23 Reviews of Vietnamese beef and rice noodle soup (pho)

From: Puffnstuff

On May 5, 2009

Awesome recipe. Had all spices except Fennel and Clove, keep forgetting to get some, but still tasted spot on. Got 1lb of Star Anise off Ebay. I increased to 20 anise, added anise and the cinnamon into a brown coffee filter for easy discard instead of cheesecloth, used 2 filters, tied it off at the top. I like mine beefy tasting, added beef bullion at the 5th hour, towards the end, adjust to taste. Used beef marrow leg bones. Cut the onion in 4, faster cooking, it breaks up if you do this, but I like onion. Also, unless you have really tender beef, I just put my beef right into the pot and let it simmer for the 5 hours, very tender even if it was beef butt. Overall, tasted better than restaurant and was cheaper! Thanks

From: Tuan

On May 23, 2003

For those of you who do not know what "Pho" is. "Pho" is the Vietnamese rice noodle soup. It is usually prepared with beef or chicken. "Pho" can be eaten throughout the day. Having a well prepared bowl of "pho" on a rainy and cold day is really satify your appetite. Gathering the ingredients and preparing the broth take at least 6-8 hours. I guess any good meal would take about that long. However, how many of us have that much time to prepare a good meal not to mention the difficulty? I guess not too many. There are various "Pho" soup bases in the markets. However, there is only one worth to mention. It is manufacture by Quoc Viet Foods. The website is www.quocviet.com. It is very easy to make. For example, to prepare beef "Pho." Use one jar of Beef Flavored "Pho" Soup Base with one peeled onion, couple slices of ginger, a bag of meatball (about 15 meatballs) and 2 gallon of water. Bring to boil for about 10-15 minutes and you will have a pot of Beef "Pho" broth ready to use. It is for 15-20 servings. You can split the soup base in half and save the other for later, if you dont that many people. All the required spices are packed in the filter bags and included in the soup base jar. Try it, it will save you time and you will enjoy it in the comfort of your house.

From: jimnyo

On May 11, 2005

OMG!! this is SOOOO good. i live in hawaii, where there's plenty of authentic pho. but i just bought this grass-fed beef and the cut said "beef knuckle". what am i supposed to make with that? i didn't even know cows had knuckles. anyway, apparently it's the perfect cut for pho. i even had to cheat and take some shortcuts and it was still fantastic! first of all, oxtail was kind of expensive, so i only used 2 lbs. i was worried it would taste diluted, but no problem! second, i didn't have anise and fennel, so instead of those, and the cinnamon and cloves, i substituted 1/2 t. of chinese five spice powder (which is those 4 spices, plus pepper). about an hour into simmering, i tasted the broth and it was super salty, so i added 2 c. of water. i think next time i'd start w/1 T. of salt and then add more later if needed. i simmered about 4 hours and it tasted great, so i quit while i was ahead. i didn't do the extra step of cutting off the meat b/c i was paranoid about mad cow, but of course, it's pointless b/c the bones would be the real problem, but it's just the psychological fallacy that maybe i lessen my chances--whatever. but this soup is so good it's worth risking it! i also didn't do the extra step of soaking the noodles. the package just said to throw them in boiling water for 6-8 mins., so i cooked them til al dente, drained w/cold water and then when i was ready to eat, threw them in the soup and they were perfect. it really isn't a hard recipe. you just have to be patient to wait for it to cook--that's the hardest part!

From: Meccatx

On Mar 17, 2006

Thank you, Kevin, for posting this recipe. This was my first attempt at pho, a dish I enjoy each time I make the 50 mile trip from my farm to a nearby city. I had to use a combination of soup bones and beef short ribs for making the broth, but it was still rich and fragrant. I wasn't sure about the flavor when I first sampled it straight from the pot, however once I added the hoisin, lime and cilantro in the bowl, it was right on the mark. My young daughter and nephew immediately broke out the chopsticks and gobbled it up.

From: MaMa's Apprentice

On Jan 23, 2007

This was fantastic! My mother-in-law is Thai and she makes this soup every time that she comes to visit but I crave it more than 2 times a year so I decided to try it out myself! Instead of oxtails I used beef ribs and I left out the cinnamon and fennel. The only other change I made was to add celery. (My MIL says the leaves add lots of flavor.) We served it up with beef meatballs with tendon (from the asian store), shredded beef from the ribs, rice noodles, green onions, cilantro, basil, mint, sugar, lime, fish sauce, sriracha, hoisin sauce, bean sprouts and to make it truly Thai- ground peanuts. My hubby says it was right up there with his mom's. I will make this again!

From: ~what the pho?~(:

On Dec 31, 2007

This Pho recipe is really good. I am Vietnamese and my mom cooks this almost every week! Thanks for the recipe because I used it to surprise my mom one day when she came home from work, not worrying to cook dinner. The only thing I changed was used 5 star anises instead of 10. Thanks again! If I could, I would rate this 6 stars... But my mom's pho is still the best!

From: Bonny4

On Apr 18, 2004

This recipe is excellent and very authentic tasting. The only thing I found a little difficult was gathering all the spices. This was resolved by purchasing a premade package with all the spices (except bay leaves) & a cheesecloth bag for $1.89. It is called Gia Vi Nau Pho Bac Que Huong! I highly recommend it. Although some have mentioned that this recipe is time consuming I assure you it is well worth it. I recommend making a double batch & freezing half or I even freeze individual servings.

From: Chef #665786

On Nov 25, 2007

This is such a great recipe for pho. It is much heavier in flavor than the pho i get at my local restaurant but just as good. My father did not believe that i made it and thought i bought it at mott street in chinatown. i did not simmer for the entire time (around 5 to 6 hours) but the flavor was not compromised. The most difficult part was searching for the ingredients as I had to go to three different stores for them. Love it-it will be my go to soup and I plan on having this in my fridge/freezer all the time.

From: Chef #341135

On Sep 28, 2008

10+ stars for this recipe I love Pho & This recipe is so wonderful Very Easy & i will make it again soon Thank you Kevin young

From: Kevin Young

On Sep 9, 2002

i love pho alot. Thank you for the review, however in the last sentence, you will see sriracha listed. As far as plum sauce, I believe that is a preference thing between that and hoisin, I prefer hoisin. Thanks again though.