Traditional phở bò: Vietnamese rice noodle soup with beef broth, cinnamon and star anise

Phở was born in northern Vietnam, near Hanoi, in the early 20th century, at a meeting between the pot-au-feu of the French colonizers, who popularized beef, and the Chinese rice noodle soups of street vendors. The hawkers carried the pot of broth on a pole over their shoulders and served workers at dawn. Today it is the whole country's breakfast.

The broth is everything. Beef bones simmer for hours with ginger and onion charred over a flame, which give color and sweetness, and a pouch of spices: cinnamon, star anise, cloves, black cardamom and coriander seeds. The foam is skimmed patiently so the broth comes out clear, and the final seasoning is fish sauce and rock sugar.

Into the bowl go fresh rice noodles, slices of raw beef so thin the boiling broth cooks them, pieces of cooked brisket, onion and scallion. On the side, the plate of herbs: Thai basil, cilantro, bean sprouts, lime and chili, which everyone adds to taste. It is a Sunday recipe, but it feeds the week.

Recipe card

• Origin: Hanoi, Vietnam
• Category: Soup, main course
• Difficulty: Medium (requires time, not technique)
• Preparation time: 40 minutes
• Cooking time: 6 hours
• Serves: 6

Ingredients — broth

• 2 kg beef bones (knuckle, marrow bones and rib bones)
• 800 g beef brisket (or shank) in one piece
• 2 large whole onions with skin
• 1 piece of ginger, 10 cm
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 5 star anise
• 5 cloves
• 2 black cardamom pods (optional)
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 5 liters water
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon rock sugar or regular sugar
• Salt to taste

Ingredients — bowl and table

• 600 g fresh rice noodles or 400 g dried (bánh phở), cooked according to the package
• 300 g raw sirloin or tenderloin, frozen for 30 minutes and sliced very thin
• 1 onion, sliced paper-thin
• 4 scallions, sliced
• Chopped cilantro
• 1 bunch Thai basil
• 2 cups bean sprouts
• 2 limes in wedges
• 2 red chilies, sliced
• Hoisin sauce and sriracha (optional)

Method

1. Cover the bones with cold water in a large pot, boil for 10 minutes, drain, wash the bones and the pot. This is what guarantees a clear broth.
2. Char the onions and ginger directly over the stove flame (or in a very hot oven) until the skin is blackened in places. Remove the burnt skin and set aside.
3. Toast the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, cardamom and coriander in a dry pan for 2 minutes and tie in a cloth or place in an infuser.
4. Return the bones to the pot with the 5 liters of water, the brisket, the onion and the ginger. Boil, skim off the foam and reduce to the lowest heat.
5. Simmer for 1 hour 30 minutes, remove the brisket (keep in the fridge, to slice later) and continue simmering the bones for another 3 to 4 hours, skimming occasionally.
6. In the last hour, add the spice pouch.
7. Strain the broth, skim the fat from the surface, season with fish sauce, sugar and salt. It should be slightly sweet and very flavorful.
8. Assemble each bowl: cooked noodles, slices of brisket, slices of raw beef on top, onion, scallion and cilantro.
9. Pour the boiling broth over everything: the raw beef cooks instantly.
10. Serve with the plate of herbs, sprouts, lime and chili for everyone to build their own.

Tips and variations

• In a pressure cooker, the broth is ready in 1 hour 30 minutes, slightly less clear.
• Phở gà, with chicken: use a whole chicken and chicken bones, with 2 hours of cooking.
• The raw beef slices thin easily when half-frozen.
• The broth freezes well for 3 months; assemble the bowls fresh.
• Hoisin and sriracha in the bowl are a southern (Saigon) custom; in Hanoi the broth goes plain.
• Do not let the broth boil hard: it clouds and turns greasy.
• Beef balls (bò viên) and cooked tendon are traditional additions.

A bowl of steaming phở, with the scent of anise and cinnamon, is Vietnam waking up. Make the broth on a Sunday and have a Hanoi breakfast all week long.