I first tried pho a few years ago at a local Vietnamese restaurant and thought it had the best broth I had ever tasted. I was determined to see if I could make it at home. I tried several different recipes on the net, but no single one of them had the flavor I was looking for. I had mentioned it one time to one of the staff at the restaurant, and was told 'There is no way this flavor can be gotten at home'. Well, the gauntlet had obviously been thrown and I was more than stubborn enough to take up the challenge! After many hours in the kitchen, scouring the internet for tips, and taste tests by family and friends, the end result is just as tasty (if not more so) than what was served at the restaurant.
The main recipe is for the tripe and meatball version (hence the house special title). However, I also give alternate directions in the steps for a regular beef version. The basic process and core ingredients are the same. The broth is also extremely tasty on it's own and can be used for other recipes as well. This makes a lot, so there may be lots of leftovers to figure out what to do with.
There are recipes out there that use pre-made spice mixes and pre-made broth. If you are looking for a quick recipe, this is probably not the Instructable for you. I prefer to have the freedom to add the amount of spices I like best and making the extremely tasty broth from scratch is most of the point for me. I document things I've tried during this process that have (and have not) worked very well.
The spices here have applications in many other types of food, so if you don't have them on hand, don't panic that you'll be buying them and only using them once. I've gotten some of mine in bulk from the local Indian and Asian markets. They are a fraction of the cost to get them there than in the little jars at the grocery store. I put the excess in ziplock bags and store them in the freezer so they don't lose their potency.
The main recipe is for the tripe and meatball version (hence the house special title). However, I also give alternate directions in the steps for a regular beef version. The basic process and core ingredients are the same. The broth is also extremely tasty on it's own and can be used for other recipes as well. This makes a lot, so there may be lots of leftovers to figure out what to do with.
There are recipes out there that use pre-made spice mixes and pre-made broth. If you are looking for a quick recipe, this is probably not the Instructable for you. I prefer to have the freedom to add the amount of spices I like best and making the extremely tasty broth from scratch is most of the point for me. I document things I've tried during this process that have (and have not) worked very well.
The spices here have applications in many other types of food, so if you don't have them on hand, don't panic that you'll be buying them and only using them once. I've gotten some of mine in bulk from the local Indian and Asian markets. They are a fraction of the cost to get them there than in the little jars at the grocery store. I put the excess in ziplock bags and store them in the freezer so they don't lose their potency.
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Signing UpStep 1: Ingredients
Do not let the ingredient list intimidate you! This can be a bit daunting the first time you make it, since there are a lot of prep steps involved...and then waiting. But the end result is definitely worth it.
Ingredients:
4-6 lb beef roast (I usually get whatever is on sale at the grocery store)
3 onions, yellow or white cut in half lengthwise
1 medium sized ginger root, cut in half lengthwise
1 lb beef bones - I used 2 lbs here, but it was a bit too much. I have gotten these fairly cheap in my local Asian market and also in the frozen meat section in my grocery store (near where the quail, liver and other similar meats are)
2/3 c fish sauce - This is not optional!
4 tbsp Salt
2 oz palm sugar (white sugar will work also)
Protein
For normal beef pho
-- very thin sliced flank steak, maybe 1/2 to 1 lb
For my alternate tripe version (all of these items came from my local asian market, but some can be purchased at a regular grocery store):
Spices:
2 cinnamon sticks
4 black cardamom pods (if you only have ground, use 1/8 tsp. Do NOT try and toast the ground with the rest of the spices. I will give instructions on when to add it if that is all you have)
3 Tbsp whole coriander seed (ground will not work well for this)
1 Tbsp fennel seed
15 whole cloves
8 star anise
3 bay leaves
5 black peppercorns
Final noodle bowl assembly items:
1 package rice noodes
bunch cilantro
bean sprouts
sriracha (hot sauce)
lime wedges
Tools:
Really big stock/soup pot
colander
strainer
Ingredients:
4-6 lb beef roast (I usually get whatever is on sale at the grocery store)
3 onions, yellow or white cut in half lengthwise
1 medium sized ginger root, cut in half lengthwise
1 lb beef bones - I used 2 lbs here, but it was a bit too much. I have gotten these fairly cheap in my local Asian market and also in the frozen meat section in my grocery store (near where the quail, liver and other similar meats are)
2/3 c fish sauce - This is not optional!
4 tbsp Salt
2 oz palm sugar (white sugar will work also)
Protein
For normal beef pho
-- very thin sliced flank steak, maybe 1/2 to 1 lb
For my alternate tripe version (all of these items came from my local asian market, but some can be purchased at a regular grocery store):
- 1 package beef omasum (beef tripe) - Omasum is preferred over the honeycomb type. It tastes cleaner and gets more tender when cooked.
- 1 package precooked beef meatballs - NOT the frozen kind used for spaghetti!
- 1 package precooked beef and tendon meatballs (I'd never tried these before, but figured it couldn't hurt to try them)
- 2 packages precooked shredded pork skin, chopped up - unless you want to sub these for noodles
- cheesecloth
Spices:
2 cinnamon sticks
4 black cardamom pods (if you only have ground, use 1/8 tsp. Do NOT try and toast the ground with the rest of the spices. I will give instructions on when to add it if that is all you have)
3 Tbsp whole coriander seed (ground will not work well for this)
1 Tbsp fennel seed
15 whole cloves
8 star anise
3 bay leaves
5 black peppercorns
Final noodle bowl assembly items:
1 package rice noodes
bunch cilantro
bean sprouts
sriracha (hot sauce)
lime wedges
Tools:
Really big stock/soup pot
colander
strainer
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Ironically, this is what I am making today for thanksgiving here in the US. It was a unanimous vote at my house.
all my friends and relatives can try this and others. You have someting
here for everyone. This web site is a great idea. Again was able to
make soup as tasty as a resturant
The first taste I had of this, I was an instant convert! My local restaurant shut down, so now I -have- to make this at home. I might have to attempt the insanely spicy lemongrass chicken at some point...
It takes like no other. As aeray says, its strong umami flavour, along with the other spices knock your socks off.
It has a very rich flavor, with a hint of all the spices that are in it (cloves, cardamom, coriander and so forth). You can't really taste the cinnamon, but you notice when you leave it out. *grin* There are times when I make this and only have the broth part. I'm not much of a soup person either, but the flavors in this one are really complex, so it makes it extra tasty. To me at least.
As for the "other" meat bits...they don't really have flavor all by themselves (the tripe and pig skin). They are more of a textural element to make it interesting. I had never used pig skin previously in anything (as I really don't like the fried kind) and was pretty skeptical. But I had tasted the house pho at the restaurant and it wasn't what I expected at all. In the batch that I made, I didn't cut the skins up. So I could have used it for noodles instead of the rice ones.
For regular beef, you get the nice beef taste along with the broth and it is oh-so-very yummy.