Pho Bo

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 kg beef bones, e.g. marrow or sand bones, oxtail
• 2 onions
• 1 piece(s) ginger, approx. 70g
• 1 ½ kg beef trimmings, e.g. shoulder and cheek
• 2 ox cheeks
• 2 cardamom pods, black
• 10 g coriander seeds
• 5 star anise
• 1 cinnamon stick(s) or cinnamon bark
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 bunch of spring onions
• 1 bunch of coriander leaves
• 1 lime(s)
• 5 Thai chili peppers (Bird’s Eye chilies)
• 400 g beef rump
• 1 bunch Thai basil
• 2 sprigs of mint
• 400 g rice noodles, 3 mm wide
• Beer, Asian e.g. “Bia Saigon” as an accompaniment to Pho

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours; Total time approx. 4 hours

Michelin-starred chef Mirko Gaul knows what should never be missing in a Pho dish – it is fish sauce, which rounds off the flavor.

For the soup base: Place the bones on a baking tray and roast at 200°C (top and bottom heat) for about 40 minutes until brown. Halve the onions and ginger and roast them cut-side down in a pan without oil until dark brown. Place everything in a pot, cover with cold water, and heat. Once the broth is boiling, add the shoulder and ox cheeks. Simmer over medium heat for about 2-2.5 hours. Once the meat is tender, remove the meat and let it cool. For the spice mix: Toast the spices together in a pan without oil over medium heat, add to the broth, and let it steep. For the garnish: Soak the rice noodles in cold water. These can be stored in cold water permanently. Finely slice the spring onions. Finely slice the Thai chili and cover with a little fish sauce in a small bowl. Finely slice the rump of beef. Thinly slice the shoulder of beef and ox cheek. To serve: Cook rice noodles in salted water for about 10-15 seconds until tender. Divide among bowls. Cook rump in salted water for about 30 seconds and divide among the bowls. Heat shoulder and ox cheek in salted water for about 15 seconds and divide among them. Then fill the bowls with broth and add garnishes (herbs, chili, leeks) as desired. Add a few squeezes of lime juice and season with fish sauce to taste. Serve with an Asian beer, such as “Bia Saigon.”