Beef and Noodle Soup

Ingredients (serves 6)

1kg beef bones
3L (12 cups) cold water
2 brown onions, chopped
5cm piece ginger, peeled, sliced
5 whole star anise
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp black peppercorns
5 whole cloves
1 tbs coriander seeds
2 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs lime juice
100g thick rice noodles
1 (about 200g) beef fillet steak, thinly sliced
2 cups (110g) bean sprouts
3 green onions, trimmed, thinly sliced diagonally
2 red birdseye chillies, thinly sliced
1/2 cup mint leaves
1/2 cup coriander leaves
Lime wedges, to serve

Method

Place the beef bones, water, onion, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, peppercorns, cloves and coriander seeds in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to very low and cook, skimming surface occasionally of any fat with a metal spoon, for 3 hours or until liquid reduces by half. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. Strain through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan. Remove and reserve any meat from the bones and discard remaining solids.
Place the soup over high heat and bring to a simmer. Add the fish sauce and lime juice and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt, pepper, fish sauce and lime juice.
Meanwhile, place the noodles in a large heatproof bowl and pour over plenty of boiling water. Set aside for 5 minutes to soak. Drain well. Divide noodles and reserved beef evenly among serving bowls. Top with sliced beef. Pour the hot soup evenly among each serving bowl. Top with bean sprouts, green onion, chilli, mint and coriander. Serve immediately with lime wedges, if desired.

Notes

Pronounced as 'fuh', pho is renowned as Vietnam's most popular dish and is aften enjoyed for breakfast and lunch. Many cooks have their own secret to creating perfect pho. One tip is to char the ginger and onion before adding to the stock for a richer, more complex flavour; another is to use bones with marrow, and to parboil and rinse the bones for a clearer broth.