Pho is a soup that can be eaten any time of the day or night. Vietnamese stand by the fact that it cures everything from the common cold to the un-common hangover! This recipe uses either Chuck steak or Flat Iron Steak (the American name for Oyster blade steak, or Butler’s steak in the UK)to give it a fantastic beef flavour and aroma. This is one of the only dishes you can eat where it is rude NOT to slurp!
Ingredients
- 2 onions
- 10cm piece ginger
- 2ltr veal stock or 1888’s “Bone Broth”
- 5 star anise
- 6 garlic cloves
- 8cm piece cassia bark
- 450gm Wagyu chuck steak
- 1½ Tbsp sea salt
- 80 ml (⅓ cup) fish sauce
- 1Tbsp palm sugar
For bowls
- 1kg fresh pho (rice stick) noodles
- 225gm Wagyu flat iron steak, finely sliced across the grain (ask your friendly 1888 butcher to do the slicing)
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 4 spring onions green part only, finely sliced
- ⅓ cup chopped coriander
- black pepper
Garnishes
- lime wedges
- sliced chilies
- Thai basil or Vietnamese mint sprigs
- bean sprouts
Preperation Directions
- Bring veal stock to the boil then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer, drop the chuck steak in whole
- Skim off any scum as it comes back to the simmer
- Add the onion, ginger and remaining ingredients and cook for 1½ hours.
- When the meat is cooked (slightly chewy but not tough), remove it and set aside in a bowl of cold water for 10 minutes.
- Remove from the water and refrigerate.
- Strain and refrigerate.
- Skim off the fat when cold.
To Serve
- Reheat the stock and thinly slice the chuck steak.
- For the fresh noodles, briefly heat them in boiling water.
- Arrange the noodles in the bases of deep serving bowls and add slices of cooked meat and raw flat steak on top.
- Garnish with onion, spring onion and coriander.
- Season with pepper.
- Ladle over the hot stock.
To eat pho, taste the broth first, then add lime juice and chilli to taste followed by generous amounts of basil or mint and beansprouts
About Colin Selwood
Growing up amongst farmland on the south island of New Zealand Colin was formally trained in Christchurch in the early 80’s before heading to Sydney to expand his culinary experience…