Pho noodle soup from Vietnam

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 500 g beef
• 2 shin(s)
• 2 onions
• 1 ginger
• 40 ml fish sauce
• 1 piece(s) of rock sugar
• 500 g noodles (rice noodles)
• 1 pack of tofu
• 500 g soy sprouts
• 1 large lemon(s)
• 1 handful of basil
• 1 handful of mint
• 1 handful of coriander
• 1 chili pepper (jalapeño)
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tsp coriander
• 6 cloves
• 2 stalk(s) cinnamon
• 1 cardamom
• 6 star anise
• 1 tsp fennel

Instructions

Working time approx. 45 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 3 hours 30 minutes; Total time approx. 4 hours 15 minutes

Boil the bones in a large pot for about 5 minutes and then drain into a sieve. Rinse the bones and the pot and set aside for later. Split the ginger and quarter the onions (leave the skin on). Roast them on a baking sheet on the top rack at 200°C for 10-15 minutes until browned on all sides. Turn them with tongs occasionally. Save these for later. Add the spices coriander, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, star anise, and fennel to a pan and fry briefly for 5 minutes. Then place them in a tea strainer, tea strainer, or similar and tie or seal it. Now take the pot with the bones and pour in about 3 liters of water and bring to a boil. After a while, fat will form on the surface of the water. Remove this with a spoon or a very fine sieve. Then add the fish sauce, salt, piece of rock sugar, beef, seasoning bag, ginger, and onions to the pot, cover, and simmer over medium heat for 1 1/2 hours. Then remove only the meat and place it on a plate, covered with foil. Simmer the remaining liquid for another hour and 10 minutes, then add the tofu to the water in one piece. Simmer for another 20 minutes over medium-low heat. Remove the tofu and set it aside. Remove any remaining large pieces with a perforated spoon and pour the broth through a fine sieve into a clean pot or bowl. Remove any fat that floats to the surface with a spoon or a very fine sieve. Alternatively, you can refrigerate the broth in a Tupperware container overnight so that all the fat settles to the surface. This can then be easily removed with a spoon. Cook the noodles in a separate pot according to the package instructions and drain well. Then divide these between 4 large soup bowls. If you like, you can first transfer the noodles to smaller bowls and let them stand for 10 minutes, thereby pressing them into a hemisphere shape and then placing them in the soup bowls. This is only for the appearance. Cut the meat and tofu into equal-sized strips and divide them between the soup bowls. Wash the bean sprouts and place a handful next to the noodles. Wash and quarter the lemon and place this in each bowl as well. Wash the coriander leaves and basil, chop them into small pieces, mix them together and add a little to each bowl next to the noodles. Wash and slice the jalapeños and add 2-3 pieces, depending on your taste. Wash the mint leaves and place 3-4 leaves in the bowl. Now slowly fill each soup bowl with the broth.