Beef Pho

A take on southern Vietnamese pho, this is a comforting bowl of rich, spiced beef broth ladled over rice noodles and thinly sliced beef. Serve it with hoisin sauce, sriracha sauce, green onion, cilantro, bean sprouts, basil, and lime.

What Is Pho?

Many people get hooked on Vietnamese food after trying pho — a heady bowl of spiced broth with flat, tangly rice noodles, a featured protein topping of your choice, green onions, and herbs. Each pho cook has their own formula for seasoning and crafting the broth and toppings.

Diners get to personalize their pho noodle soup at the table by adding various kinds of condiments, herbs, and sometimes bean sprouts too. It’s a quintessential have-it-your-way dish. Beef pho (pho bo) is most common but there are many kinds of pho. 

Pho History

Pho got its start in northern Vietnam around the beginning of the twentieth century. The exact circumstances are unclear, but Vietnam’s signature noodle soup resulted from cultures rubbing shoulders. There are many theories about the original pho but one good explanation points to a glut of beef parts – bones, offal, and tough cuts leftover from French colonialists slaughtering cows for their tender steaks. Locals were enjoying a water buffalo-based rice vermicelli noodle soup.

Street vendors began tweaking their water buffalo soup by using beef and changing the rice noodles from round ones to the flat ones you see today. Such old-school pho with delicate broth, rice noodles, and thin slices of cooked beef is wonderful but over time, vendors and diners dolled things up with lots of add-ins (herbs, condiments, vegetables!). Cue slices of raw beef. And when beef wasn’t available, people made pho with chicken. From there, cooks got creative and now there are pho banh mi, cocktails, dumplings, cookbooks, and more!

Beef Pho Ingredients

 The general framework for beef pho includes these ingredients:

• Beef bones and tough beef cuts: Beef pho broth usually involves leg and knuckle bones which lend beefy flavor and fat. Tough beef cuts may include oxtail (as Lett101 calls for in this recipe), which contributes its collagen for a rich mouthfeel; beef brisket, chuck, or other kinds of stewy cuts may be substituted, if you prefer boneless meat. Use what fits into your budget and is freshest at the store. 
• Flat rice noodles: These are similar to the ones used for pad Thai. They may be labeled banh pho at the supermarket or Asian grocer. Dried banh pho last a long time in the cupboard.
• Aromatics: Ginger, onion (or shallot) lend sweet-spicy zip and a little pungent note too. 
• Spices: The spicing varies from cook to cook. For beef pho, there is typically star anise, cinnamon/cassia sticks, and clove. Here, Lett101 adds peppercorns for a pungent note. Regardless, make sure you use star anise with robust points so your broth gets lots of its savor. Each star anise has 8 points. It is okay to use broken ones. 
• Daikon: Adding daikon naturally adds earthy sweetness to the broth. Substitute turnip if you like.
• Salt, sugar, and fish sauce: These are the foundational pho seasonings. For the sugar, Chinese yellow rock sugar is often used for southern Vietnamese-style pho broth; if you don’t have it, use granulated sugar (organic has a deeper flavor than white granulated sugar). A sweetener helps to round out pho broth flavor. Fish sauce, sold at many supermarkets and Asian markets, adds umami savoriness to the broth. 
• Steak: Choose a tender cut of steak. Splurge on marbled meat and slice it thin so it will be cooked quickly by the hot broth. If you do not like raw-ish meat, omit it and focus on the cooked beef!
  

How to Make this Beef Pho Recipe

In Lett101’s recipe, the beef pho broth is simmered in two phases. Charring onion and ginger slightly turns their harshness into sweetness, which is then extracted in the simmering process. After straining and chilling, the fat congeals and is removed. Then the broth is reheated, bowls are assembled with noodles and thinly sliced steak, and the broth is ladled into the bowls to heat things through and cook off the raw beef. 

How to Serve Beef Pho

With add-ins such as bean sprouts, pho can be a one-dish meal. But, if you want to build a menu around it, include a light salad. Get fancy by leading off with goi cuon rice paper rolls. 

How to Store Beef Pho

Pho is built for make ahead cooking. Once the broth is made (after step 3), it can sit in the fridge for about 3 days or frozen for 3 months. Bring it to room temperature, reheat, and assemble bowls! 

Can You Freeze Beef Pho?

Only freeze the broth and any cooked meat. Use airtight containers or zip-top bags. Pho rice noodles cannot be frozen. 

Allrecipes Community Tips and Praise

"This recipe is incredible," raves kerapixi. "It tastes just as amazing as my favorite restaurants! It’s well worth the time and money. I recommend doing the broth the night before, the spices and flavors taste even better the next day!"

"Best recipe for pho I've ever tried," says cinderelly007. "I omit the daikon, but this broth is excellent! TIP for slicing the beef: Put it in the freezer until it's partially frozen (or thaw it until it's still partly frozen). This allows you to slice it very thinly because it's firmer and sturdier."

Editorial contributions by Andrea Nguyen