I just made pho from scratch, and by golly, it were good!

Cafe Society
#1

I’ve previously made pho bo with purchased stock, and once before tried making it from scratch but it was an abject failure.

But today I got it right!! Goddamn it was good. Youse can all bow before my magnificence if you like. :smiley:

Got some really meaty chuck bones on special at the supermarket this morning. Boiled them up quickly, discarded the water and then re-boiled them with:

onions
garlic, lots
ginger, fresh and lots
coriander seeds
star anise
cloves
cinnamon
fish sauce
palm sugar

After four hours, I pulled the bones out and removed all the meat. Chilled the broth to remove the fat, then bunged it back on the stove with the meat added, plus spring onions, extra coriander (cilantro), bok choy AND some pork meatballs I’d made earlier.

Served with noodles, bean shoots, Vietnamese mint and chilis. OMG…

Damned fine fare, and there’s enough broth left to feed 3 adults for the next week…with oodles of noodles.

#2

What’s the reasoning behind the first boil and throwing out the water produced by it?

I’ve never done this, but I’ve also always used bones that were previously cooked along with the rest of the meat. Is the first boil required to cook them? And why isn’t the water from that usable?

It does sound quite good after that point, though. I’ve wanted to try pho before.

BTW, is there anything you use the fat for, or do you just discard it?

#3

You know the cloudy foamy stuff that floats on the surface when you make stock? The first brief boil is to get rid of most of that. Ideally you wash the pot and rinse the meat real good before the next cook.