What is there that I can say about pho? Except for that I LOVE it to pieces…almost as much as I LOVe my husband. Growing up, pho was something my family ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner…and I remember it being a treat when I was a wee lil thing and my parents would take us to some pho restaurant with some number on it, like Pho 54 or something like that, and my sisters and I would share a huge bowl, the bowl that translates into the American word train, and it was great!
Now as an adult, I actually prefer making it at home…that way, I can avoid the msg that plagues the pho that I get at restaurants and I feel good I can give my husband a healthier version of one of my fave foods…and on top of that, I prefer my own homemade pho and I can top it with as much tripe as i want. It really excites me to be able to make something I utterly love from scratch.
* 6 servings
5 lbs beef bones {oxtail, neck, shank, marrow, knuckle}
2 lbs chicken bones
1 piece cinnamon stick
6 whole cloves, lightly toasted
5 whole star anise, lightly toasted
4 ounces rock sugar
5 inch pieces of ginger, roasted in oven or charred on stove
2 each yellow onions, roasted in oven or charred on stove
2 tablespoons sea salt
¼ cup fish sauce
Garnishes:
1 lb fresh rice noodles, blanched
1 lb filet mignon, thinly sliced
1 lb beef meatballs with tendons
½ lb tripe, thinly sliced and blanched
1 each yellow onion, sliced thinly in rounds
3 each green onion, thinly sliced
½ bunch cilantro
½ bunch thai basil
1 lb bean sprouts
1 each lime, cut into six wedges
1 dozen saw-leaf herb leaves
1 each serrano chili, cut into slices
Sriracha hot sauce
Hoisin sauce
Directions:
1. In a pot, add all the beef bones and add water to cover. Bring to a boil and let boil for 5 minutes and then remove beef bones from pot. Rinse the beef bones in warm water and place beef bones in a large stockpot.
2. Add chicken bones to the large stockpot.
3. Add 8 quarts of water to bones and bring to a boil.
4. Add cinnamon stick, cloves, star anise, roasted ginger, roasted onion, rock sugar, salt, and fish sauce to stock pot.
5. Simmer the broth for eight hours. Re-adjust the seasonings if necessary.
6. Strain the broth through a sieve.
7. Serve with blanched rice noodles and garnishes.