Easy Vietnamese Pho

Have you ever made Vietnamese Pho before?  If you have or know someone who’s serious about their Pho, then you know that you need to go to the butcher and buy a bunch of marrow filled bones, ox tails and a big beef brisket and cook them for hours and hours and hours with onions and ginger and spices which results in the most amazing beef broth you will ever taste.

For those of us that don’t have the ability, or time, to take on such a project I have adapted the recipe to have delicious Beef Pho (pronounced Fuh) on your table in less than an hour.  Yep, no 18 hours of braising bones, 60 minutes or less.

Vietnamese Pho – Farmgirl Easy!

For the Broth
10 c water
2 tbsp Beef “Better than Bouillon” base
8 peppercorns
1 tbsp sea salt (or 1 1/2 tsp Kosher salt)
1 1-inch piece ginger, peeled
1 bay leaf
1/2 star anise
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cardamom pod (or 1/8 tsp ground cardamom)
1 cinnamon stick (or 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon)
8 whole cloves
1 tsp coriander seeds

Garnishes
1/2 lb flank steak, sliced super thin against the grain
      (freezing for 10-15 minutes will help in cutting the steak ultra thin)
8 oz rice stick noodles, cooked and drained according to package
1 lime, wedged
Cilantro, basil and/or mint
Thinly sliced: carrots, onions, green onions, ginger, jalapeno or cayenne peppers
Minced garlic
Bean sprouts
Hoisin sauce, Sriracha sauce and/or Nam Pla (Fish Sauce) for serving

1) Add 10 cups of water to a large stock pot.  Whisk in the 2 tablespoons of beef base and sea salt.  Toss in the ginger and peppercorns.  In a tea strainer basket or a piece of cheesecloth add the remaining spices and close the tea strainer securely (or tie off the cheesecloth) and add to the broth.  Bring to a rolling boil for 5 minutes and then turn the heat down to medium-low and simmer for another 15-20 minutes.
2) Meanwhile, prepare the rice noodles according to the package.  Drain just before serving or the noodles will stick together.
3) Slice flank steak super thin against the grain.  Cut into strips that will be bite sized.  Slice all veggies super thin and arrange on a plate for serving at the table.
4) To serve: add a portion of noodles to a bowl, ladle beef broth over and shake the bowl a bit to incorporate the beef broth into the noodles.  Lay the slices of raw meat over the noodles and add another ladle or 2 of broth.  The boiling beef broth will cook the meat in your bowl.  Garnish with veggies and sauces of choice at the table.

That’s it! I hope you enjoy this delicious Vietnamese Pho or Beef & Noodle Soup as much as we did!

Note: All of the sauces and rice noodles should be located in the ethnic food aisle at your local supermarket or online at  www.amazon.com. Spices should be in the spice isle or can be found at Cost Plus World Market or www.amazon.com

Recipe By:

Heather Scholten

Co-Founder at Spiceology | More About Heather...

Heather is a recipe developer and content creator living in Vancouver, Washington. She started Farmgirl Gourmet in 2006, almost 20 years ago, as a way to share recipes with friends and family. Heather is also the co-founder of Spiceology , a unique spice company, which she started in 2013. She shares family friendly recipes for easy everyday meals with a gourmet twist.