Home Culture Vietnamese cuisine Vietnamese soup recipe (Pho)

Vietnamese soup recipe (Pho)

In this article, we present you the most representative soup recipe of the Vietnamese cuisine!

We will show you in the most detailed way how to make Vietnamese Pho

Preparation time for this Vietnamese soup recipe: 40 minutes (20 minutes for the broth and 20 minutes for serving)
Cooking time: 20 minutes + 6 hours for the broth in two stages (the day before: 5 hours + the day of: 1 hour)

Recipe for Vietnamese soup
Recipe for Vietnamese soup

Vietnamese Soup Recipe

Ingredients :

Broth for Vietnamese soup : :

  • 1 kg bone-in rib steak
  • 400 g beef shank
  • 3 large marrow bones
  • 3 large onions
  • 1 old ginger

Spices for this soup:

  • 10 cloves
  • 6-star anise
  • 1/2 tea ball filled with coriander seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon of black peppercorns in the tea ball
  • 2 large black cardamom pods
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 tablespoon coarse salt
  • 3 or 4 tablespoons of pure nuoc mam or more to taste

For the service :

  • 400 g rump steak
  • 400-500 g rice paste for the phở
  • 1/2 bunch of Thai basil
  • 10 stems of Vietnamese coriander
  • 6 stems of spring onion
  • 1 onion
  • 1 lime
  • (optional) Small fresh red chillies
  • Hot sauce
  • Large flared soup bowls
  • Chopsticks and spoons
  • Cups for the sauce
cooking course for Vietnamese soup
cooking course for Vietnamese soup

Preparation of Vietnamese soup:

The previous day:

  • Put 3 litres of water and bring to the boil in the pot.
  • Put the marrow bones in and cook for 20 minutes on a low heat. Remove, rinse and set aside.
  • Put the rib steak and the shank cut into large 5 cm pieces into the boiling water. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, remove and set aside.
  • Skim off the fat with a ladle and discard. Clean the pot.
  • In the same pot, put all the marrow bones and beef in 5-6 litres of cold water. Cook over high heat until boiling, then reduce to medium-low heat and hold for 1 hour.
  • During this time, roast the cleaned unpeeled ginger and whole peeled onions, one of which has been studded with cloves, directly on the fire.
  • Fry the other spices for a few minutes.
  • After the bones and meat are cooked, add the grilled ginger (unpeeled), whole onions, and all the spices to the stock. Keep the stock at a low simmer and simmer for another 2 hours. Do not cover.
  • After 2 hours of gentle cooking, remove only the beef (shank and rib-eye, leaving the bone in the broth), cool and chill overnight. Add 1 or 2 litres of hot water (depending on the reduction of the stock) to the stock and continue cooking on a low heat for 2 hours. Stop cooking. Allow the stock to cool in the pot. Then chill overnight.

D-Day:

  • One hour before serving, remove the stock pot from the refrigerator. A layer of fat will have congealed on the surface of the broth with the cold overnight. Degrease the broth by skimming off the fat and discarding it in the garbage.
  • Return the fat-free broth with the bones, onions, ginger and spices to the heat, bring to a gentle boil and simmer for another hour.
  • During this time, prepare the bowls and serve:
  • Soak the rice noodles in water 30 minutes before serving. Cook the rice noodles in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes. Drain under cold water to prevent the pasta from sticking. Then drain completely again. Put the pasta in each bowl.
  • Remove the cooked beef and rump from the refrigerator. Cut the meat into thin slices. Cut the rump into thin strips and set aside for serving.
  • Wash the herbs and chives and chop them.  Cut the onion into thin slices, the lime into 8 half quarters and the chillies on the bias. Set aside.
  • In a dish or large plate, garnish with a few sprigs of mint, Thai basil, Chinese coriander, the lime halves and the red pepper.
  • Place a few strips of cooked beef in each bowl of noodles. Reheat by basting with a few tablespoons of hot broth and then pour back into the pot. Sprinkle with chopped chives and a few thin slices of onion. Finish by placing a few slices of raw rump steak flat on top.
  • On a high heat, re-season the stock with nuoc mam (if necessary) and bring to the boil. Pour the hot broth into each bowl, making sure to baste the raw meat. Sprinkle with chopped herbs and serve immediately.
  • Each guest squeezes a little lime into their bowl of phở.  The herbs are available for anyone who wishes to add more to their phở soup.

A simpler variation: Pho with chicken on video:

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