Vietnamese Phở Ba Serves 4
Ingredients
-200g sliced beef fillet
-400g of bone or chunk beef (for the stock)
-200g of rice noodles (glass noodles)
-100g of bean sprouts
-1 litre of water
-1/2 teaspoon of chilli paste (any will do, but I have a pretty dec recipe for this too)
-4 teaspoons of vegetable stock powder
-1 teaspoon of sugar
-4 star anise
-1 teaspoon of dried coriander or dried basil leaves or cinnamon stick
-2 inches of ginger crushed
-1/2 tablespoon of roasted crushed peanuts
-4 shallots
-1 tablespoon of vegetable oil
-2 tablespoons of lime juice
-2 tablespoons of fresh mint, coriander, basil (for garnish)
Method
Step 1: Making the stock
Add beef chunk or bones in a large pot with 2 teaspoons of the stock powder, 1/2 teaspoon of the sugar, ginger, dried coriander leaves (or basil or cinnamon), star anise, shallots and boiling water. Cook for 20 mins on high heat or simmer for an hour.
Step 2:
Marinate sliced beef fillet with chilli paste, 2 teaspoons of stock powder and a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar for a minimum of 30 minutes (maximum of 2 hours).
Step 3:
Place bean sprouts in each serving bowl. Soften rice noodles in boiling water for 20 seconds, drain then add on top the bean sprouts in the bowl.
Step 4:
Heat oil to medium hot, add marinated beef and cook for two minutes until the colour changes (or alternately you can just blanch the raw beef in in the broth once served, which is more commonly done in Vietnam and what I also prefer) then add on top of the noodles in the bowl.
Step 5:
When ready to eat add the strained broth to the serving bowl. Garnish with mint, coriander, basil, lemon juice and peanuts.
This is just your basic recipe, but it still tastes great. It's pretty open to interpretation and preference. I usually add a few vegies into the stock too, just stuff like carrots, bok choy and onions, that sort of thing. I've also chucked in a few more spices too, like coriander seeds or cloves. And obviously the longer you simmer the stock for the more flavoursome it'll be.