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Beef Pho

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A picure of beef pho. (Pexels.com, labeled under Free to use)

This is a recipe for beef pho.

Ingredients:

• Beef bones and tough beef cuts: Beef pho broth usually involves leg and knuckle bones which lend beefy flavor and fat. Tough beef cuts may include oxtail (as Lett101 calls for in this recipe), which contributes its collagen for a rich mouthfeel; beef brisket, chuck, or other kinds of stewy cuts may be substituted, if you prefer boneless meat. Use what fits into your budget and is freshest at the store.
• Flat rice noodles: These are similar to the ones used for pad Thai. They may be labeled banh pho at the supermarket or Asian grocer. Dried banh pho last a long time in the cupboard.
• Aromatics: Ginger, onion (or shallot) lend sweet-spicy zip and a little pungent note too.
• Spices: The spicing varies from cook to cook. For beef pho, there is typically star anise, cinnamon/cassia sticks, and clove. Here, Lett101 adds peppercorns for a pungent note. Regardless, make sure you use star anise with robust points so your broth gets lots of its savor. Each star anise has 8 points. It is okay to use broken ones.
• Daikon: Adding daikon naturally adds earthy sweetness to the broth. Substitute turnip if you like.
• Salt, sugar, and fish sauce: These are the foundational pho seasonings. For the sugar, Chinese yellow rock sugar is often used for southern Vietnamese-style pho broth; if you don’t have it, use granulated sugar (organic has a deeper flavor than white granulated sugar). A sweetener helps to round out pho broth flavor. Fish sauce, sold at many supermarkets and Asian markets, adds umami savoriness to the broth.
• Steak: Choose a tender cut of steak. Splurge on marbled meat and slice it thin so it will be cooked quickly by the hot broth. If you do not like raw-ish meat, omit it and focus on the cooked beef!

Cooking steps:

1. Gather all ingredients.
2. Make broth.
3. Prepare ingredients.
4. Cook noodles.
5. Put noodles in a bowl and add ingredients