Pho Bo (Vietnamese Beef-and-Noodle Soup) Recipe (2024)

This recipe probably is good enough for a quick fix. Chicken pho from scratch can be done in less than 1 and a half hour. Beef pho from scratch would require at least 7 hours with more types of spices. Culantro and basil are usually preferred, not mint or other herbs mentioned. Ingredients I would use include ginger, pepper corn, cardamom (green and brown), cloves, coriander seeds, anise, cinnamon, roasted onions and garlic.

Fish sauce loses its pungency very quickly with cooking. If you taste the broth, and sense too much of it, boil it another minute or two.

The noodle used in this recipe is not "phở". In authentic Vietnamese phở recipe, roasted ginger, onion, shallots, Star annise, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom are the must. We don't use soy sauce for "phở", only fish sauce. Add the fish sauce before serving for better flavor.

We use this as a base, changing according to the seasons and what is on hand. What I make isn't pho, but it is always yummy.
I throw in vegetables (tomatoes, tomatillos, mushrooms)
We used cooked protein-leftover chicken, leftover steak--or we use tofu. It is always a deeply satisfying dish.

What you call things matters, and pho this is not. Beef bones are simmered for hours and hours, typically overnight to create rich pho broth. Chicken pho is quicker but then this is not that either. I don’t need to have made this to know that there’s no way this yields a similar result. The problem is someone somewhere may make this and think the resulting blander soup is pho. Vietnamese people are v proud of our cuisine, so please stop whitewashing it and calling it the same thing.

Hoisin sauce is also a frequent pho accompaniment (added at the same time as the herbs into individual bowls) and can add a nice flavor for those who found the broth wanting.

what directions were you following, there is broth. Many different recipies for this dish. Had it several times while in the Nam, was never the same twice.

This is my go to dish for chilly winter nights. Have substituted any protein source for steak; red meat, white meat or fish. Also substituted oyster for fish sauce on occasion. I also add a heap of garlic to the simmer and sometime turmeric root too.

Only change I made was to soak noodles in the prepped broth to soften. Delish! Better than my local Vietnamese restaurant.

Nothing can replicate a great authentic pho but this is a great, quick pho option. I made it with chicken and chicken broth plus slivered garlic, added basil, cilantro and mint from my garden, halved the cloves (not a fan) and let everything simmer for three hours. I'm a happy, happy girl as I enjoy my pho!

Very bland and disappointing, will try another recipe.

we did this by boiling big chunks of beef with ginger, chilies, cloves and onion. no chicken broth, no star anise, no lime, no cinnamon and substituted fish sauce with soy sauce, adding mint and cilantro at the very end to leave them half-fresh. and it still turned out really good! thank you for the recipe.

I’ve on several occasions had packaged instant pho dishes. Their lists of ingredients were vague on exactly what spices were used for the very interesting flavor of their broth. Found this NY Times recipe when trying to find out what are used. This recipe gave me the spice combination I needed!The cooking instructions on my package of Vietnamese rice vermicelli say to cook it directly in boiling water without pre-soaking. I’m going to try cooking it in the seasoned broth next time.

This recipe worked very well as a starting point. I made a bone broth over a couple of days and layered the other ingredients. Added coriander seeds and celery for brightness. Seared beef and a squeeze of lime on each serving made it sing.

Delicious and went down a absolute treat in our house. Everyone asking when can we have it again.

Too thin. 4 complaintsToo greasy. 4 complimentsBoil down after cooking boneNo beef ribsOnly very lean beef

Use better than bouillon stock

Added a few fresh mushrooms and some cabbage, absolutely delicious.

I loved this recipe! Fast, easy, fresh. The only suggestion I have to improve the flavour is to marinate the beef in soy and mirin, then sear it quickly over a very high heat, on both sides, and rest. Slice thinly and place over the noodles, then pour the pho stock over. I also sliced the ginger that had infused the stock and sprinkled it in the finished soup - fab! Plus added sliced radishes to the herbs.

Four star anise was WAY too strong. My broth ended up overpowered by the star anise. One goes a long way and would probably have been enough. Added bean sprouts for extra vegetables. Next time I would use hot pot beef instead which is cheaper and more flavorful than a very expensive and bland sirloin steak.

What you call things matters, and pho this is not. Beef bones are simmered for hours and hours, typically overnight to create rich pho broth. Chicken pho is quicker but then this is not that either. I don’t need to have made this to know that there’s no way this yields a similar result. The problem is someone somewhere may make this and think the resulting blander soup is pho. Vietnamese people are v proud of our cuisine, so please stop whitewashing it and calling it the same thing.

I made this to the exact recipe, and I am so confused by the high ratings on this. It was beyond bland and flavorless to me. NOTHING like Pho. The broth lacked depth (and I used bone broth and simmered for an hour). The noodles should not be rice sticks - they are too thin and grainy. Even with extra hoisin this could not be saved.

Totally tasty but didn't really taste like pho. The herbs were the best part.

This time with Duck broth! Awesome.

Ended up tasting great but the steps and timing were unnecessarily difficult. 25 minutes (we used) was plenty for a deep flavor and warming the bowls with hot water?! Cmon. In a crunch or even outside of a fancy restaurant totally unnecessary.

This soup is delicious and easy to make! I didn't have cinnamon sticks so I added 1/2 tsp cinnamon in a tea bag and it did the job. Very flavorful.

I loved this recipe it was reminiscent of Nam Phos. I love spice so I did half the amount of broth but maintained the proportions and cooked for an hour.