Pho Bo (Beef Pho)

My son loves PHO and so I usually make a POT and freeze the broth for him so that he can eat it for a few days. I find that PHO is something that taste so much better the next day.

Ingredients:
1 pack of dry pho noodle (10 oz) they sale the ones in the freezer section also
1 gal of water
5 lbs of beef bones
1/4 cup fish sauce
1 large onion
1 Tablespoon salt
1 Tablespoon chicken powder

1 lb of daikon (peel and cut into halves) 

2 piece of ROCK SUGAR
4 cinnamon sticks
4 oz fresh ginger
6 whole anise stars
3 cardamon

***1 pack of the PHO HOA bag  they have plenty of other pho bags or pho powder that you can use...this time I used the PHO HOA bag

In a tea ball...I would put the anise stars, cardamon, cinnamon sticks.

**6 oz lean beef --thinly sliced (I usually buy a piece of filet mignon)  ...I usually place these on top after I have ladle my pho broth into the bowl. 

*** 1 pack of  Beef Balls (bo vien) ...can be found in the freezer section at the Asian Market. 

GARNISH:
sliced onion
chopped parsley
basil
bean sprouts
lemon
chili
srirache


DIRECTION:

Wash the beef bones well...then in a LARGE stock pot place your beef bones in the pot with the gallon of water and sliced daikon. Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium low and simmer. SKIMMING off all the FROTH and scum or fat.  Add in all your seasoning...fish sauce, rock sugar, salt, chicken powder.  While beef broth is cooking ...lay your onion and ginger on the stove...DIRECTLY on the flame to char  it.  Once it is char ...throw that into the beef broth.

Place the anise stars and cardamon in a little pan and toast it up. You don't need any oil or butter. Just trying to get the flavor out by toasting them.  Once they are nicely toasted place them inside your tea ball with the cinnamon sticks and drop that into your beef broth so that it can simmer. Once the pho water is BOILED...low the heat to low-simmer and cook for 8 hrs!!! Season to taste... You might need to add more fish sauce or salt. If you need to add sugar...add rock sugar don't add white sugar. 

*** if you are using the Bo Vien (beef ball) I usually cut the beef ball in half and throw it in the pho broth about 30 minutes before I serve ***

*** I add 1 pho bag in the pot the last hour of cooking... Then after 1 hr I usually fish it out and throw away...I find that if you leave the "pho hoa" bag in the pot  too long...the broth gets really brown. Also I don't want to accidentally puncture the bag when I am ladling the broth to the bowl..because it will make a huge mess and make the broth  look really nasty. 

**In a deep bowl ... add your pho noodle (some pho noodle might need to be blanch first...other might need a quick dip in hot water..each brand is different so read the instruction in the back).  Layer with some raw lean meat (I usually buy a nice cut like Filet Mignon and thinly sliced them) then add your bean sprout ( I like my bean sprout cook so I usually add it before I add the broth) you can add it after you ladle your broth into bowl. Then add what you like...mint, basil, cilantro, bean sprout, sliced green or white onion. 

Hoisin sauce and Sriracha or sliced jalapeño 

*** some people prefer to use the powder pho base... If you do.. Just read the instruction on the back. 

These are some of the soup bases that you can use:

                           SOUP BASE 

                              PHO HOA bag 

Beef Bones and OX Tail ---wash and put into LARGE STOCK POT

                     Onion and Ginger --I am charring on the stove

                                     ROCK SUGAR

            Cinnamon Stick, Cardamon, Anise Star in a tea ball 

     Cut Daikon, Onion, Ginger in the pot...beef bones on bottom.

        Skimming the FAT and gunk off the top 

           Pot of BEEF Pho simmering for 8 hrs on low heat.