Pho (Vietnamese Noodle Soup)
Serves: 2 to 4
Prep + Cook Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes
Calories: 426 (for 4 servings)
Ingredients:
PHO BROTH INGREDIENTS:
1 large white onion, peeled and halved
3-inch piece of fresh ginger, halved lengthwise
5 star anise
4 whole cloves
3 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks
2 cardamom pods*
1 tablespoon whole coriander seeds**
8 cups good-quality beef stock
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
fine sea salt, to taste
PHO SOUP INGREDIENTS:
8 ounces raw filet mignon, very thinly sliced— freeze for 30 minutes to achieve thin slices
7 ounces uncooked thin rice noodles
Garnishes: fresh herbs (cilantro, mint, and/or Thai basil), bean sprouts, lime wedges, thinly-sliced chiles (Thai bird chiles or jalapeños), thinly-sliced onions (green onions or white onions), sauces (hoisin and/or sriracha)
Directions:
Turn the oven broiler to high, and place the baking rack about 8 inches away from the heating elements. Place the onion and ginger cut-side-up on a baking sheet, and brush with a bit of oil. Broil for about 7-10 minutes, until the tops of the onion and ginger are slightly charred. Remove and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat the anise, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and coriander to a large stockpot over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes until fragrant.
Add in the charred onion, ginger, stock, and stir to combine. Continue cooking until the broth reaches a simmer. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and continue to simmer for at least 30 minutes.
As your broth is simmering, cook the noodles separately al dente according to the package instructions. Drain in a strainer, then briefly rinse the noodles with cold water to prevent them from continuing to cook. (I also recommend tossing the noodles with a drizzle of oil — such as sesame oil — to prevent them from sticking.)
Now is also the time to prepare the meat and veggies each diner will place into their broth. Place bean sprouts, basil, sliced jalapenos and lime wedges on a large plate. Place the thinly sliced filet on a separate plate. (You can do these on large communal plates for the entire table or as side plates for each diner.) Also place hoisin sauce and sriracha sauce on the table.
Strain out (and discard) the onions, ginger and spices. Stir in the fish sauce and sweetener into the hot broth. Then finally, taste and season the broth with salt as needed.
Now it’s time to assemble— this is the fun part! Add a portion of noodles to each individual serving bowl, then ladle the still-simmering hot broth* into the serving bowls and serve immediately. Each diner can now add in whatever they would like to their broth and allow their own filet slices to cook to taste in the broth.
*If you cannot find or do not have Cardamom pods, you can use roughly 1/10th of a tsp of ground Cardamom.
**If you cannot find or do not have whole Coriander seeds, you can substitute the same amount of Carraway seeds.