Beef Pho Noodle Soup Recipe (Pho Bo) pronounced "Fuh

http://vietworldkitchen.typepad.com/blog/2008/10/pho-beef-noodle-soup.html
by Chef Didier Corlou with a few changes by Jodie

Beef Pho Noodle Soup Recipe (Pho bo)
Makes 8 satisfying (American-sized) bowls
For the broth:
2 medium yellow onions (about 1 pound total)
4-inch piece ginger (about 4 ounces)
5-6 pounds beef soup bones (marrow and knuckle bones or use oxtails)
1 package of Pho Spices [1 cinnamon stick, 1 tbl coriander seeds, 1 tbl fennel
seeds, 5 star anise, 1 cardamom pod, 6 whole cloves - in mesh bag or bouquet
bag]
1 1/2 T salt
1 inch chunk of yellow rock sugar (about 1 oz) or 1oz of regular sugar
1 pound thin slices of beef sirloin
1 1/2 tablespoons salt
! cup fish sauce
1 ounce (1-inch chunk) yellow rock sugar (duong phen; see Note)
For the bowls:
1 1/2-2 pounds small (1/8-inch wide) dried or fresh banh pho noodles ("rice
sticks'' or Thai chantaboon)
1/2 pound raw eye of round, sirloin, London broil or tri-tip steak, thinly sliced
across the grain (1/16 inch thick; freeze for 15 minutes to make it easier to slice)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced paper-thin, left to soak for 30 minutes in a bowl of
cold water
3 or 4 scallions, green part only, cut into thin rings
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (ngo)
Ground black pepper

Optional garnishes arranged on a plate and placed at the table:
Sprigs of spearmint (hung lui) and Asian/Thai basil (hung que)
Leaves of thorny cilantro (ngo gai)
Bean sprouts (about 1/2 pound)
Red hot chiles (such as Thai bird or dragon or serrano), thinly sliced
Lime wedges
Green onions chopped

Prepare the pho broth:
Char onion and ginger. Use an open flame on grill or gas stove. Place onions
and ginger on cooking grate and let skin burn. (If using stove, turn on exhaust fan
and open a window.) After about 15 minutes, they will soften and become
sweetly fragrant. Use tongs to occasionally rotate them and to grab and discard
any flyaway onion skin. You do not have to blacken entire surface, just enough to
slightly cook onion and ginger.

Let cool. Under warm water, remove charred onion skin; trim and discard
blackened parts of root or stem ends. If ginger skin is puckered and blistered,
smash ginger with flat side of knife to loosen flesh from skin. Otherwise, use
sharp paring knife to remove skin, running ginger under warm water to wash off
blackened bits. Set aside.

Parboil bones. Place bones in stockpot (minimum 12-quart capacity) and cover
with cold water. Over high heat, bring to boil. Boil vigorously 2 to 3 minutes to
allow impurities to be released. Dump bones and water into sink and rinse bones
with warm water. Quickly scrub stockpot to remove any residue. Return bones to
pot.

Simmer broth. Add 6 quarts water to pot, bring to boil over high heat, then lower
flame to gently simmer. Use ladle to skim any scum that rises to surface. Add
remaining broth ingredients and cook 1 1/2 hours. Boneless meat should be
slightly chewy but not tough. Oxtails should cook for a minimum of 3 hrs. When it
is cooked to your liking, remove it and place in bowl of cold water for 10 minutes;
this prevents the meat from drying up and turning dark as it cools. Drain the
meat; cool, then refrigerate. Allow broth to continue cooking; in total, the broth
should simmer 3 hours.

Strain the pho broth through fine strainer. If desired, remove any bits of
gelatinous tendon from bones to add to your pho bowl. Store tendon with cooked
beef. Discard solids.

Use ladle to skim as much fat from top of the pho broth as you like. (Cool it and
refrigerate it overnight to make this task easier; reheat befofe continuing.) Taste
and adjust flavor with additional salt, fish sauce and yellow rock sugar. The pho
broth should taste slightly too strong because the noodles and other ingredients
are not salted. (If you've gone too far, add water to dilute.) Makes about 4 quarts.


Assemble pho bowls:
The key is to be organized and have everything ready to go. Thinly slice cooked
meat. For best results, make sure it's cold.

Heat the pho broth and ready the noodles. To ensure good timing, reheat
broth over medium flame as you're assembling bowls. If you're using dried
noodles, cover with hot tap water and soak 15-20 minutes, until softened and
opaque white. Drain in colander. For fresh rice noodles, just untangle and briefly
rinse in a colander with cold water.

Blanch noodles. Fill 3- or 4-quart saucepan with water and bring to boil. For
each bowl, use long-handle strainer to blanch a portion of noodles. As soon as
noodles have collapsed and lost their stiffness (10-20 seconds), pull strainer from
water, letting water drain back into saucepan. Empty noodles into bowls. Noodles
should occupy 1/4 to 1/3 of bowl; the latter is for noodle lovers, while the former
is for those who prize broth.

If desired, after blanching noodles, blanch bean sprouts for 30 seconds in same
saucepan. They should slightly wilt but retain some crunch. Drain and add to the
garnish plate.

Add other ingredients. Place slices of cooked meat, raw meat and tendon (if
using) atop noodles. (If your cooked meat is not at room temperature, blanch
slices for few seconds in hot water from above.) Garnish with onion, scallion and
chopped cilantro. Finish with black pepper.

Ladle in broth and serve. Bring broth to rolling boil. Check seasoning. Ladle
broth into each bowl, distributing hot liquid evenly so as to cook raw beef and
warm other ingredients. Serve your pho with with the garnish plate.

Note: Yellow rock sugar (a.k.a. lump sugar) is sold in one pound boxes at
Chinese and Southeast Asian markets. Break up large chunks with hammer.

Variations: If you want to replicate the splendorous options available at pho
shops, head to the butcher counter at a Vietnamese or Chinese market. There
you'll find white cords of gan (beef tendon) and thin pieces of nam (outside flank,
not flank steak). While tendon requires no preparation prior to cooking, nam
should be rolled and tied with string for easy handling. Simmer it and the beef
tendon in the cooking broth for two hours, or until chewy-tender.
Airy book tripe (sach) is already cooked when you buy it. Before using, wash and
gently squeeze it dry. Slice it thinly to make fringe-like pieces to be added to the
bowl during assembly. For beef meatballs (bo vien), purchase them in Asian
markets in the refrigerator case; they are already precooked. Slice each one in
half and drop into broth to heat through. When you're ready to serve, ladle them
out with the broth to top each bowl.

To add dimension to the broth, boil the listed broth ingredients with peeled daikon
roots, a peeled chayote, and the dried peel of a tangerine. These will confer
depth usually provided by the MSG of the quick "pho mixes." Moreover, don't be
discouraged by the gelatinous nature of the cooled broth as this is due to the
tendons; broth will liquefy upon heating. Broth can be made ahead of time. It can
be reduced and frozen, to be reconstituted at a later date when pho can be
quickly assembled. Buy the "fresh" pho noodles in the refrigerated section of
Asian stores, which requires no pre-soaking and a 40-second dip in boiling water.
Uncooked extras can also be frozen.

Knowing a few basic broth-making tips is key to this traditional soup: 1) be
vigilant about skimming the scum off the top of the broth, and 2) always simmer,
never boil the broth or the "scum" will be broken down and churned back into the
broth making it gray instead of clear.

Chef Mai Pham: Rice sticks, or banh pho, are translucent, linguini-shaped dried
noodles sold in Asian markets. For pho, buy the small, 1/16-inch-wide variety. To
prepare them, first soak them in cold water for 30 minutes and drain. Then bring
a large pot of water to a rolling boil. When you're ready to serve (not before),
place the noodles, one portion at a time, into a sieve and lower it into the boiling
water. Using chopsticks or a long spoon, stir so the noodles untangle and cook
evenly. Blanch just until they're soft but still chewy, about 10 to 20 seconds. Drain
completely, then transfer to a preheated bowl. Cook the remaining noodles the
same way. If you're cooking for several people, you may also cook the noodles
all at once by adding them directly to the pot of boiling water. Just make sure to
serve them immediately. The Vietnamese believe that "a meat dish should taste
like a meat dish," says Pham. Cooking the meat with vegetables would distort its
flavor, so all veggies (except for aromatics like ginger and onion) are added after
cooking. Since Vietnamese food is so simply prepared, using the freshest,
highest-quality ingredients is essential. Pham recommends seeking out organic,
antibiotic-free meat and purchasing it on the same day you plan to use it to
ensure freshness. Fish sauce (nuoc mam), a pungent, salty liquid made from
fermented anchovies, adds depth and flavor to numerous Vietnamese dishes.
For best results, choose bottles priced$3 to $4 rather than $1, and pass on jars
that are dark, which indicates oxidation or the presence of additives. "Look for
fish sauce in glass jars. Avoid plastic," says Pham. "The fish sauce should have
a nice, even color, like iced tea." She suggests Three Crabs, Lobster Boy, and
Phu Quoc brands. When cooking with fish sauce, always add it to other liquids:
Never place it directly in a hot, dry pan, which would broadcast its pungent, fishy
odor throughout your kitchen in a less-than-pleasant way. Soy sauce is an
acceptable vegetarian substitute, though it does lack fish sauce's smoky
complexity. When prepping ingredients for Vietnamese cooking, Pham
recommends cutting everything into small, even sizes, which cook more quickly
and evenly. A mandoline makes quick work of the paper-thin slices of onions that
top this soup. Asian basil, also called Thai or holy basil, has a delicate anise
flavor. Regular (sweet) basil does not make a good substitute, as it's too strong.
"Use mint instead," says Pham. Saw-leaf herb has a floral, cilantro-like flavor and
three- to four-inch long, dark-green leaves with serrated edges. Cilantro or Asian
basil make good substitutes. Both herbs can be found in the produce section of
Asian grocery stores or in farmers' markets. The Thai bird chile, a short, narrow,
pointed, green or red variety, is not exclusively Thai it's also the Vietnamese
hot pepper of choice. "In Vietnam, we just call them peppers," says Pham. Thai
bird chiles can be found at Asian grocery stores and better supermarkets, or
ordered from Asian foods supplier Uwajimaya at (800) 889-1928. If you can't find
them, Pham suggests substituting fresh red serrano chiles, which are hotter and
sweeter than their green counterparts.