Phở bò
The rice noodle and beef soup born in northern Vietnam in the early 20th century. In Hanoi it’s eaten for breakfast on low stools on the pavement, with a fragrant broth of star anise and cinnamon.
Ingredients
- 1.5 kg beef bones (with marrow)
- 500 g beef brisket
- 300 g very thinly sliced beef tenderloin (to serve raw)
- 1 onion and 1 piece of ginger
- 3 star anise, 1 cinnamon stick, 4 cloves and 1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
- 4 tablespoons of fish sauce and 1 of sugar
- 400 g flat rice noodles
- Spring onion, coriander, basil, bean sprouts, lime and chilli
How to make it at home
- Blanch the bones for 5 minutes in boiling water, discard the water and rinse them.
- Char the halved onion and ginger directly over the flame (or on a griddle) until blackened outside. Toast the spices in a frying pan too.
- Simmer the bones and brisket with the onion, ginger and spices in 4 litres of water, very gently, for about 3 hours. Take out the brisket when tender.
- Strain the broth and season it with the fish sauce and sugar.
- Put cooked noodles, sliced brisket and very thin raw tenderloin in each bowl and pour the boiling broth over. Serve with the herbs, lime and chilli.
The trick: The broth must stay clear: don’t let it boil hard.