The girlfriend cooked at a vietnamese restaurant and learned how to make it. Love the stuff.Hmmm... I know it takes some time to make, but I've never really looked into it
Here's the procedure:
- Fry up some onions/carrots/celery/ginger in a pot, set aside.
- If there's meat on your bones, sear it (maillard reaction FTW) and set it aside.
- Toast spices (star anise, fennel, peppercorns, cinnamon) in the bottom of a stock pot. You can sometimes buy "pho spice" at some asian markets, which is a bag of spices.
- Dump in veg/meat/bones and a bunch of water. Add a couple bay leaves. Break a stock of lemongrass in half and throw it in.
- Simmer for 4-5 hours. I use a pressure cooker and ~2 hours.
To serve:
- Cut the strip of fat off a striploin steak, then cut the steak into thin (1/8" or thinner) strips. I usually do this ahead of time, and the leftover steak gets seared and thrown in with the stock.
- Boil a bunch of pho noodles. Bring the stock to a boil while you're at it.
- Dump the noodles/broth in bowls, and add the beef (the hot stock will cook it).
- Serve with hoisin sauce, sriracha, bean sprouts and thai basil.