Cook and Scale
Pho Bo (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)
4 servings · 210 min total
A fragrant star-anise beef broth ladled over silky rice noodles, thin raw beef, and fresh herbs, finished with lime and chilli.
Ingredients
- 1½ kg beef stock
- 500 g stewing beef
- 1 onion, halved and charred
- 60 g fresh ginger, halved and charred
- 3 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1 tbsp palm sugar
- 300 g rice noodles
- 200 g beef steak, very thinly sliced
- 150 g bean sprouts
- 1 lime, cut into wedges
- 4 tbsp thai basil
- 3 spring onion, sliced
- 2 fresh chilli, sliced
Contains: Soy, Fish, Celery
Allergen info is best-effort — please verify yourself.
Method
- 1.
Char the onion and ginger — Char the onion and ginger directly over a flame or under a hot broiler until blackened in spots, then rinse and roughly chop.
- 2.
Toast the spices — Toast the star anise, cinnamon, and coriander seeds in a dry pot over medium heat for 3 minutes until fragrant.
- 3.
Simmer the broth — Add the beef stock, stew meat, charred onion, and ginger to the pot. Bring to a boil, skim the foam, then reduce to a gentle simmer for 2 hours 45 minutes until the meat is tender.
- 4.
Strain and season the broth — Strain the broth, discarding the solids, then season with fish sauce and palm sugar. Shred or slice the cooked stew meat.
- 5.
Soak the rice noodles — Soak the rice noodles in hot water for 5 minutes until softened, then divide between bowls with the cooked meat and raw sliced beef.
- 6.
Assemble and serve — Ladle the boiling hot broth over the bowls to cook the raw beef, then top with bean sprouts, thai basil, scallion, chilli, and lime wedges.