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Beef Brisket Pho
Rated 5.0 stars by 1 users
Cuisine
Vietnamese
This traditional Vietnamese beef pho features a rich, deeply flavorful broth made by slowly simmering beef bones and brisket with charred onions, ginger, and toasted aromatic spices. Seasoned with kosher salt, sugar, and Red Boat Fish Sauce, the broth develops a savory, slightly sweet depth that serves as the heart of the dish. Tender slices of brisket are served over delicate rice noodles and topped with fresh green onions, cilantro, and fragrant ginger. Accompanied by crunchy bean sprouts, fresh herbs, lime wedges, and sliced chilies, this comforting bowl of pho offers a balanced blend of warmth, freshness, and bold flavor.
Ingredients
- ½ ounce cinnamon stick
- 5 plump star anise pods
- 5 cloves buds
- 1 large black cardamom pod
- 1 pound yellow onions
- ¼ pound daikon
- 2 ounces ginger, split lengthwise
- 4 ½ pounds beef bones, preferably knuckles and shank
- 3 pounds brisket, divided in half
- 2 tablespoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoon granulated sugar
-
¼ cup Red Boat Fish Sauce
- 2 pounds dry pho noodles or 3 pounds fresh pho noodles
- 1 ½ cups thinly chopped green onions
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped cilantro
- 1 (3-inch segment) ginger
- Handful bean sprouts
- 1 to 2 bunches Thai basil
- 1 to 2 bunches mint
- 2 limes, sliced into wedges
- Serrano or Thai chilies, thinly sliced
- Poached eggs (optional)
Soup
Garnish
For Serving
Directions
Preheat the oven to 200°F. Wrap the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and black cardamom pod in an aluminum foil pouch. Don’t wrap the pouch too tightly — the cardamom pod will expand, so be sure to leave some space for it to do so.
Place the pouch in the oven and toast for 15 minutes. Once they’re toasted, tie them up in a cheesecloth. Set aside.
Next, char the vegetables. Over high heat, place a wire rack over a burner. Place the onions on the rack. Turn the onions to char their entire exterior, about 5 to 10 minutes depending on the strength of your range. Once charred, remove the onions to a plate.
Place the ginger on the rack and char the exterior, about 30 seconds. Flip the ginger and char for an additional 30 seconds. Set the ginger aside.
Make the beef stock.
Place the bones in a pot large enough to snugly arrange them in a single layer. Add the brisket, charred onions and ginger, daikon, spice bundle, salt, sugar, and 3 ½ quarts water to the pot. (The brisket should be completely submerged in the water. If it isn’t, rearrange the bones, or choose a wider pot.) Over hight heat, bring the water to a boil, then down to a very low simmer. The surface of the water should barely tremble (if you have a thermometer, the water should be about 200°F).
Simmer for 4 hours, then remove the brisket and transfer it to a baking pan or large bowl. Ladle just enough of the beef stock to submerge the brisket completely, and continue simmering the stock. Place the brisket in the refrigerator to cool.
When the brisket has cooled, transfer it to a cutting board and pour the beef stock it was submerged in back into the pot. Slice the brisket and store it in the refrigerator until serving.
After the beef stock has simmered for 8 hours, pull up a knuckle – the collagen should easily separate from the bone. If it still clings, continue to simmer, checking every 30 minutes until the collagen releases.
Box: For a quicker, albeit less complex, stock, you can make it in a pressure cooker. To do so, cook the stock for 40 minutes, then remove the brisket. Continue cooking the bones for another 40 minutes, then proceed with the recipe at step 12.
Turn off the heat and add 1 bunch green onions. Steep the green onions in the stock for 1 hour, then strain the entire pot through a cloth-lined strainer. Discard the solids.
Add Red Boat Fish Sauce to the stock. If the stock ends up being less than 3 ½ quarts, add enough water to make up the difference.
If using dry noodles, soak them in cold water for at least 30 minutes while the green onions steep. If using fresh noodles, skip this step.
Assemble and serve the pho.
Peel the ginger and discard the skin. Using a peeler, shave the ginger into thin sheets. Stack the sheets and slice them into very thin threads. Store in a bowl of iced water until ready to serve.
Bring beef stock back to a low simmer to keep warm.
Separately, pour 2 quarts of water into a medium pot and bring the water to a bare simmer. Place a handful of noodles into a small strainer (preferably a noodle strainer with a vertical handle). Quickly blanch the pho noodles by dunking the strainer in the simmering water for 15 seconds. Taste a noodle strand to make sure it’s tender but still has bite. Shake the strainer to free any excess water, then slide the noodles into a soup bowl.
Add a few slices of brisket, a handful of cilantro and green onions, and a pinch of ginger strands. Ladle 1 ½ cups beef stock over the brisket and aromatics. Serve the pho with bean sprouts, herb, and limes.
