I made phở and it was GREAT! (despite my mistakes)

I made phở, and it turned out AMAZING! (Even with my mistakes!)

I followed Uncle Roger’s phở recipe (spelling for simplicity) and the result was simply fantastic.

The process was exhausting, and the cleanup afterwards was quite the chore, but honestly, it was all worth it!

I’ve transcribed the recipe from the video and included notes about where I went wrong. Since the video doesn’t specify quantities, trust your instincts while measuring.

Keep in mind that the total prep and cook time is around 10 hours.

Ingredients:

• Lemons
• Limes
• Onion
• Ginger
• Daikon
• Salt
• Rock sugar
• Star anise
• Cinnamon (cassia type – see notes)
• Fennel seeds
• Coriander seeds
• Black cardamom pods
• Whole cloves
• MSG
• Fish sauce
• Various cuts of beef and bones/tails

For the bowl filling:

• Spring onion
• Red onion
• Bean sprouts
• Phở noodles
• Fresh coriander
• Fresh chili/dried chili (your preference)
• Lime juice
• Thinly sliced raw beef
• Any additional toppings you like

Instructions:

1. Meat Preparation: The video suggests using 4-5 types of beef and bones, but I only had a couple of fatty cuts and marrow bones, which turned out fine. I also added beef bouillon for extra flavor.

Start by washing the meat and bones with cold water, salt, and quartered lemons. Rub everything well, and let it soak for 2 hours.

1. Spice Mix: While the meat is soaking, gather your spices (cloves, cinnamon, star anise, fennel, and coriander seeds), and toast them in a dry pan on high heat until fragrant and lightly golden, but not burnt. Keep an eye on them!

Note: I accidentally used a stronger type of cinnamon, which was overpowering. I ended up removing it and toasting a fresh batch of spices, adding cumin to balance the flavor. I used ground cumin, which slightly clouded the broth, but it saved the dish. Next time, I might experiment with using cumin seeds instead.

1. Char the Onion and Ginger: Char the onion and ginger as much as possible. An open flame is ideal, but a hot dry pan or oven will work too. You want them to be blackened or at least softened.

2. Making the Broth: After the two hours, drain the meat and discard the lemons. Rinse the meat quickly to remove any remaining debris. Place all the meat in a large pot, fill with water, and bring to a boil. Boil for about 5 minutes, skimming off any grey scum that rises to the top.

3. Reduce the heat to a simmer and add your spice mix (in a tea egg or similar), along with rock sugar, fish sauce, salt, MSG, peeled ginger and onion, and the cuts of daikon.
   Note: I transferred the soup to a crockpot on low and it worked perfectly.

Let it simmer for 5 hours.

After 5 hours, remove the vegetables.
Note: I accidentally skipped the step of adding the salt, fish sauce, and sugar earlier, so I left the veggies in to compensate.

Let it simmer for another 3 hours.

1. About one hour before serving, soak your noodles in cold water for 30-45 minutes. Prepare the other toppings, slicing them as you prefer. The beef should be sliced very thinly, and you can press it down with the side of your knife.

2. Cook the noodles for a few minutes, adjusting the time based on your preference. The video suggested 2 seconds, but that didn’t work for my phở noodles. Remember to taste as you go!

3. Finally, if you haven’t already, remove the veggies and bones (scoop out the marrow). Bring the soup to a near-boil for a minute, then serve it over the fillings to cook the beef and noodles. Add lime juice to taste.

Enjoy! 😀