FOODQT: Pho Bo (beef noodle soup)

My daughter is leaving to six grade camp. As part of her last meals from home, she requested Pho, because she loves it! Have you this delicious Vietnamese soup? It's just noodles, meat, chives, cilantro, bean sprouts, hoisin sauce, in a clear ginger-meat broth. 

Would you love to make it? Excellent, it's so easy. I always thought it would be so complicated because of array of spices and meat. But, on my shopping venture to Vien-Dong, a Vietnamese Super Market. I found some helpful things. 

Supplies: 

1 pound of Eye-Round Beef (cut super thin for soup)

1-2 pounds of Ox tails 

1 bunch of green onions, cilantro

1-2 jalapenos chiles *optional*

1 package of rice noodles, you preference on dry or fresh

Hoisin Sauce

Sriracha Hot Sauce

Lime

Thai Basil *optional*

2 Stock Pots

Colander

1 mesh sift

Pho Broth bullion cube 

Pho Bo Spice Package

1 yellow onions, sliced-thin, separated into 2 piles

You want to start boiling your ox-tails as soon as possible. This is the first thing to do. You want to boil between 2-2/12 hrs. I used a pressure cooker and boil for 1 hr and they were super soft and ready to go. I dropped one bullion cube in the water and 1 pile of onion in the pot. 

In another stock pot, you want to use 1 cube of Pho bullion cube, and the other pile of onion. Bring to boil with spice packages. I used a wooden skewer to hang my spice package on top of the pot. DO NOT take out spices. 

So, to be clear there are 2 pots, cooking at the same time. The oxtails in one pot and the pho spices in another. 

After, the oxtails have soften, take out oxtails and rinse off with hot water. add to spice broth. Use the mesh to do the same for ox-tail broth, add it to spice pot.  The secret to Pho, is to have a clear broth when served, if you don't prefer to do this step, it's ok you don't have to. It's just for presentation. 

Turn up, Pho broth to a roiling boil. After you use the mesh to drop noodles into pho broth. DO NOT LET THEM GO.  Just keep noodles into the broth, to soften (for fresh noodles 5-15 seconds, for dry noodles, 1 minute at least)

Drop the eye-round into the mesh and do the same, you cook your meat using the hot soup, a little bit at a time to get the desired wellness of the meat. 

To Garnish:

Using Limes, bean sprouts, green onions, sriracha, hoisin sauce, thai basil, cilantro to taste. 

Enjoy everyday or on rainy days! =)