Cooking: What the Pho?

This post is overdue. Months overdue, in fact. Mea culpa. I made an attempt at homemade Pho, and I think I was moderately successful. I based my efforts on a recipe from NPR.org, here's the link: One-Day Pho.

The key to delicious Pho is the broth, so that's where we'll start. Here we have a couple cuts of beef shank. Notice the marrow in the middle of the bone. Bone marrow wasn't something I was very comfortable cooking with, but I knew it was essential for flavorful broth.

Next we have a large onion cut in half and two big chunks of peeled ginger. These are lightly charred under the broiler and then tossed in the pot with the beef shanks to simmer for a two or four or more hours.

Cinnamon, cloves, star anise and white peppercorns also add to the broth's flavor.

Here it all is in the pot. Add three quarts of cold water and it's ready to start simmering.

Here is the soup in its final stage after cutting the meat off the bones and straining the broth. I discarded the tendon because, honestly, it seemed gross and I didn't want to eat it, nor did I think anyone else would. I'm afraid I reduced the broth too much and put in too many noodles. I think it still tasted great.

Another great thing about Pho is the opportunity to customize your soup. Things you'll want to have on hand are fish sauce, Srirachca or other chili sauce, Hoisin sauce, jalapeño slices, Thai basil (or Italian basil if Thai is unavailable), cilantro, mint, bean sprouts, green onion and lime wedges.

Thoughts:

Be very careful with the fish sauce, adding a little bit at a time, to taste. The flavor is very strong and salty. Do not add the noodles until you are seconds away from serving your Pho or they will suck up the broth and get soggy. It's a good idea to keep the noodles separate and allow people to add however much they'd like to their individual bowls. I think a few more shin bones (without meat) would make the broth a bit more savory and flavorful. You can never have too much bone marrow, am I right?

I hope this inspires you to make your own Pho at home. It requires quite a bit of patience but not a whole lot of effort or skill (luckily for me). Best wishes to you and all your home cooking endeavours!