How to make Pho?

[DoomsDave]

Howdyall:

We're all ho's for Pho, and I'd like to know how to make that broth.

All I've been able to find are general discussions but no receipes.

I know you're supposed to boil beef bones, but . . . . .

What the [expletive] else?

thanks

[Mats]

  Dave from So-Cal said:

I'd like to know how to make that broth. All I've been able to find are general discussions but no receipes.

"no recipes"?!? You need to sharpen your search skills.

Try this page: Pho Recipes

.

[LJG]

'pho' does not rhyme with 'ho'. 'pho' rhymes with 'huh'. So my very large Vietnamese friend has told me.

[joe_OC]

Dave,

There are tons of Vietnamese restaurants that you can get pho. Is there a reason why you want to make it yourself? I can point you to some very good Viet restaurants if you want...Pho is equivalent to the American burger. There are pho restaurants/carts in just about every corner (even here S. Cali).

The process to making a good bowl of pho takes a whole day... That's why when we make it, we make a huge pot so we can enjoy it. If you want to go through the exercise, go for it man! Myself, I rather would go to a restaurant and get a bowl of pho with a nice glass of Vietnamese iced coffee.

Len - BTW, there is a "~" above the "o", it is a pronunciation key. So, it really doesn't rhyme with "duh" as the "o" starts off off low, rises, drops, and rises again as you pronounce it, just like how the tilde looks..

[DoomsDave]

  joe_OC said:

Dave,

There are tons of Vietnamese restaurants that you can get pho. Is there a reason why you want to make it yourself? I can point you to some very good Viet restaurants if you want...Pho is equivalent to the American burger. There are pho restaurants/carts in just about every corner (even here S. Cali).

The process to making a good bowl of pho takes a whole day... That's why when we make it, we make a huge pot so we can enjoy it. If you want to go through the exercise, go for it man! Myself, I rather would go to a restaurant and get a bowl of pho with a nice glass of Vietnamese iced coffee.

Len - BTW, there is a "~" above the "o", it is a pronunciation key. So, it really doesn't rhyme with "duh" as the "o" starts off off low, rises, drops, and rises again as you pronounce it, just like how the tilde looks..

I want to make it myself because, well, I just do.

Oh, yeah, there's pho places all over, I know, even La Habra has one.

I'd at least like to know the process. I'd like to make my own to take to work with me, as there are no places nearby to get it. And, I'd like to experiment a bit.

Is the broth something that can be made ahead of time? That seems to be the case -- snuck a peek in a Viet eatery and they had huge cauldrons.

I like to make a lot of something then have it for later.

Do you have a recipe?

[joe_OC]

Hey Dave,

The broth is what makes or breaks pho... Home cooked pho will taste different from the restaurant (much better). Here is a recipe for you to try:

Beef noodle soup (pho bo)

Makes 8 satisfying (American-sized) bowls

Pho broth cooking

For the broth:

2 medium yellow onions (about 1 pound total)

4-inch piece ginger (about 4 ounces)

5-6 pounds beef soup bones (marrow and knuckle bones)

5 star anise (40 star points total)

6 whole cloves

3-inch cinnamon stick

1 pound piece of beef chuck, rump, brisket or cross rib roast, cut into 2-by-4-inch pieces (weight after trimming)

1 1/2 tablespoons salt

4 tablespoons fish sauce

1 ounce (1-inch chunk) yellow rock sugar (duong phen; see Note)

For the bowls:

1 1/2-2 pounds small (1/8-inch wide) dried or fresh banh pho noodles ("rice sticks'' or Thai chantaboon)

1/2 pound raw eye of round, sirloin, London broil or tri-tip steak, thinly sliced across the grain (1/16 inch thick; freeze for 15 minutes to make it easier to slice)

1 medium yellow onion, sliced paper-thin, left to soak for 30 minutes in a bowl of cold water

3 or 4 scallions, green part only, cut into thin rings

1/3 cup chopped cilantro (ngo)

Ground black pepper

Optional garnishes arranged on a plate and placed at the table:

Sprigs of spearmint (hung lui) and Asian/Thai basil (hung que)

Leaves of thorny cilantro (ngo gai)

Bean sprouts (about 1/2 pound)

Red hot chiles (such as Thai bird or dragon), thinly sliced

Lime wedges

Prepare the broth:

Char onion and ginger. Use an open flame on grill or gas stove. Place onions and ginger on cooking grate and let skin burn. (If using stove, turn on exhaust fan and open a window.) After about 15 minutes, they will soften and become sweetly fragrant. Use tongs to occasionally rotate them and to grab and discard any flyaway onion skin. You do not have to blacken entire surface, just enough to slightly cook onion and ginger.

Let cool. Under warm water, remove charred onion skin; trim and discard blackened parts of root or stem ends. If ginger skin is puckered and blistered, smash ginger with flat side of knife to loosen flesh from skin. Otherwise, use sharp paring knife to remove skin, running ginger under warm water to wash off blackened bits. Set aside.

Parboil bones. Place bones in stockpot (minimum 12-quart capacity) and cover with cold water. Over high heat, bring to boil. Boil vigorously 2 to 3 minutes to allow impurities to be released. Dump bones and water into sink and rinse bones with warm water. Quickly scrub stockpot to remove any residue. Return bones to pot.

Simmer broth. Add 6 quarts water to pot, bring to boil over high heat, then lower flame to gently simmer. Use ladle to skim any scum that rises to surface. Add remaining broth ingredients and cook 1 1/2 hours. Boneless meat should be slightly chewy but not tough. When it is cooked to your liking, remove it and place in bowl of cold water for 10 minutes; this prevents the meat from drying up and turning dark as it cools. Drain the meat; cool, then refrigerate. Allow broth to continue cooking; in total, the broth should simmer 3 hours.

Strain broth through fine strainer. If desired, remove any bits of gelatinous tendon from bones to add to your pho bowl. Store tendon with cooked beef. Discard solids.

Use ladle to skim as much fat from top of broth as you like. (Cool it and refrigerate it overnight to make this task easier; reheat befofe continuing.) Taste and adjust flavor with additional salt, fish sauce and yellow rock sugar. The broth should taste slightly too strong because the noodles and other ingredients are not salted. (If you've gone too far, add water to dilute.) Makes about 4 quarts.

Assemble bowls: The key is to be organized and have everything ready to go. Thinly slice cooked meat. For best results, make sure it's cold.

Heat broth and ready noodles. To ensure good timing, reheat broth over medium flame as you're assembling bowls. If you're using dried noodles, cover with hot tap water and soak 15-20 minutes, until softened and opaque white. Drain in colander. For fresh rice noodles, just untangle and briefly rinse in a colander with cold water.

Blanch noodles. Fill 3- or 4-quart saucepan with water and bring to boil. For each bowl, use long-handle strainer to blanch a portion of noodles. As soon as noodles have collapsed and lost their stiffness (10-20 seconds), pull strainer from water, letting water drain back into saucepan. Empty noodles into bowls. Noodles should occupy 1/4 to 1/3 of bowl; the latter is for noodle lovers, while the former is for those who prize broth.

If desired, after blanching noodles, blanch bean sprouts for 30 seconds in same saucepan. They should slightly wilt but retain some crunch. Drain and add to the garnish plate.

Add other ingredients. Place slices of cooked meat, raw meat and tendon (if using) atop noodles. (If your cooked meat is not at room temperature, blanch slices for few seconds in hot water from above.) Garnish with onion, scallion and chopped cilantro. Finish with black pepper.

Ladle in broth and serve. Bring broth to rolling boil. Check seasoning. Ladle broth into each bowl, distributing hot liquid evenly so as to cook raw beef and warm other ingredients. Serve with garnish plate.

There is a chicken pho as well...

HTH's,

Joe

[DoomsDave]

Joe:

It does help.

I've got all the ingredients, except for the bones . . ...

[steve 9atx]

Dave

Go here http://pwmf.blogspot.com/2005/10/rau-ci-gu...-herbs-and.html

and scroll down to the Pho recipe. While you're on the Vietnamese herb page - look for

these in pots or seeds at your local oriental market. I'm growing a few in pots in the

backyard. There's no substitute for Tai To when you need it for a bowl of Bun.

Len

Of course, its pronounced just as in "Pho King".

Steve

[DoomsDave]

  steve 9atx said:

Dave

Go here http://pwmf.blogspot.com/2005/10/rau-ci-gu...-herbs-and.html

and scroll down to the Pho recipe. While you're on the Vietnamese herb page - look for

these in pots or seeds at your local oriental market. I'm growing a few in pots in the

backyard. There's no substitute for Tai To when you need it for a bowl of Bun.

Len

Of course, its pronounced just as in "Pho King".

Steve

Thanks!

Sounds [obscene gerund] good!

[LJG]

Joe, what do you know?

My friend corrected me. He told me the story how the French basically wanted to know what the soup was they were eating. Since it had no association with anything in French, they came up with "Pho" as that is as close as they could get. I use to call it Pho (rhymes with ho). But my friend says it is 'closer' to Pho (rhymes with huh - 'phuh'). Since he was bigger then me I went with it. Now when I order it (twice a week for lunch) I am the smartest white guy in the restaurant and I get a larger serving. Sweet. Now I am not sure if any of this is true, but I know one thing. It is a fact.

[joe_OC]

Len, you eat more of that stuff than I do! If you guys are ever in OC, give me a call. I will take you to some authentic Vietnamese restaurants and let you try other authentic dishes.

At some point, I believe the French got rid of the Kanjii characters and replaced it with the western alphabet. A pronunciation table was created to be able to have the words phonetically match the Vietnamese language.

The way your friend taught you to say "pho" is how most of us Viets teach white folks to say it because it is a lot easier to teach than the real way. Also it is easier to the ears than hearing "I want a bowl of FO"...

[paulgila]

someone once told me you should "up-talk" when you say "pho".almost like theres a question mark at the end...

[joe_OC]

Hey Paul,

That is a good description of how it needs to be pronounced. When you say "what?", the "a" is inflected and has a higher pitch at the end. The same pronunciation needs to be applied to the "o" in pho.

[weldertom]

I love that stuff.

Great Viet food here in Houston.

Fish sauce is a main Feature in Pho .....

Soooooo.... anyone want to weigh in and share with us where fish sauce comes from or how its made?

[joe_OC]

A good bowl of pho should have lots of flavors to it. The anise and ginger should come through, and of course, the beef broth. If fish sauce is the predominant flavor, than I would say you are missing out on a good bowl of pho.

All Asian countries make it. The biggest producer is probably Thailand though. Fish sauce is made from fish that has been fermented...I would have to say it has quite a complex flavor to it. Not all fish sauce are equal though. The stuff you get at the American grocery is quite different than the stuff you can find in an Asian market. I find the stuff sold at Ralphs's, Von's, etc... to be very harsh. There is also fish sauce for cooking and fish sauce for dipping.

[BS Man about Palms]

  joe_OC said:

Hey Paul,

That is a good description of how it needs to be pronounced. When you say "what?", the "a" is inflected and has a higher pitch at the end. The same pronunciation needs to be applied to the "o" in pho.

Would that make it pronounced like "Foauh?" ?

[Jeff in St Pete]

Ahhhhh Pho, that's something that I really miss!!! A bowl of Pho and an order of fresh rolls with spicy peanut dipping sauce was one of my favorite meals when I lived in Tampa.

Sorry, it's just that sometimes I get a little tired of rice and beans. Tonight I really switched it up, I had stewed lentils over rice.

[joe_OC]

Well, Dave...

Did you get around to making any pho over the weekend? Inquiring minds want to know...

[DoomsDave]

  joe_OC said:

Well, Dave...

Did you get around to making any pho over the weekend? Inquiring minds want to know...

Alas, no.

I have all the ingredients, except for the beef knuckle bones. Butchers at the market had no clue. Need to find a Viet market . . . .

[joe_OC]

Love to get my hands on the marrow...YUMMY! Yeah, if you go to a Viet store, they have the bones a packed for pho. If not, just tell them you need bones for pho and they will take care of you.