Does anyone have recipes for spicy pho'?

Question

Does anyone have recipes for spicy pho'?

Answer 1

Spiced Beef Pho with Sesame Chile Oil

ingredients

BEEF BROTH

4 pounds oxtails or beef short ribs

18 cups water

1 teaspoon vegetable oil

1 medium onion, halved

One 3-inch piece unpeeled fresh ginger, halved lengthwise

2 bay leaves

Two 3-inch cinnamon sticks, broken into pieces

One 2-inch piece of rock sugar or 6 sugar cubes (see Note)

Kosher salt

4 whole cloves

4 star anise pods, broken into pieces

2 teaspoons fennel seeds

SESAME-CHILE OIL

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3 large garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons crushed red pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons sesame seeds

1/2 teaspoon Asian sesame oil

Kosher salt

SOUP GARNISHES

1 pound rice vermicelli

1 pound beef round, partially frozen and very thinly sliced across the grain

Asian fish sauce

Asian sesame oil

Sriracha chile sauce

Lime wedges

Cilantro sprigs

Basil leaves

Sliced onion

Sliced chiles

Escarole leaves

Mung bean sprouts

directions

MAKE THE BEEF BROTH: In a large soup pot, cover the oxtails or short ribs with cold water and bring to a boil over high heat. Drain off the water. Add the 18 cups of water and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a small nonstick skillet. Add the onion and ginger, cut sides down, and cook over moderately high heat until richly browned, about 5 minutes. Add the onion and ginger to the pot along with the bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, rock sugar and 1 tablespoon of kosher salt.

Put the cloves, star anise and fennel seeds in a tea ball or tie them up in a piece of cheesecloth. Add them to the pot and simmer, skimming occasionally, until the oxtails are tender, about 2 hours. Strain the broth in a large sieve set over a heatproof bowl. Remove the meat from the oxtails. Refrigerate the broth and the oxtail meat separately overnight.

MAKE THE SESAME-CHILE OIL: Heat the oil in a small saucepan. Add the garlic and cook over moderate heat until golden, about 2 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper and sesame seeds and cook for 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the sesame oil and a pinch of salt.

ASSEMBLE THE SOUP: Put the rice vermicelli in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Let the vermicelli soak until pliable, about 20 minutes.

Skim the fat from the surface of the beef broth and discard. Bring the broth to a simmer over moderately high heat. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil.

Place the thinly sliced raw beef in a large strainer and lower it into the simmering broth for 4 seconds; transfer the meat to 6 soup bowls. Drain the vermicelli. Working in 6 batches, put the vermicelli in the strainer and lower it into the boiling water for 30 seconds, or until the vermicelli is barely tender. Drain and transfer to the bowls. Ladle about 1 1/2 cups of the broth over each bowl of vermicelli and add the chilled oxtail meat.

Put each of the remaining ingredients in seperate bowls or arrange the vegetables and herbs together on a platter. Serve the soup with the condiments and the sesame-chile oil.

MAKE AHEAD The beef broth and oxtail meat can be refrigerated for up to 3 days. The sesame-chile oil can be refrigerated overnight. Let return to room temperature before serving.

NOTES BEER A steaming bowl of flavorful, spicy, salty pho demands something cold and refreshing to drink with it: beer. In Vietnam, one could drink it with bia hoi—a term for beer brewed fresh that day, and delivered to local bars. Here in the U.S., open a bottle of Hue or "33" Export, both light Vietnamese lagers.

Rock sugar comes in large amber crystals and is less sweet than refined granulated white sugar. It is available at Asian markets.

Answer 2

I don't see why you couldn't just take regular beef broth used for pho and combine some dried chili peppers in it to give the broth a little more spicy flavor, however I and my husband usually just add the sriachi (sorry I know that's spelled wrong) sauce (it's chili sauce anyhow) to our pho after it's served.

The beef broth itself is easy but takes a longgg time to prepare as you use bones (broken to let the marrow seep out) and fatty knuckle bones and let them cook forever with some other basic seasonings. Most of the actual seasoning I find is usually better to add later though when you actually are going to prepare the pho to be eaten (adding the noodles and cilantro and whatnot).