How to make Delicious Vietnamese Pho at home?

Making Vietnamese pho soup from scratch is simple; all you need is a simple recipe, a few insider tips, and a sizable stockpot. Jump to the Pho Recipe at Home

How to Make the Best Pho Soup: Seven Tips

If you’re wondering, “What is Vietnamese Pho?,” it’s a delicate (and delectable) Vietnamese noodle soup made with beef bones, ginger, onions, and a ton of flavorful spices.

It is the epitome of a delicious soup. It’s amazing how the flavors and spices from cinnamon, fennel seeds, cardamom, and star anise combine. The best part? You can add any toppings you like to the soup to make it your own, and this is encouraged.

What Bones Make the Best Vietnamese Pho?

We cook this at least once every month, and we always make extra broth to freeze for later. Even though it takes some time, the majority of it is hands-off, so let’s get started on making amazing pho at home, shall we?

Without great beef bones, you can’t make a great soup. As a result, seek out leg and knuckle bones with marrow. We purchase beef knuckles at a nearby Asian grocery since they are reasonably priced.

This handmade beef broth cannot be replaced with store-bought beef broth. We are aware that our method takes longer than others, but believe me when I say that this homemade pho broth is far more flavorful. You won’t be sorry.

The bones should ideally be parboiled and rinsed. (Vietnamese Pho)

Bones release “scum” or contaminants when simmered. You’ll have hazy broth if you don’t get rid of this. Very bad. We take an extra step because we want our soup to be as clear and clean as possible.

Place the bones in a big stockpot, add cold water to cover, and then bring to a boil. After a brief period of boiling, transfer the water and bones through a sieve.

Rinse the bones to remove all contaminants after discarding the water. There will be scum on the bottom and sides of the stockpot, so make sure you rinse it as well.

Ginger with The Onion Char

Slide an onion and a big piece of ginger under the broiler to get the recognizable and robust flavor of outstanding Pho. till well browned, broil. You’ll get wonderful flavor and color from that.

Don’t forget to toast the spices.

Even though we’re giving the spices and broth a few hours to simmer, we still like to toast the spices briefly before adding them to the pot.

Put the spices in a dry pan over medium heat, keep an eye on them, and shake the pan a few times to ensure even toasting. When you can detect their aroma, they are prepared. Only two to three minutes are needed.

Sugar Yellow Rock

Use anything other than the plain white sugar in your pantry. Although purchasing yellow rock sugar may seem a bit special, using regular sugar results in a sugary, bland soup whereas utilizing rock sugar balances everything out and unifies it. Additionally, you’ll need the extra rock sugar for this recipe the next time!

Use fish sauce

Buy a few. Without it, you truly can’t cook pho soup or any other Vietnamese dishes. Our stove is within easy reach, as is our fish sauce. We use it in all of our recipes and cannot cook pho without it.

When buying fish sauce, Andrea Nguyen of Viet World Kitchen advises looking for glass bottles rather than plastic and letting price be your guide. Choose the $4–$5 bottle of fish sauce that is in the middle of the price range.

Update: We recently tried Red Boat Fish Sauce 40°N and found that we liked it better than the others. We like its pure fish flavor over that of other brands.

The Finest Noodles and Sauces

Although fresh noodles from Asian shops are a delightful treat, dried rice noodles also work well. Never cook the noodles in the broth, whether you use fresh or dried.

The broth will turn cloudy if you do this. So, prepare the noodles in a separate pot (it just takes a few minutes) and add them to your bowl just before adding the boiling broth.

As for toppings, we enjoy Thai basil (but standard basil can be used in its place), fresh mint, crunchy bean sprouts, a tiny bit of fish sauce, and some Asian chili sauce.

Although we hardly ever add hoisin sauce ourselves because it can overpower the delicate, rich flavor of the soup, it is also rather popular.

Oh, and although it’s not a “secret,” make sure you have freezer space so you can put some of that extra broth away for the tastiest supper you’ve ever prepared ahead of time!

The Best Homemade Vietnamese Pho Recipe

PREP 45 min. 3 hours and 20 minutes of cooking 4 hours and 5 minutes in total

A simple recipe, a few insider tips, and a sizable stockpot are all you need to make your delicious bowl of Vietnamese pho at home.

Although our method may appear complicated, it is fairly easy to follow, and you have plenty of free time while you wait for the broth (we’ve just been particularly thorough in sharing what we know).

YOU WILL NEED

BROTH

• 5 to 6 pounds of beef knuckles or leg bones
• 6 quarts of cold water
• 2 medium onions, quartered
• 4-inch piece of fresh ginger halved lengthwise
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• 6-star anise
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 black cardamom pod (see note below)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 1-inch piece of yellow rock sugar (see note below

ASSEMBLY

• 1 pound small (1/8-inch wide) dried or fresh “banh pho” noodles (see note)
• 1/2 pound raw eye of round, sirloin, or tri-tip steak, thinly sliced across the grain (see note)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced onions (see note)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves

FOR THE TABLE

• Sprigs of fresh mint and/or Asian/Thai basil
• Bean sprouts
• Thinly sliced red chilies (such as Thai bird)
• Lime wedges
• Fish sauce
• Hoisin sauce

DIRECTIONS

BREW BROTH

1. In a sizable pot with a capacity of at least 10 quarts, add the meat bones. Next, drench the bones in cold water. Turn the heat up to high and bring the saucepan to a boil. 3 to 5 minutes of boiling. Impurities and foam (or scum) will be released during this time and rise to the surface. Drain the bones and throw away the water. After that, wash the bones in warm water and scrub the stockpot to get rid of any leftover debris. Re-add the bones to the stockpot, then add 6 quarts of cold water to cover them.
2. Turn the broiler to high as the oven rack is moved to the top position. Use aluminum foil to cover a baking sheet. On a baking sheet, place the quartered onions and the halved ginger. Broil for 10 to 15 minutes, turning the onions and ginger to be scorched or browned on all sides.
3. A dry frying pan should be filled with cinnamon sticks, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, star anise, cloves, and the black cardamom pod. Cook, stirring periodically, over low heat until aromatic. five minutes or so. Put the roasted spices in a cheesecloth bag, cotton muslin bag, or herb sachet, and seal with butcher’s string.
4. Bring water in a stockpot with parboiled bones to a boil before lowering the heat to a slow simmer. Along with the bag or sachet of roasted spices, add the charred onion and ginger. Add the rock sugar, 1/4 cup fish sauce, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt. For a further three hours, the soup should simmer uncovered. Use a spoon to scoop off any froth or scum that may occasionally come to the surface.
5. Remove the bones, onion, and ginger from the broth using tongs or a wide mesh spoon, and then drain the liquid through a fine mesh strainer. The top of the broth will be covered in a film of fat. This can be eliminated in two ways. First, use a spoon to skim the fat from the top of the broth if you want to consume the broth right away. You can alternatively pour the broth into containers and refrigerate them overnight if you don’t mind waiting. The fat will harden as the soup cools, making it very simple to remove.

ASSEMBLY

1. Over medium heat, gently boil the broth.
2. When using dried noodles, place them in a bowl, cover them with hot water, and let them sit for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are soft and opaque. Add to a colander and rinse with cold water if using fresh.
3. Bring a medium saucepan of water to a boil to cook the noodles. Noodles should be cooked in hot water for 10 seconds or until they collapse. Noodles are drained, then divided across bowls. (We prefer to use 1/3 more noodles in each bowl.)
4. Place raw beef pieces in dishes, then pour the heated broth on top. Add cilantro and onion pieces to the soup to finish. Serve bowls alongside a platter of the aforementioned optional toppings.