Vietnamese Pho – Beef Rice Noodle Soup Recipe (Pho Bo) with Shortcut and Sl

Parboil the bones by placing them in a large stock pot filled with enough cold water to cover the bones.Bring the water to a boil on high heat, and turn the heat down to medium, and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes.The bones will start releasing impurities, skim out with a fine mesh strainer or ladle.Once the water has simmered for about 10 minutes, empty the entire pot and collect the bones in a colander.Rinse the bones to remove any impurities and scum. The cleaner the bones are, the clearer the broth will be. Set aside.Insert the cloves into the onion and char onion and ginger either over a gas stove or a BBQ grill to release the aroma of the spices.Wash out the stockpot pot and put the bones back in, filling the pot with water until it is ¾ full. Turn the heat to high to bring back to a boil.Add the charred onion and ginger to the pot along with the garlic, carrot, daikon and spices into the pot. If you don't want loose spices in your broth, tie up the spices either in a mesh ball or cheese cloth prior to adding to the pot.Bring the pot to a boil and lower the heat to medium-low to a very gentle simmer.Gently simmer for about 1.5 - 2 hours. Regularly skim the impurities rising to the surface of the broth using a fine mesh strainer or ladle. Remove the beef and oxtail bones with a slotted spoon to another bowl, rinse with cold water and set aside until almost ready to serve. This prevents unnecessary discoloration of the bones and meat.Season the broth with fish sauce, salt and sugar and keep pot gently simmering for another hour.Adjust seasonings at this point with more fish sauce or salt.Add the cooked beef bones back into the pot 20 minutes prior to serving.Prepare noodles as per directions on package. Set aside until the beef broth is ready.You can ask your butcher to thinly slice it for you or to get the slices really thin, place the entire piece of meat in the freezer for about 30 minutes. Then thinly slice the meat across the grain with a sharp knife.When ready to serve, assemble bowls by distributing the cooked noodles among individual bowls. Lay thin slices of your choice of raw cuts of beef (sirloin or eye of round etc. ) on top of the noodles.Top the bowl off with thin slices of onion and a sprinkling of chopped scallions and cilantro.Bring the broth up to a very gentle simmer.Ladle the hot broth over the contents of each bowl ensuring that the raw slices of meat are covered with enough hot broth to just cook them. (This is why it is essential to cut the beef into very thin slices so they will cook through).Add a daikon piece or beef bone to the bowl if desired.Top with fresh bean sprouts. squeeze in some lime into the broth and serve with the optional herb plate/garnishes and condiments.