Pho Bo
Real pho broth simmers for half a day, and we respect that deeply from a safe distance. This is the honest weeknight version: good beef stock, charred aromatics, and paper-thin steak that cooks in the bowl.
- Total time
- 18 min
- Serves
- 2
- Effort
- Medium
What you need
Written for 2 — nudge the counter and the numbers follow.
0 of 9 in the basket.
How you make it
Char the onion and ginger cut-side down in a dry pan over high heat for 4 minutes until blackened in patches - this is where the smoky depth comes from.
Add the stock, star anise, cinnamon, fish sauce and sugar, bring to a boil, then simmer at a bare bubble for 10 minutes and fish out the aromatics.
Meanwhile soak the rice noodles in just-boiled water for 6 to 8 minutes until floppy but still springy, then drain.
Freeze the sirloin for 10 minutes before slicing if you can - it makes wafer-thin slices far easier.
Divide noodles between two deep bowls, lay the raw beef slices over the top, and ladle the broth over at a full rolling boil so the beef turns from red to opaque as it hits.
Top with bean sprouts, basil, chilli and a hard squeeze of lime. If you prefer your beef fully cooked through, slide the slices into the boiling pot for 60 seconds first.
Read all that and thought “absolutely not”?
Completely fair. Pho Bo is sitting in the Vietnamese kitchen right now, it costs nothing, and it will never arrive.
Order it insteadMore from the Vietnamese kitchen
Clear broth, loud herbs, immediate calm.