Beef Pho

Pho is my husband's favorite dish, which makes it super intimidating. Mostly because I love when he loves the food I make. And who wants to screw up the dish your husband grew up eating and you only tried for the first time in your twenties? So I've shied away from attempting to make it for a long time, plus some of my in-laws make awesome bowls of Pho themselves so I haven't needed to really step up to the plate.  

Then I saw a recipe for a slow-cooker Pho on a Lucky Peach blog post. Sold! Something in me just needed to make this. It didn't hurt that when I mentioned I would be making it to my 4 year old, he started jumping up and down. This kid loves him some Pho.

I took this recipe and tweaked it based on some things I've learned from my husband's family about the dish and just having been around the ingredients for the past ten years or so. Enjoy!

Pho Tai (Beef Noodle Soup)

adapted from Lucky Peach

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 large yellow onion, sliced into ½” rounds
• 1 piece (2") fresh ginger, peeled and halved lengthwise
• 1 t vegetable oil
• 2 lbs chuck short ribs
• 1 lb sirloin, sliced very thin
• kosher salt for sprinkling
• 2 whole star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick (3")
• 4 whole cloves
• 8 C beef broth (low-sodium)
• 1-2 small pieces rock candy
• 1–2 T fish sauce
• flat rice noodles (banh pho noodles) I used rice vermicelli because I was in a bind and couldn't find the correct kind locally. Definitely not as good, but you do what you can.

Garnishes:

• mung bean sprouts
• white onion, sliced thin
• scallion, sliced thin, green part only
• thai basil
• cilantro
• thai chilis, sliced in thin rounds
• lime quarters
• sriracha and hoisin sauce   

Directions:

• Heat the broiler and place sliced onions and ginger on a foil lined baking sheet. Brush foil and onion and ginger with oil. Broil until slightly charred, about 8-10 minutes.
• Season the short ribs with some salt and add to the slow cooker. Add the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, onions, ginger, and beef broth on top. 
  
• Cover and cook on high for 4 hrs. Turn off slow cooker and let meat rest for about 10 minutes. Remove the ribs and take meat off the bone. Set aside. Pour broth through a strainer into a stock pot. Discard solids. Let broth sit and skim fat from the surface. 
• Return broth to a simmer and add fish sauce and rock candy slowly, tasting until there is a good balance of salty and a slight sweetness. 
• Prepare the rice noodles according to package directions. Drain and place in bowls. 
• Slice meat into bite-size pieces. Add rib meat to the bowls with noodles. You can also add raw sirloin on top. Ladle boiling broth over meat and noodles until sirloin in cooked through. Serve with garnishes. Don't forget the lime! You'll thank me later. :) The added acidity takes the broth to the next level.
  

*This pic is of my husband's bowl.  He doesn't opt to add all the "greens".