I haven’t posted in quite some time, but the latest news is that we’re currently in the middle of a stay-at-home order due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We really only get out to get groceries these days and we’re cooking a TON. Most restaurants are now only open for carry-out orders, but our favorite Phở place is totally closed for the foreseeable future. Desperation has set in, so the other day, Chris called his sister to get her recipe.
He wasn’t able to find the exact ingredients she uses. Apparently, everyone had the same idea to make Phở and cleaned out the soup seasoning section of the market! He grabbed something that looked close and decided to try it out.
After a couple of attempts using the ingredients he was able to find, he was able to nail down a recipe that’s close to what we’re used to. This will help us get by until our restaurant reopens.
Phở Bò
Ingredients:
Ingredients for soup:
6 cups water for soup broth (additional water will be needed to clean the meat and boil the noodles)
2 phở boullion cubes
2 yellow onions, cut into quarters
2 star anise
1 Tablespoon salt
2-3” long piece of ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced
1 can (28 oz.) beef broth
2 pounds of fresh oxtail
1 pound precooked meatballs
Ingredients for garnish (optional):
mint leaves (minced)
bean sprouts (preferably steamed)
culantro (ngò gai); if culantro is not available, you can use cilantro.
thai basil (minced)
green onions (sliced)
lime wedge
sriracha sauce
hoisin sauce
Instructions:
In a large pot, add 6 cups of water, 2 cubes of boullion, 1 Tbsp. salt, 2 quartered yellow onions, ginger slices and star anise. Bring to a boil.
Before adding the meat to the pot of soup, you’ll need to clean it thoroughly. This ensures a nice clean broth. In a separate pot, fill halfway with water and bring to a boil. Add oxtail and cook for 10 minutes. Remove and rinse oxtail.
Add the cleaned oxtail to the soup pot.
Add 1 can of beef broth to the soup pot.
Cook for 2-1/2 hours on medium to low heat, covered.
After 2-1/2 hours, remove the star anise and ginger.
Add meatballs to pot and cook for another 10 minutes.
In a separate pot, fill halfway with water and bring to boil.
Add noodles to boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Drain. Repeat this step once more to remove as much starch as possible from the noodles.
Assemble the ingredients in a bowl, adding noodles first, then broth with meat, then add various garnishes (mint, onions, bean sprouts, basil, lime and sauces to taste.)
Beef broth and phở seasoning are key ingredients for flavor.
Ginger and star anise also add to the layers of flavor in the broth.
Before adding the meat to the broth, it’s important to clean it by boiling in a separate pot. The resulting foam indicates the meat has been cleaned and will ensure a clear soup broth. Once cleaned, the meat can be added to the pot containing soup broth.
The oxtail is added to the simmering pot. At this point, cover the pot and simmer on medium to low heat for 2-1/2 hours. After 2-1/2 hours, remove the ginger and star anise and add the meatballs. Cook for an additional 10 minutes.
These noodles can be found in the refrigerated section of the Asian market. To prep, just add to boiling water, cook for 5 minutes and drain. Repeat this step once more to remove as much starch as possible from the noodles.
Assorted mint leaves or culantro (ngò gai) can be added for garnish. Other favorite toppings include green onions, bean sprouts, thai basil, lime juice, sriracha and hoisin sauce.
