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close up of a large bowl of Vietnamese style beef pho with rare beef, bean sprouts, red onions, scallions, rice noodles, and cooked beef.

Vietnamese Beef Pho (Beef Rice Noodle Soup) Recipe

Rice noodles are topped with herbs, cooked beef and/or raw beef that's partially cooked rare by some hot beef broth. Pho is so comforting, filling, and delicious and is naturally allergen friendly. You can prep some of the toppings while you are waiting for the broth to simmer and your total cooking time may take less time than estimated.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Vietnamese
Keyword beef pho, beef rice noodle soup, Vietnamese beef pho
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 30 minutes
Servings 6
Calories 900 kcal
Author Sharon Wong @Nut Free Wok

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds of beef bones beef marrow or knuckle bones
  • 2 pounds of beef bones with meat hind shank and/or beef oxtail
  • 1 large onion
  • 1 3- inch piece ginger
  • 1 3- inch cinnamon stick
  • 3 pieces star anise
  • 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
  • 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
  • 1 piece cardamom
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 ounce rock sugar (ping pong ball size) or sugar (2 tablespoons)
  • 1.5 teaspoon salt (up to 1-2 tablespoons, to taste)

Garnishes:

  • ½ onion chopped (red or yellow are milder)
  • 1 bunch scallions chopped
  • 1 cup chopped cilantro optional
  • 4 cups mung bean sprout
  • 4-6 sprigs Thai basil
  • 1 lime cut into wedges (or lemon)
  • 1 jalapeno cut into slices
  • 1 pound thinly sliced beef ribeye, filet mignon, or eye of round
  • 1 14- ounce package bahn pho rice noodles (size small or medium) OR fresh noodles, if available.

Sauces at the table: fish sauce, hoisin sauce, sriracha

Instructions

Broth

  1. Fill a large 8 to 9-quart stock pot halfway with water and bring to boil. Add the beef bones, hind shank, and/or oxtails to the water and boil the bones for 10 minutes. During the last few minutes, use a ladle to scoop out the fat and blood particles and dispose of them in an old jar or milk container.
  2. After 10 minutes of parboiling the beef bones, place a large colander in your sink and strain the bones, rinse the bones to remove any blood, and clean the pot. Add the cleaned bones back into the pot and refill the pot with water, allow 1-2 inches for the soup to boil without spilling. You can add more water later.
  3. In the meantime, prepare the onion and ginger for roasting or charring. Peel off the outer layers of the onions, cut in half, and trim the ends of the onion so that it will still stay intact. Split the ginger in half lengthwise. Place the pieces of onion and ginger in a frying pan and dry roast them until they are slightly charred. Option: If you have a gas stove, you can hold them with a pair of metal tongs and roast them over an open flame. Once the ginger and onion pieces are slightly charred, add them to the pot of water and bones.
  4. Toast the spices in a frying pan until they’re fragrant, about 30 seconds to 1 minute in a warm pan. Transfer the spices in a mesh bag, wrap with a piece of cheese cloth and kitchen string, or place in a large spice ball. Set aside to add to the soup during the last hour of simmering.
  5. When the pot of water and bones come to a boil, lower the temperature between low and low-medium, to simmer the broth in the pot for 3 hours un-covered. Remove any foam, blood, or excessive fat with a spoon.

Garnishes and noodles

  1. While the broth is simmering, prepare the garnishes. Chop the onions and then soak in cold water for 10 minutes and drain, set aside. Chop the scallions and cilantro (if using), set aside. Arrange mung beans, Thai basil, lime wedges, and jalapeño slices on a serving plate, set aside.
  2. If you need to slice the raw beef (rib eye, filet mignon, or eye of round), place it in the freezer for 30 minutes before slicing. Pat the sliced beef with paper towels to blot some of the excess blood.
  3. If using dry rice stick noodles, cook the rice noodle according to the package instructions, until soft, and then drain in a colander and rinse. If using fresh rice noodles, add to a large pot of boiling water, stir, and immediately strain in a colander and rinse with cold water.
  4. After the 2 hours of simmering, add the salt, sugar, and spice ball and continue to simmer the broth. After 3 hours, remove and discard the spices, transfer the cooked hind shank meat, oxtail pieces, and marrow pieces to a clean serving bowl and cover with 1-2 ladles of broth, remove the beef bones. Taste to see if the broth needs any more sugar or salt and add 1-2 teaspoons as desired. Increase the heat and bring the pho broth to a rolling boil.

Assemble

  1. While waiting for the pho to boil, divide the noodles into 6 servings and place them into large bowls (at least 3-4 cup capacity). Arrange a few pieces of cooked beef on the rice noodles, add some raw beef slices in a separate area, and sprinkle with some chopped onions, scallions, and cilantro. Add approximately 2 cups of boiling hot broth over the raw beef to cook it and then everyone can personalize their bowls with the remaining toppings.

Recipe Notes

Kathy notes that you can also use beef balls (Bo Vien) found in the freezer section of your Asian market. I recommend cooking them separately or adding them to the broth during the final boil (step 4, under garnishes and noodles).

Calorie amount is an estimate based on 6 large servings for big eaters. This was enough for 4 big eaters who had seconds and me.