How do you create the soup in the noodle soup called pho?

Question

at the restaurant, the soup is sooooo good...i tried to make it at home, but it came out pretty bad...lol

help please?

step by step instructions

ingredients

thanks!

it is a vietnamese noodle soup

Answer 1

The broth is pretty sophisticated, but this is a good recipe for the home cook (I've tried it).  

Pho Bo (Hanoi Beef Noodle Soup)  

6 cups beef broth

1 (1/4-inch thick) slice ginger

2 whole star anise*

1 cinnamon stick

1/2 pound piece boneless beef sirloin, trimmed of any fat

3 ounces dried flat rice noodles*

1/4 cup Asian fish sauce*

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained

1/8 cup minced scallions

1/4 cup fresh cilantro sprigs, washed and finely chopped

1 small thin fresh red or green Asian chilie, sliced very thin

1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Lime wedges for garnish

*Available at Asian Markets

In a 2 quart saucepan bring broth, ginger, star anise, and cinnamon to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

With a very sharp knife cut sirloin across the grain into very thin slices.

In a large bowl soak noodles in hot water to cover 15 minutes, or until softened and pliable.

While noodles are soaking, bring a kettle of salted water to a boil for noodles. Drain noodles in a colander and cook in boiling water, stirring 45 seconds, or until tender. Drain noodles in a colander. Set aside.

Strain broth into saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in fish sauce, salt and pepper. Add sirloin and sprouts and cook 30 to 45 seconds, or until sirloin changes color. Skim any froth from soup.

To serve, divide noodles into 4 bowls. Ladle soup over noodles. Sprinkle scallion greens, cilantro, chilies and basil over soup and serve with lime wedges

Answer 2

i'm nott too sure this is right but my viet uncle told my mom this  and i dont understand viet that well... soo i tried my best.......

5       lb           Beef bones with marrow

    5       lb           Oxtails

    1       lb           Flank steak

    2       lg           Onions -- unpeeled, halved,

                         -and studded with 8 cloves

    3                    Shallots -- unpeeled

    2       oz           Piece ginger -- unpeeled

    8                    Star anise

    1                    Cinnamon stick

    4       md           Parsnips cut in 2-inch

                         -chunks

    2       ts           Salt

    1       lb           Beef sirloin

    2                    Scallions -- thinly sliced

    1       tb           Cilantro -- chopped

    2       md           Onions -- thinly sliced

      1/4   c            Hot chili sauce

    1       lb           Rice noodles 1/4-inch wide

                         -(or banh pho)

      1/2   c            Nuoc mam (Vietnamese fish

                         -sauce)

                         Black pepper -- freshly grnd.

    2       c            Fresh bean sprouts

    2                    Fresh chili peppers -- sliced

    2                    Limes cut in wedges

    1       bn           Fresh mint

    1       bn           Fresh Asian or regular basil



   Soak bone overnight in cold water.  Place bones,

   oxtails and flank steak in a large stock pot.  Add

   water to cover and bring to a boil. Cook 10 minutes,

   drain and rinse pot and bones.  Return bones to pot,

   add 6 quarts water and bring to a boil.  Skim surface

   of scum and fat.  Stir bones at bottom from time to

   time.  Add 3 more quarts water, bring to a boil again

   and skim scum.  Lower heat and let simmer.  Char

   clove-studded onions, shallots, and ginger under a

   broiler until they release their fragrant odors.  Tie

   charred vegetables, star anise, and cinnamon stick in

   a thick, dampened cheesecloth.  Put it in stock with

   parsnips and salt.  Simmer for 1 hour. Remove flank

   steak and continue simmering broth, uncovered pot, for

   4-5 hours.  Add more water if level goes below bones.

  

   Meanwhile, slice beef sirloin against grain into

   paper-thin slices, about 2-by-2 inches.  Slice flank

   steak the same way.  Set aside. In a small bowl,

   combine scallions, cilantro, and half the sliced

   onions.  Place remaining onions in another bowl and

   mix in hot chili sauce.  Soak rice noodles in warm

   water for 30 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

  

   When broth is ready, discard bones.  Strain broth

   through a colander lined with a double layer of damp

   cheesecloth into a clean pot.  Add fish sauce and

   bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer.  In another

   pot, bring 4 quarts of water to a boil.  Add noodles

   and drain immediately.  Do not overcook noodles.

   Divide among 4 large soup bowls.  Top noodles with

   sliced meats.  Bring broth to a rolling boil, then

   ladle into soup bowls. Garnish with scallions mixture

   and black pepper.  Serve the onions in hot chili sauce

   and remaining ingredients on the side to add as

   desired.  Also, you can add Hoisin sauce as a dip.

   Serves 4.

Answer 3

The key to a delicious bowl of pho ALL lies in the making of the broth.  If you buy the canned beef broth, you won't get the same taste.  I usually cook a big pot for the whole family to last the whole day, not just for 1 or 2 bowls at a time, it's more efficient that way:

Makes 8 (American-sized) bowls

For the broth:

2 medium yellow onions (about 1 pound total)

4-inch piece ginger (about 4 ounces)

5-6 pounds beef soup bones (marrow and knuckle bones)

5 star anise (40 star points total)

6 whole cloves

3-inch cinnamon stick

1 pound piece of beef chuck, rump, brisket or cross rib roast, cut into 2-by-4-inch pieces (weight after trimming)

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

4 tablespoons fish sauce

1 ounce (1-inch chunk) yellow rock sugar (duong phen, the brand name is Rock Candy, in a canary yellow box....the sugar actually looks like "rocks" in light yellow color)

For the bowls:

1 1/2-2 pounds small (1/8-inch wide) dried or fresh "banh pho" noodles ("rice sticks'' or Thai chantaboon)

1/2 pound raw eye of round, sirloin, London broil or tri-tip steak, thinly sliced across the grain (1/16 inch thick; freeze for 15 minutes to make it easier to slice)

1 medium yellow onion, sliced paper-thin, left to soak for 30 minutes in a bowl of cold water

3 or 4 scallions (green part only) cut into thin rings

1/3 cup chopped cilantro (ngo)

Ground black pepper

Garnishes arranged on a plate (I just use big bowls) and placed at the table:

Sprigs of spearmint (hung lui)

Asian/Thai basil (hung que)

Leaves of thorny cilantro (ngo gai)

Bean sprouts (about 1/2 pound)

Red hot chiles (such as Thai bird or dragon), thinly sliced

Lime wedges

NOTE:  Unpopular among Americans and other non-Asians, but we, Vietnamese, also like have a side bowl of "hot oil" (not the Chinese chili hot oil, but just really, really hot, clear cooking oil) with chopped "white" sections of the green scallions.  We also love putting a few extra dashes of fish sauce in the bowl of noodles (even though it's already in, and well mixed in the broth, of course), along with the garnishes.  The fish sauce is what enhances the beef aroma of the broth.  And we mix Hoisin Sauce and Vietnamese Chili Sauce with a few dashes of lime juice as a dipping sauce for the meat.  The sweet/spicy/sour taste combo kind of resembles the American BBQ sauce, but it REALLY enhances the taste of the beef slices.

MAKING BROTH (require a minimum of 4 hours to simmer for the sweetest taste.....most restaurants do use MSG during the 1st 2 hours of opening to help sweeten the broth, so if you do go out to eat Pho often, the BEST time to go is in the late evening, about 2 hours before closing time)

1.  Start with good BEEF BONES:

Avoid neck bones.  Look for knuckle bones and leg bones that contain marrow.  At Asian markets, you'll find beef bones cut and bagged in the refrigerated section.  Vietnamese markets will sometimes have the leg bones at the butcher counter.  You can specify how you want them sawed; ask for two- to three-inch sections.

2.  AIM FOR CLEAR BROTH:

Place bones in stockpot (minimum 12-quart capacity) and cover with cold water. Over high heat, bring to boil. Boil vigorously 2 to 3 minutes to allow impurities to be released. Dump bones and water into sink and rinse bones with warm water. Quickly scrub stockpot to remove any residue. Return bones to pot.

3.  SIMMER BROTH:

Add 6 quarts water to pot, bring to boil over high heat, then lower flame to gently simmer.  Use ladle to skim any scum that rises to surface.  Add remaining broth ingredients and cook 1 1/2 hours.  Boneless meat should be slightly chewy but not tough.  When it is cooked to your liking, remove it and place in bowl of cold water for 10 minutes; this prevents the meat from drying up and turning dark as it cools.  Drain the meat; cool, then refrigerate.  Allow broth to continue cooking; in total, the broth should simmer 3 hours.

Strain broth through fine strainer.  If desired, remove any bits of gelatinous tendon from bones to add to your pho bowl. Store tendon with cooked beef.  Discard solids.

Use ladle to skim as much fat from top of broth as you like. (Cool it and refrigerate it overnight to make this task easier; reheat befofe continuing).  Taste and adjust flavor with additional salt, fish sauce and yellow rock sugar.  The broth should taste slightly too strong because the noodles and other ingredients are not salted.  (If you've gone too far, add water to dilute)  Makes about 4 quarts.  DON'T SCOOP OUT ALL THE FAT from the broth.  Having some fat in the broth is what makes the soup "sweeter."  Don't worry about it being "fattening," it's not.

4.  CHAR THE ONION AND GINGER before you you slice it up and dunk it in.  This is what deepens the overall flavor.

ASSEMBLE THE BOWLS:

1.  Have the thinly sliced beef (tendons, flanks, or other beef, which are preferably cooked, as it's faster to let the boiling broth to cook the raw steak slices) and noodles ready (if it's the steak slices, preferably raw meat, because if it's cooked, once you pour the boiling hot broth over the noodles & meat, the beef will be overcooked and too chewy in texture).  

To ensure good timing, reheat broth over medium flame as you're assembling bowls. If you're using dried noodles, cover with hot tap water and soak 15-20 minutes, until softened and opaque white. Drain in colander. For fresh rice noodles, just untangle and briefly rinse in a colander with cold water.

BLANCH NOODLES

Fill 3- or 4-quart saucepan with water and bring to boil. For each bowl, use long-handle strainer to blanch a portion of noodles. As soon as noodles have collapsed and lost their stiffness (10-20 seconds), pull strainer from water, letting water drain back into saucepan. Empty noodles into bowls. Noodles should occupy 1/4 to 1/3 of bowl.

2.  Ladle in broth and serve.

Bring broth to boiling (not just "hot," but make sure you see bubbles "rolling" all over the pot).  Ladle broth into each bowl, distributing the boiling hot liquid evenly so as to cook raw beef and warm other ingredients.  If the broth is not boiling hot, it's not hot enough to cook the slightly frozen raw beef slices.  Serve with garnish plate.