Vietnamese Beef Pho

By lorik

Our favorite store-bought beef broth is Rachael Ray Stock-in-a-Box All-Natural Beef Flavored Stock. Use a Dutch oven that holds 6 quarts or more. An equal weight of tri-tip steak or blade steak can be substituted for the strip steak; make sure to trim all connective tissue and excess fat. One 14- or 16-ounce package of rice noodles will serve four to six. Look for noodles that are about 1/8 inch wide; these are often labeled “small.” Don’t use Thai Kitchen Stir-Fry Rice Noodles since they are too thick and don’t adequately soak up the broth.

*I edited this recipe to include the traditional step of charring the onion and ginger before placing into the broth to add a sweeter smoky background flavor to the broth.

Ingredients

• Chicken Pho:
• 1 pound 85 percent lean ground beef
• 2 onions, quartered through root end
• 12 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 1/4 cup fish sauce, plus extra for seasoning
• 1 (4-inch) piece ginger, unpeeled, cut in half lengthwise
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 tablespoons sugar, plus extra for seasoning
• 6 star anise pods
• 6 whole cloves
• Salt
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 (1-pound) boneless strip steak, trimmed and halved
• 14-16 ounces (1/8-inch-wide) rice noodles
• 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 3 scallions, sliced thin (optional)
• Bean sprouts
• Sprigs fresh Thai or Italian basil
• Lime wedges
• Hoisin sauce
• Sriracha sauce
• pho:
• Kosher salt
• One 3 1/2-pound chicken
• 2 whole star anise
• 2 cardamom pods
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• One 2 1/2-inch cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1/2 teaspoon white peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon goji berries
• 2 shallots, halved
• 1 small onion, quartered
• 1 leek, halved lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon crushed rock sugar or dark brown sugar
• garnishes:
• 6 ounces dried rice noodles
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 3 medium shallots, thinly sliced (1 cup)
• 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
• 1/4 cup sliced scallions
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• Bean sprouts, basil sprigs, mint sprigs, thinly sliced jalapeños and lime wedges, for serving

Details

Adapted from cooksillustrated.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Break ground beef into rough 1-inch chunks and drop in Dutch oven. Add water to cover by 1 inch. Bring mixture to boil over high heat. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring once or twice. Drain ground beef in colander and rinse well under running water. Wash out pot and return ground beef to pot. Place 6 onion quarters and ginger over flame of a gas burner and char on all sides. Slice remaining 2 onion quarters as thin as possible for garnish.

2. Place charred onion quarters and ginger in pot with ground beef. Add broth, 2 cups water, fish sauce, cinnamon, sugar, star anise, cloves, 2 teaspoons salt, and peppercorns to pot and bring to boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for 45 minutes.

3. Pour broth through colander set in large bowl. Discard solids. Strain broth through fine-mesh strainer lined with triple thickness of cheesecloth; add water as needed to equal 11 cups. Return broth to pot and season with extra sugar and salt (broth should taste overseasoned). Cover and keep warm over low heat.

4. While broth simmers, place steak on large plate and freeze until very firm, 35 to 45 minutes. Once firm, cut against grain into 1/8-inch-thick slices. Return steak to plate and refrigerate until needed.

5. Place noodles in large container and cover with hot tap water. Soak until noodles are pliable, 10 to 15 minutes; drain noodles. Meanwhile, bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add drained noodles and cook until almost tender, 30 to 60 seconds. Drain immediately and divide noodles among individual bowls.

6. Bring broth to rolling boil over high heat. Divide steak among individual bowls, shingling slices on top of noodles. Pile reserved onion slices on top of steak slices and sprinkle with cilantro and scallions, if using. Ladle hot broth into each bowl. Serve immediately, passing bean sprouts, basil sprigs, lime wedges, hoisin, Sriracha, and extra fish sauce separately.

Chicken Pho:
In a large stockpot, bring 5 quarts of water to a boil. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and the chicken, breast side down. Place a heatproof plate over the chicken to keep it submerged and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the chicken for 30 minutes; it will not be cooked through. Transfer the chicken to a bowl of ice water and let cool completely. Drain well and pat dry.

Meanwhile, in a large cast-iron skillet, combine the star anise, cardamom, coriander, cinnamon stick, black and white peppercorns and goji berries. Cook over moderately low heat, stirring, until very fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl.

In the same skillet, combine the shallots, onion and leek. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until deep golden, about 10 minutes.

Remove all of the meat from the chicken and coarsely shred it.
Return all of the chicken skin and bones to the broth in the stockpot. Add the pan-roasted shallot, onion and leek mixture and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over moderately low heat for 1 hour.

Stir the toasted spices and goji berries into the broth. Cover and simmer for 1 hour longer. Add the rock sugar and simmer for another 30 minutes.

Strain the broth into a large bowl, pressing on the solids; discard the solids. Pour the broth into a clean saucepan.

Prepare the garnishes: Soak the noodles in a large bowl of boiling water until pliable, 8 to 10 minutes.

In a large skillet, heat the oil. Add the shallots and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Using a mesh skimmer, transfer the shallots to a paper towel–lined plate to drain. Let cool.

Bring the broth to a simmer. Stir in the shredded chicken and cook until just white throughout, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in the fish sauce and season the broth with salt.

Drain the rice noodles and transfer to large bowls. Ladle the broth and chicken over the noodles. Top with the scallions and cilantro. Garnish with the crispy shallots, bean sprouts, basil, mint and jalapeños and serve with lime wedges.

Make Ahead:
The poached chicken and finished broth can be refrigerated separately overnight.