One of the most flavoursome dishes out there - Vietnamese Pho. The time it takes to make the broth is 100% worth it. The depth of flavour from the broth and toppings is on a whole other level. Thank you to a friend of mine for help with the recipe! Full recipe below.
INGREDIENTS:
Serves 6
Broth:
Carcass and wings of medium sized chicken - breast and thighs saved for another dish (alternatively just use 8 chicken wings)
2kg / 4.4lbs marrow bones
2 large onions
500g beef brisket
100g ginger (chopped into slices)
2 star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp green cardamom pods
1/2 cup fish sauce
2 pinches of sugar
Few pinches of sea salt
2.5 litres water
Toppings:
400g fillet steaks (frozen)
*Beef brisket from the broth
Thai Basil
Mint
Coriander
Lime (cut into segments)
Chillis (finely sliced)
Beansprouts
Rice Noodles:
3 cups rice flour
2 cups tapioca starch
2.5 cups boiling hot water
pinch of salt
1 tbsp oil
METHOD:
Broth:
1. Add the beef bones and chicken carcass / wings to a roasting tray and roast at 200 C / 290 F for 20 minutes until browned. Remove from tray and tip out into large pot.
2. Cut the onions in half, place on a cast iron pan over a high heat and char until the flat side has blackened. Add into the pot.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot - beef brisket, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, coriander, cardamom, fish sauce, sugar and salt. Cover with the water so everything is submerged. Bring the broth to a boil and skim off any scum that comes to the top. Cover with a lid and place into an oven of 160 C / 320 F for4 hours, checking every hour.
4. Once the broth has cooked, remove from the oven. Take out the beef brisket and chill in the fridge for a few hours. Strain the rest of the pot into a bowl, using a mesh strainer and cheesecloth to remove any bits. Set broth aside until ready to serve. Bring the broth back to the boil just before serving.
Toppings:
1. Once the beef brisket has chilled, remove from the fridge and slice. Chilling helps to solidify the meat, therefore making it easier to cut into slices.
2. With your two frozen steaks, slice them across the grain into wafer thin strips. Freezing the meat helps you get the wafer thin slices you are looking for.
3. Gather a small handful of the Thai basil, mint, chillis, coriander and beansprouts for each portion. Serve each potion with 2 slices of lime.
Noodles:
1. In a bowl mix together all of the ingredients. Knead for 5 minutes until smooth and rest in fridge for at least 1 hour. This dough can be stored for a few days in the fridge - simply remove it when ready to cook the noodles.
2. Fill the pasta / noodle extruder (can be bought cheaply of amazon) with some of the dough. Bring a pan of water to the boil and extrude the noodles into the water. Keep turning the end consistently so that the noodles do not break. I would advise working your way around the circumference of the pan once, before cutting the noodles off with a knife. Cook in batches.
3. Once the noodles float to the surface (roughly 1 minute), remove from the pan and place into a bowl of cold water.
4. Rinse the noodles with the cold water and set aside until ready to serve. Don't leave them in the water for any more than 2 hours otherwise they will start to bloat and expand.
To Serve:
Add some of your rice noodles to the bottom of your bowl. Add a few slices of your beef brisket and a few slices of the wafer thin steak (don't worry, the boiling hot broth will cook this). Tip over 2 lables of broth. Top with your herbs, lime and beansprouts. Enjoy!