takes an entire day to prepare... eeek! Well I don't have time for that!

Using the key flavors of a traditional pho, I made this super simplified version that takes about 40 minutes total cooking time.

The soup turned out fantastic. Although I didn't make the broth from scratch the flavors matched perfectly to those in the restaurant dish I was trying to replicate. I think this will now become a routine dish in our household (Update: It has)!

Beef Pho

Serves 4

Broth:

6 Cups salt reduced beef stock
1 onion, quartered
4 inch piece of ginger, peeled and quartered
4 Star Anise
1 Cinnamon Stick
2 Cloves garlic, sliced
4 Tbsp fish sauce
1 Tbsp sugar

To Serve:

400 g (14 oz) Beef steak, seasoned with salt and pepper on each side.
400 g Rice noodles
Bean Sprouts
2 Spring onion (scallions), sliced
4 Tbsp coriander (cilantro), chopped
1 red chili, sliced

1. Make the broth by placing all broth ingredients in a large saucepan, bringing to a boil, and simmering for 30 minutes. Strain and discard the solids and return the liquid to a gentle simmer.

2. Heat a cast iron skillet on a high heat. Sear the steak, cooking for 30 seconds on each side. Set aside to rest before slicing into thin strips. This step is optional, it sears the outside of the steak, sealing in the salt and pepper while keeping the inside raw. The steak will cook on it's own in the broth. Cut the steak into thin slices.

3. Prepare the rice noodles/vermicelli following the package directions.

4. Assemble the bowls by placing a portion of rice noodles and steak at the bottom of a bowl, pour over some broth, and top with  bean sprouts, scallions, cilantro, and red chili.