I was feeling very ambitious and decided to make Pho for the first time. I had nothing better to do, so I decided to take a stab at it.
Broth:
One large yellow onion
Piece of ginger
Salt
Rock Sugar
All kinds of herbs & spices (see pic below)
4-6 pounds of beef shank with bone
Bowl:
Pho Noodles (get the fresh ones in the refrigerator section at the asian market)
Red Onions (thinly sliced)
Scallions (green only, cut into thin rings)
Cilantro
1/2 pound raw steak (sliced VERY thin - the butcher can do this for you, or my mom freezes it a bit and slices it partly frozen)
Pho meatballs (can be bought at the store, I got these from my mom)
Garnish:
Bean sprouts
Basil
Lime wedges
Chile peppers (thinly sliced)
Broth:
1. Char the onion and ginger. If you have a grill or gas stove, use the open flame. I used my oven. After about 15 minutes in the oven, they will soften and become fragrant.
I cut my onion in half cuz it was a pretty big one. Turn them over about halfway through:
2. Parboil beef shank with bones: Boil a pot of water and place the beef shank in the boiling water to remove impurities. Let it boil vigorously for 3 minutes.
After 3 minutes you can see all the nastiness:
Dump bones and water and rinse the beef shank and bones in warm water. If you only have one large pot, wash it and bring a fresh pot of water to a boil (I used another pot).
3. Make broth: Bring fresh pot of water to a boil. While waiting for water to boil, tie herbs into a cheesecloth. Once water is boiling, add charred onion and ginger, herbs, meat, season with salt and add sugar cubes. Use ladle to skim any residue. Simmer for 2 hours.
These are the packets my mom said would be easiest for me to use, it has all the herbs and spices needed for pho broth:
Note: I cut up the ginger into 4 pieces. You might want to tie the onion in cheesecloth because the layers will unravel in the broth as it cooks through.
Once the meat is cooked to your liking (tender), remove the meat and put it into a bowl of cool water for 10-15 minutes so that the meat doesn't dry out.
Drain and separate the meat from the bone.
Meat falling off bone (yum)
Taste the broth and season as necessary. Strain broth through a strainer and into another pot.
Continue to simmer broth for 1.5-2 hours. Adding water and seasoning as needed.
Take a picture of your pet waiting (I had to):
When your broth is near ready, bring a small pot of water to boil, chop up the scallions and cilantro, thinly slice the red onion, cut the lime into wedges, and wash the bean sprouts and basil.
Meatballs (optional):
Arrange garnishes (bean sprouts, basil, lime wedges, chile pepper) on a separate plate
Assemble the bowl:
1. Place noodles into the strainer and then into the boiling water for 10 seconds.
2. Put noodles into bowl, add raw meat, meatballs, cooked meat, red onion, scallions, and cilantro into bowl.
3. Pour hot broth into bowl. The broth will cook the raw slices of meat.
Slurp away!
Note: I suppose you can get tripe and tendon and all that other stuff. I don't like that stuff, so I stick to just meat.
Remember, the proper way to eat pho is to have a small side dish of hoisin sauce and sriracha and dip the meats into the mixture.
