Pho with beef fillet – beef broth from Vietnam

Ingredients for 10 servings:

• 1 kg beef marrow bones and sand bones
• 1 kg beef soup meat
• 50 g fresh ginger
• 1 large onion(s)
• 5 garlic cloves
• 1 carrot(s)
• 1 leek(s)
• 1 chili pepper(s), fresh
• 1 tbsp peppercorns
• ½ tsp allspice berries
• 1 piece(s) mace
• 1 cinnamon stick(s)
• 2 star anise
• 2 cloves
• 5 tbsp fish sauce, Vietnamese (Nuoc Mam)
• 25 g rice noodles
• Sesame oil, a few drops
• 30 g beef fillet(s) in very thin slices
• 1 spring onion(s)
• 2 lettuce leaves
• some coriander leaves
• 1 carrot(s)
• 1 tbsp soybean sprouts
• 2 cucumber slices
• 1 lime slice(s), halved
• 1 chili pepper(s), fresh
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 spring onion(s)
• some coriander leaves
• 5 tbsp fish sauce, Vietnamese (Nuoc Mam)
• 5 tbsp lime juice
• some sugar

Instructions

Working time approx. 1 hour; Rest time approx. 12 hours; Cooking/baking time approx. 6 hours; Total time approx. 19 hours

The broth must cook for at least 6 hours, then stand cold overnight

The broth must be made the day before. To do this, place the marrow bones and the broth in the bottom of a large pot. Slice the ginger, quarter the onion with the skin on, press the garlic cloves with the skin on, and roughly chop the carrot and leek. Add everything to the pot along with the spices. Now pour in 3 to 4 liters of cold water and slowly bring everything to a boil without a lid. As soon as the foam that initially formed on the surface has disappeared, put the lid on and let the broth simmer rather than boil for 4 to 6 hours over low heat. This is the only way to prevent it from becoming cloudy. Then remove the vegetables and meat from the broth, pour the broth through a fine sieve into a bowl, and let it cool. Refrigerate overnight so that the fat hardens. The broth can be removed from the bones and used for something like a Tyrolean Gröstl. Everything else can be discarded. If the fat on the broth has hardened the next day, carefully remove it. Heat the rest of the broth. To serve, pour boiling water over the rice noodles and set aside for 30 minutes to soak. Finely slice the spring onions, use a vegetable peeler to finely slice the carrot, then chop it into small pieces. Allow about 3 carrot slices per person. Place the rice noodles in a deep plate. Arrange all the other ingredients on top. Finally, pour the hot broth over everything. For seasoning, serve with the fish sauce dip. Finely slice the chili pepper, crush the garlic cloves, and finely slice the spring onion. Mix everything together with the fish sauce and lime juice, and season with coriander and sugar.