Welcome to Vietnam! So much history here. I'm torn with whether or not I would like to visit. It's a place that has always fascinated me, but I wouldn't enjoy the hot, muggy weather. But, I would LOVE to go to Thailand, which is a hop, skip, and a jump from Vietnam. So I'm undecided. It looks like a beautiful country though! According to Google, the population is 99,497,680 people, and the capital is Hanoi. Their national dish is...
Pho!
I love a good pho, so I was very excited to try finding a good recipe. I knew it would be an all day process, so I was gearing up for that, but honestly, it was pretty simple! It did take all day to simmer, but once the prep was done, it came together quite easily. It was a stormy day here at home, and we had more fabulous friends to share it with, so it made for a great evening. Here's what I did:
2 1/2 lbs beef bones
Water to cover contents in pot
1/2 C fish sauce
2 tbsp sugar
5 star anise
2 cardamom pod
1 lb beef sirloin, cut thin
Bean sprouts
- Place the beef bones in a large stockpot and add water until bones are covered.
- Bring to a boil and let the the bones boil for 5 minutes.
- Drain the water, remove bones, and clean out the pot well.
- Add the bones back in, cover with about 10 quarts of water, and bring to a boil while you are preparing the rest of the ingredients. (Make sure to skim off any scum that accumulates throughout the cooking process.)
- Cut two peeled onions in half.
- Char each half by holding it with tongs over open flame of a gas stove or place it under the broiler. Repeat with the ginger and set aside.
- In a small skillet, lightly toast the anise pods, cloves, peppercorns, and garlic for about 5 minutes, or until fragrant. Set aside to cool.
- Add the toasted spices and garlic, charred onion and ginger, cinnamon stick, and shallot to the stock.
- Boil for 15 minutes, then bring down to a gentle simmer.
- Add the sugar, fish sauce, salt, and stir well.
- Continue to simmer for 2½ hours, uncovered, periodically skimming off any scum or fat as they accumulate.
- Fill a large pot with hot tap water and soak the rice noodles in the water for about 10 minutes. They should soften just slightly: the hot pho broth will cook them the rest of the way.
- Drain the noodles and place them in individual soup bowls.
- Arrange the sliced raw beef on top.
- Pick out the stew meat chunks and portion them to the soup bowls.
- Pour the boiling hot broth into the soup bowls, making sure it covers the raw beef. The broth will cook the beef as well as the noodles.
- Garnish as you would like with the remaining garnish items and enjoy!
