Phô (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

For many years, my Vietnamese manicurist has been promising to teach me how to make phô, the traditional beef noodle soup from her country. Last week, she had a light schedule and offered to meet me at the Asian market to shop for ingredients and then come back to my house to make the soup. It was smashing success:  deep flavors, fragrant, filling, soul-satisfying. As in most recipes, I make large quantities to feed my husband and three sons. As it was, the giant kettle of phô lasted us through one lunch and one dinner.

INGREDIENTS FOR BROTH

2.5 lb beef neck bones

2.5 lb beef marrow bones

3 lb beef brisket

2 small yellow onions

2 2″-long pieces of ginger

2 1.5-oz packages phô spice seasoning (available at an Asian market): consists of star anise, whole cinnamon stick broken apart, amomi, fennel seeds, coriander seeds, and cloves

1/2 cup + 1 T salt

3/4 cup + 1 T sugar

INGREDIENTS FOR GARNISHES

2 16-oz packages banh phô noodles, medium size

3 lb mock tenderloin roast (a/k/a boliche or eye of chuck)

1 bunch culantro  (Eryngium foetidum L., Apiaceae): a pungent herb indigenous to continental Tropical America and the West Indies

1 bunch cilantro

1 bunch Thai basil

1 large sweet onion or 2 scallions

2 limes

1 13-oz Tay Ho brand Vietnamese meatballs

1 package bean sprouts

hoisin sauce

Sriracha sauce

Make the broth:

1. Soak both packages of phô noodles in a bowl of hot water for 45-60 minutes to hydrate them.
2. Put the mock tenderloin in the freezer.
3. Fill a 16- or 20-quart stockpot with 8 quarts of cold water and bring to a boil over high heat.
4. Place both packages of phô spices on a foil-lined tray and toast briefly in the toaster oven until fragrant – 5 minutes or less. As soon as you smell the spices, remove them from the heat.When the spices have cooled a bit, transfer the entire toasted spice mixture to one of the small, muslin bags supplied with the phô spice packages.
5. Rinse off all neck bones and marrow bones in cold, running water.
6. Slice the skin off the ginger and halve lengthwise.
7. Quarter the onions and place them in the unused muslin bag or in a cheesecloth sack.
8. When the pot boils, add the neck bones, marrow bones, spice bag, 1/2 cup salt, 3/4 cup sugar and brisket. Let the liquid come to a boil again and skim the scum off the top as the fat rises. After you’ve skimmed the fat, reduce the heat to medium high for approximately 40 minutes, then reduce the heat again to medium heat and simmer for another hour. Do not cover the stockpot while making phô! During the cooking process, if the soup pot looks like it has lost some volume, add up to another 3.5 cups of water plus the tablespoon of salt and the tablespoon of sugar.

Prepare the garnishes:

1. While the broth is cooking, prepare the garnishes:  rinse the culantro, cilantro, and Thai basil in cold water. Pat dry and let the herbs continue to air dry. Shred the cilantro and set aside.
2. Cut the onion in half, pole-to-pole, and slice one half very thinly. Mix the shaved onions with the shredded cilantro and set aside.
3. Cut the limes into small wedges (1/8ths) and set aside.
4. Place bean sprouts in a bowl and set aside.
5. Remove the tenderloin from the freezer and slice in half lengthwise. Slice that half into paper-thin slices and set aside for service. Put the remaining half back in the freezer for use later.
6. Slice the Vietnamese meatballs into 1/4″ slices and add to soup pot about 10 minutes before serving, to warm them up.
7. Drain the phô noodles and set aside for service.

To serve:

Place culantro and Thai basil on one serving plate; place limes on another serving plate; and place bean sprouts in a serving bowl. Set all on your table for service along with the hoisin and Sriracha sauces

Make sure the broth is at a rolling boil. Place a hefty handful of phô noodles in a large, wide-mouthed bowl. Microwave the bowl of noodles for 1 minutes, to heat the noodles and warm the bowl. Place 6-7 slices of raw mock tenderloin over the hot noodles and top that with a small handful of the onion-cilantro mixture. Pour the boiling broth over the prepared bowl of noodles, meat, and onions. [Repeat these steps for each bowl served to ensure a hot bowl of phô.]

[A note about using nam pla (fish sauce):  Fish sauce adds salt and a small depth of flavor to Asian cooking but is not called for in this recipe. However, if you like fish sauce with your phô, place a small amount in the bowl of heated noodles before you add the mock tenderloin and onions. Do not put fish sauce into the pot of phô broth.]
Serves 10-12.

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