Pho Recipe

Beef Pho Recipe

You may well think that this recipe and a salad are an odd combination when served together, but don't miss out on this national dish by being too cautious. Rather like the moh hin gha of Burma, the strong stock is combined with other ingredients to make a meal in a bowl. Serve it right at the table, keeping the stock hot in an electric utensil and adding other components to each bowl.

Ingredients : Serves 6-8

3 kg Beef rib bones

500g Gravy beef

2 Onions, sliced

1 teaspoon Whole black peppercorns

500g Fresh rice noodles or 250g dried rice noodles

500g Fresh bean sprouts

6 Spring onions

4 Firm ripe tomatoes

2 White onions

500g Rump steak

Thumb-size piece of fresh ginger

Stick of cinnamon

Salt to taste

Fish sauce

lemon wedges

Fresh red or green chilies, chopped

Chopped fresh coriander leaves

• Put bones and gravy beef in a very large pan.

• Add cold water to cover, sliced onions, scraped and sliced ginger, cinnamon stick and whole peppercorns.

• Bring to the boil, turn heat very low, cover and simmer for at least 6 hours.

• Add salt to taste.

• If using fresh rice noodles, slice them into 1 cm strips and pour boiling water over, then drain, or steam in a colander for 5 minutes.

• If using dried rice noodles, they have to be soaked in warm water for at least 2 hours.

• Then drained and cooked in boiling water until just tender.

• Drain well.

• Prepare salad ingredients.

• Scald bean sprouts by pouring boiling water over them in a colander.

• Run cold water over.

• If necessary, pinch off any straggly brown tails.

• Slice spring onions thinly.

• Cut tomatoes in half lengthways, then slice each half.

• Peel and slice onions thinly.

• Slice steak paper thin in bite-size pieces.

• Arrange all on a serving plate.

To serve : Put a ladle of noodles and a ladle of bean sprouts in each large soup bowl. Put a few slices of beef, tomato and onion in a large ladle, immerse in the boiling stock until beef begins to lose its redness. Beef should be pale pink. Pour contents of the ladle over the noodles and bean sprouts. Guests add fish sauce, lemon juice, chilies and fresh coriander to taste.