Is pho (vietnamese soup) supposed to be served with raw beef?

Question

just ordered carryout pho and this being my first experience, was suprised when i got home to find slices of raw beef amongst the ingredients. I wasn't sure what to do and figured the broth would do the job as far as cooking the meat somewhat so that's what I did. Is that right? Am I doing this backwards? Surely they don't expect me to take my meal home and brown the meat on the stove. Any suggestions/validation?

Answer 1

is it REALLY raw? It might be slightly raw for you to boil the broth, put in the noodles to heat up, meat, then vegetables to slightly cook.

it's not uncommon with a pho carryout. the places i have gone have not done that , only SLIGHTLY medium rare.  

Answer 2

You supposed to put the thin slices raw beef into your hot Pho broth & all the garnishes too. Being the meat is so thin it cooks right away stir mix well & eat.

Answer 3

i think you can eat it raw. i prefer not to. when i went to vietnam they asked me if i wanted mine cooked and how done i wanted it. but my boyfriend is vietnamese and his dad makes it all the time. He usually just pinks it a little bit and the broth will usually do the rest..

Answer 4

You are correct... depending upon what you ordered.  Pho will come with thinly sliced RAW beef.  The hot broth will cook the beef when you mix it all together.  If you're leery about the raw beef, just microwave the broth so that it's hot (very hot), but not quite boiling.   Pour over the raw beef and you're good to go.

Answer 5

you can either ask for raw meat or cooked depend on your choice