Pho (Phở)

Name: Pho
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 180 min
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Vietnam
Ingredients: 2 kg beef marrow and knuckle bones; 300 g beef brisket; 2 onions and a 8 cm piece of ginger, halved; 4 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves; 3 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar; 400 g flat rice noodles, 200 g sirloin sliced thin; Spring onion, herbs, lime, chilli, bean sprouts

Overview

Phở is Vietnam's most famous noodle soup, born in the north in the early twentieth century and now eaten at every hour from Hanoi street stalls to restaurants worldwide. Its soul is a long-simmered, crystal-clear beef bone broth perfumed with charred onion and ginger, star anise, cinnamon and cloves, seasoned with fish sauce. Flat rice noodles go into the bowl, topped with thin slices of raw or cooked beef that cook in the steaming broth. In the south, diners add bean sprouts, Thai basil, lime and chilli at the table, while northern bowls stay simpler with spring onion and herbs. A chicken version, phở gà, is just as popular.

Pictures

Pho: Vietnamese phở noodle soup with sliced rare beef and well done beef brisket. — Photo: Kham Tran - www.khamtran.com · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

History

Phở appeared in northern Vietnam, around Hanoi and Nam Định, in the early twentieth century. Historians often link it to both Chinese and French influences of the period, including the growing use of beef. After Vietnam was divided in 1954, many northerners moved south, and phở moved with them, picking up the herbs, bean sprouts and sauces typical of southern bowls. Vietnamese communities who settled abroad after the war later made phở famous worldwide.

Main ingredients

Rice noodles, beef bones, star anise, charred onion, ginger, fresh herbs. The soup is built on spiced beef broth and is usually served hot. Diet: contains meat; usually gluten-free.

Recipe outline serves 4 · ~210 min

Ingredients

2 kg beef marrow and knuckle bones
300 g beef brisket
2 onions and a 8 cm piece of ginger, halved
4 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves
3 tbsp fish sauce, 1 tsp sugar
400 g flat rice noodles, 200 g sirloin sliced thin
Spring onion, herbs, lime, chilli, bean sprouts

Method

Blanch the bones for 5 minutes, drain and rinse to keep the broth clear.
Char the onion and ginger over a flame or under the grill until blackened in spots.
Simmer bones, brisket, onion, ginger and toasted spices in 4 l water for at least 3 hours, skimming; season with fish sauce and sugar.
Cook the noodles, divide into bowls and top with sliced brisket and raw sirloin.
Ladle the boiling strained broth over and serve with herbs, lime and chilli.

Sources

Pho (Wikipedia)

Description, history and recipe written by SoupWiki and checked against the sources above. Calories and times are rough estimates.