Pho Noodles

Servings: 4-6

INGREDIENTS

Pho Broth:

• 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 tbsp whole coriander seeds
• 8 cups good-quality beef stock (or chicken or vegetable stock)
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp fish sauce
• fine sea salt, to taste

Pho Soup:

• 8 ounces raw steak, very thinly sliced (or chicken or shrimp)
• 7 ounces uncooked thin rice noodles

For Garnishing: 

• Fresh herbs like cilantro, mint, and/or Thai basil)
• Bean sprouts, lime wedges, thinly-sliced chiles (Thai bird chiles or jalapeños) 
• 1 thinly-sliced onion (green or white)
• Sriracha sauce

DIRECTIONS

Char the onions and ginger:

1. Turn the oven broiler to high, and place the baking rack about 8 inches away from the heating elements. 
2. 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.  
3. Remove and set aside.

For Broth:

1. Meanwhile, heat the anise, cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and coriander to a large stockpot over medium-high heat for about 3 minutes until fragrant.  
2. Add in the charred onion, ginger, stock, and stir to combine.  Continue cooking until the broth reaches a simmer.  
3. Then reduce heat to medium-low, cover with a lid, and continue to simmer for at least 30 minutes.  Strain out (and discard) the onions, ginger and spices.  
4. Stir in the fish sauce and sweetener into the hot broth.  
5. Then finally, taste and season the broth with salt as needed.

For Noodles:

1. Meanwhile, as your broth is simmering, cook the noodles separately al dente according to the package instructions.  
2. Drain in a strainer, then briefly rinse the noodles with cold water to prevent them from getting clumpy and mushy (a drizzle of oil, such as sesame oil, to prevent them from sticking).

For assembling: 

1. Add a handful of noodles to each individual serving bowl.  
2. Portion the steak between each serving bowl.  
3. Ladle the still-simmering hot broth into the serving bowls. Make sure the steak is completely submerged so that it soaks in the broth properly.  
4. Top each bowl with lots and lots of garnishes, and finish with a squeeze of lime juice.
5. Stir the garnishes into the soup so that they can add to the flavor of the broth (you can add extra sauces if desired).