Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (Phở Bò)

What is Phở Bò?

Phở bò is Vietnam's iconic beef noodle soup. Beef bones simmer for hours with onion, ginger, star anise, cinnamon and white peppercorns for a clear, deeply aromatic broth, served over rice noodles with fresh herbs, lime and chili.

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Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup (Phở Bò)

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Ingredients

For the broth

• 5.5 lb beef bones
• 2 tablespoon salt
• 1 whole yellow onion
• 2 whole ginger
• 1 medium rock sugar
• 6 tablespoon fish sauce
• 1.5 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon MSG

For the spice mix

• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1.5 tablespoon white peppercorns
• 6 star anise

To serve

• rice noodles
• green onions to garnish
• cilantro to garnish
• rare ribeye slices
• cooked beef tendons
• vietnamese beef meatballs
• thai basil
• beansprouts
• limes

Instructions

• Start by parboiling your beef bones: In a large pot, fill with cold water, the beef bones, and 1 tablespoon salt. Bring it to a hard boil for 5 minutes. Allow for all the impurities to release and drain all the liquid. Clean the bones and clean the pot. Set aside.
• Over the stove, char your yellow onion and ginger with skin on. Turn off the heat. Remove the skin from the white onion and ginger. Halve the yellow onion and cut the ginger into thick slices.
• In a small pan, lightly toast your aromatics: cinnamon sticks, white peppercorns, and star anise over medium-low heat. It should be done once your white peppercorns begin to pop. Place all the spices into a spice bag.
• In the cleaned pot, add back your cleaned bones, charred white onion and ginger, and toasted spice bag. Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 medium rock sugar. Fill with 16 cups of water and bring to the stove over high heat.
• Once the broth reaches a boil, lower the heat to simmer and allow to simmer for 8 hours. Monitor periodically to remove excess fat, impurities, and/or to add more water to the pot to maintain the amount of broth.
• After 8 hours, remove the bones, spices, ginger, and onion. Discard all. Season the broth with fish sauce, sugar, and MSG. Taste and adjust acccordingly.
• Serve over rice noodles, proteins of choice, green onions, cilantro, and black pepper.