Thread: Beef Pho

Beef Phở
Decided to make some Beef Pho for dinner today.
Ran by Costco looking for the beef and decided to go with some boneless Chuck Short Rib.
Brought it home and got it partially frozen and sliced it thin.



Dropped into one of my local Vietnamese/Asian grocers and gathered fresh rice noodles, a variety of fresh herbs, Mung beans, green onions, limes, some Oyster mushrooms.
Yes, I know the mushrooms aren't usually in Pho, but like them sauteed and added in.

Cheated a good bit building the beef broth with some [i]Better than Bullion, Roasted Beef base'[i], added in some charred some onion and ginger, a couple cloves of garlic and sachet with star anise, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, fennel and coriander seed.
Let the aromatics do their thing and removed them after 20 minutes, the spices came out 20 minutes later.
Added a little sugar for that touch of sweetness, and then a small palmful of salt.

Got all my herbs and other add-ons ready to go, including an evil looking Peach Reaper a buddy sent me.
Whats Pho without some nice spicy heat to it?



Left to Right, Spearmint, Cilantro and Thai Basil

Let each person choose how much noodles they want, give them a quick blanch, add meat and boiling Pho broth and then it's Build Your Own' with the Add-ons.

Oh Yeah!



I ate the whole reaper in that one bowl and it was fantastic, I didn't even need the lime it had so much citrus flavor.
And the heat was great, I was sweating up a storm and my lips were burning, much nicer flavor/heat than any combo of Sriracha/chiles.
My thanks to my friend for making this one of the best bowls of Pho ever.

I've never tried doing it myself I may have to give it a shot. But I have a great Vietnamese restaurant that does a awesome job of Pho and the bowl is huge.