Phở (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

I love noodles.  Soup noodles, stir fried noodles, or pasta... yum yum yum!  A few months ago while "toy shopping" at Sur La Table, I found the cookbook Noodles Every Day by Corinne Trang.  It was even on sale, so I had to get it!

This cookbook contains noodle recipes from almost every region of Asia, from Chinese to Korean, Japanese to Vietnamese.  After quickly scanning the book, I knew the first recipe I wanted to try was Phở.

Phở (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)
from Noodles Every Day, by Corinne Trang

Beef Stock
Ingredients
- 2 lbs raw meaty beef bones, such as oxtail or short ribs
- 3 quarts of water
- 1/2 large yellow onion
- 4 whole cloves
- 4 whole star anise
- 1 four-inch cinnamon stick
- 3 slices of ginger
- 4 scallions, trimmed and crushed
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp white or black peppercorns
- salt to taste

Tools
- stockpot
- colander

Steps
1. Put beef bones in a large stockpot with enough water to cover.  Bring to boil over high heat and cook for 10 minutes to get rid of bone and blood particles.  Drain, reserve the meaty bones, and rinse the pot well.

2. Return the beef bones to the same stockpot, add 3 quarts of water, and bring to boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to low and add onions, cloves, star anise, cinnamon, ginger, scallions, fish sauce, sugar, and peppercorns.

3. Simmer, partially covered, for 4-5 hours, until reduced to about 1.5 to 2 quarts.  Ocassionally skim off any foam from the surface.  Salt broth to taste.  Strain and discard solids, reserving the meaty bones to pick on if desired.

Yields 1.5 to 2 quarts

Phở 
Ingredients
- 8 oz dried narrow flat rice sticks, soaked in water until pliable (I used the Three Ladies Brand, Rice Stick (S) - small)

- about 1 lb eye of round steak, thinly sliced (in my opinion Japanese supermarkets has a higher quality of meat, so I used shabu shabu meat in this case.  It was the best decision!  The quality of the meat and the spices of the soup was a wonderful combo.)
- 1.5 to 2 quarts of Beef Stock
- fish sauce or salt to taste
- 1/2 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 1 cup mung bean sprouts
- 1 lime, quartered
- 1 bunch fresh Thai basil or cilantro
- Hoisin sauce for serving (optional)
- chili-garlic sauce (eg. Sriracha) for serving (optional)

Steps
1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and cook the noodles until tender yet firm, about 10 seconds.  Drain and divide among bowls.  Layer a few beef slices over the noodles.

2. Meanwhile, in another large pot, bring the beef stock to a gentle boil over medium heat.  About 5 minutes before serving, add the onions and adjust seasoning with fish sauce or salt, if necessary.  Right before serving, raise the heat to high and bring the broth to a full boil.

3. Place mung bean sprouts, lime, and Thai basil or cilantro in a plate.  Bring to table so that each person can add vegetables to their noodle soup as desired.

4. Ladle the boiling hot broth along with onion slices over the beef and noodles, making sure to cover beef and noodles.  Serve with hoisin sauce and chili-garlic sauce if desired.

Serves 4