How to Make Pho

Last Updated: November 19, 2021 References

Pho is a hearty Vietnamese soup. It's become a common staple in the West, and many cities have lots of pho restaurants you can check out for a cheap and tasty meal. Even if it's usually accessible and inexpensive to eat out, it's perfectly possible to make pho from home as well. Once you get the hang of making it, you'll be able to customize the dish to your own liking.

Ingredients

Makes one pot

5 pounds beef knuckle, with meat
2 pounds beef oxtail
1 white (daikon) radish, sliced
2 onions, chopped
1 1/2 pounds dried flat rice noodles
1/2 pound frozen beef sirloin
Sriracha
Hoisin sauce
Thinly sliced onion
Chopped fresh coriander
Bean sprouts (mung beans
Sweet Thai basil
Thinly sliced green onion
Limes, quartered
2 ounces whole star anise pods
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1 slice fresh ginger root
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon fish sauce

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Readying the Meat

1
Collect beef bones. Although your pho will get a lot of its flavour from the ingredients you throw into it while cooking, it's a good idea to rely on beef bones for the majority. A lot of beef flavour sinks into bone marrow, making bones a perfect tool for creating hearty broths. It's recommended you fill up a pot with water and put in the bones as early as you can. A broth needs at least 6 hours simmering to complete, and you'll want to replace the bones with meat ingredients at an earlier stage.
- On the other hand, you can buy a storebought beef stock for the purpose of your broth. It won't have the same hearty, homemade quality to it, but you'll be able to make the soup in a fraction of the time.^{[1]
  X
  Research source}
2
Gather your beef parts. One of the things that turns off some Western diners to pho is the variety of different beef types in the soup. Ingredients like tendon and bone marrow may seem like weird addition, but they soak in the broth flavour very well and can be recommended as a result. Beef is the standard meat used in pho. Standard rare beef chunks are fine, but the less common pieces can typically be purchased at a butcher's shop.^{[2]
X
Research source}
- Beef chuck is a common purchase for pho, with lots of fat to go in the soup. Brisket is a flavourful and lighter alternative to chuck.
- Oxtail and cow shin are great for pho. The bone marrow has lots of gelatin and combines with the broth well. Gelatin is incredibly nutritious and will add to the feeling of warmth you get after eating pho.
- Beef flank is a lean type of beef. Because it doesn't taste as good once it's been simmered for a long time, it's recommended you place rare thin strips of it in once the dish is finally being served.
- Chicken isn't recommended as part of a pho soup. It doesn't cook as well in the broth. However, versions of pho do exist with chicken and even pork, so if it sounds like something you might prefer, you should give it a try.^{[3]
  X
  Research source}
Advertisement
3
Cut your meat into pieces. If you're buying pieces of meat directly from a butcher's store, you may need to cut the beef into chunks for the pho. The chunks should be roughly bite-sized. If you have any doubts, try placing them on a spoon to see whether you need to cut them any further. You can add as much or as little
- The pieces should be smaller rather than larger in order to ensure they're properly cooked within the broth.
4
Cook your beef. Cooking beef before adding it to the broth is actually optional. Although it's necessary if you're using a premade beef stock, the beef will cook when it's simmering in the broth. If you're trying to make pho in a faster time, it's a good idea to fry up your meat. Cook it until the meat is pink. Don't cook the meat beyond rareness. If you do, you'll lose the potential for tenderness that many people find so appealing about pho.
- Cook the beef in a pan on high heat. Add some canola oil to the pan and let it heat for 30 seconds before you add the beef onto the pan. Let the beef cook on both sides by turning it over. Try to get both sides of each piece cooked evenly. Though you can cook it however you'd like, it's recommended to leave the beef rare. The rest of it can be cooked in the pho broth itself.
- In order for the beef to cook naturally in the soup, you should set at least 6 hours aside. If there's any doubt, it's probably a better idea to cook your meat to rareness.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Preparing the Broth and Noodles

1
Simmer a pot of water in beef bones. Beef bones are where you'll get the distinctive broth taste. It's recommended that you let the broth simmer for 3 hours with the beef bones in the soup. From there, the bones should have left their flavour in the broth, and you can replace the bones with the edible beef ingredients.
- Add salt to your pot to get a more striking taste.
2
Replace the beef bones with the beef ingredients. Your beef parts should be added three hours after you first put the bones in the broth. From there, the soup should be left to simmer for an additional 3 hours. It's recommended you take out the bones before adding the rest as it can be difficult to extract the bones once the pot is filled.
3
Throw charred onions and ginger into the mix.^{[4]
X
Research source} Onions and ginger help to give the pho that pleasant smokiness. Charred onions have the best effect. Take a pair of tongs and use them to hold onions over a gas-powered stove. From there, chop them up into thin slices and add them to the pho. You will definitely notice the improvement to your broth.
- Depending on how much you want the charred onions to inform the broth's taste, you can either add them early on with the beef ingredients, or you can serve it after adding the noodles as a garnish. For the sake of smokiness, it's recommended you add them with the beef.^{[5]
  X
  Research source}
4
Boil rice noodles. In a separate saucepan, bring water to a boil. From there, take a handful of rice noodles and throw them in. Depending on the thickness of the noodles you're using, it can take up to five minutes for the noodles to properly cook.^{[6]
X
Research source} Once the noodles are sufficiently soft, strain them out of the second saucepan and add them to your main pho pot.
- To preserve their form, it's recommended you try blanching the noodles, taking them quickly from boiling to cold water as a way to quickly halt the cooking process. Let the dry noodles into a boil for 10-20 seconds until they have lost their stiffness, then immediately put them under cold water. This will ensure they are cooked properly, but will stop the cooking before they get soggy.
5
Add vegetables. If you're making your own pho, you can practically add whatever vegetables you like into the broth. Because vegetables tamper with the broth's flavour, they should be steamed and added to the broth after it's finished cooking.^{[7]
X
Research source} Carrots and broccoli are most recommended, as they're spoon-sized and compliment the taste of the broth.^{[8]
X
Research source} Carrots are best cut into coin-thin slices so that they best soak up the flavour of the soup.
- Get the vegetables to a soft tenderness before adding. They will get softer still once added to the hot broth. The texture shouldn't be resistant to the teeth at all, but the vegetables should retain enough strength to keep their form.
6
Top with spices.^{[9]
X
Research source} A great cook always tries to make his dish great on the eyes as much as the taste buds. Aromatic spices help improve the taste of the pho, but they're also great for adding that visual touch once the basics have been taken care of. Sprinkle cilantro and green onion atop your soup once the broth and main ingredients are ready for eating.
- Prepackaged pho spice blends are available, but they aren't recommended if you want the best-tasting pho.^{[10]
  X
  Research source}

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Serving Your Pho

1
Serve with bean sprouts and lime wedges.^{[11]
X
Research source} The constant friend of pho has always been bean sprouts. Bean sprouts are a light and tasty thing to eat alongside your main course. Although you should serve them on a separate plate, the sprouts can be added to the broth once your meat and noodles begin to run out. Lime wedges are a nice touch as well, whether for adding tang to the broth or for fitting in a beverage.
- Storebought bean sprouts go bad within a couple of days, so it's a good idea to eat them shortly after they're purchased.
2
Include sriracha and hoisin sauce. Most pho restaurants include a few spicy sauces to sweeten the deal. Whether you want to add these to the broth as you're making it or keep them at hand when you eat it is your decision. Generally speaking, these sauces are great to have when it comes time to eat. Rather than adding them from the start, you should keep them handy to calibrate the taste to your liking.
- Don't rely on spicy sauces to mask a weak broth. A top-notch pho won't need any sriracha to be delicious.^{[12]
  X
  Research source}
3
Freeze excess portions.^{[13]
X
Research source} Pho can be fairly time-consuming to make, so it's a good idea to maximize your efficiency and make a lot at a time. Once your original meal is finished with, store the rest of the pho in tupperware containers and keep it sealed in the freezer until it's time to eat again. Pho can be reheated in the microwave or stovetop.
- Pho can be frozen healthily for 3 months or kept in the fridge for 5 days.^{[14]
  X
  Research source}
4
Customize your recipe in the future. The great thing about pho is that you can customize it to your liking once you have the basic broth and noodles ready.^{[15]
X
Research source} Pho isn't a hard meal to make once you have the ingredients and process down, so it makes sense to play around with the recipe. Do you like extra beef or spice? Make it happen. A big part of the enjoyment in home cooking is the freedom to choose and experiment.
- If you've been to many pho restaurants before, you'll know a big thing about pho recipes are the portions and kinds of meat they use in the broth. Simply changing up the portions of one meat in exchange for another can change the experience of the meal.

Expert Q&A

Question

What makes a good pho?

Nguyen Huyen Trang
Native Vietnamese Speaker
Nguyen Huyen Trang is a native Vietnamese Speaker, translator and international project manager.

Nguyen Huyen Trang

Native Vietnamese Speaker

Expert Answer

The most crucial ingredient in any Pho recipe is beef bones. The flavor isn't quite right without them.
Question

How long does it take to cook?

Community Answer

To simmer the broth, it takes about three hours. Then, with beef bones in it, it takes six to eight.

Warnings

Every pho pun in the book has been thought up and overused already. Don't fall into the trap of ruining your meal with trite humour!

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 4 Not Helpful 5
Make sure the soup is hot enough to let the beef cook. If the meat is undercooked, you run the risk of getting violently ill.

⧼thumbs_response⧽
Helpful 3 Not Helpful 3