Phở bò

Beef Noodle Soup with a Charred Aromatics Broth

Phở is a clear beef broth built from oxtail and brisket simmered for hours with charred onion, ginger and garlic, roasted spices, fish sauce and rock sugar, poured over rice noodles and thin slices of beef.

A tourism guide lists phở among Vietnam's dishes to try and a 2026 guide prices a bowl at 40,000 to 60,000 dong.

The chef soaks the oxtail in salted water for an hour, simmers oxtail and brisket 3 hours in 6 litres of water with charred aromatics and a roasted spice pouch until reduced by half, then pours the hot stock over noodles and raw sliced sirloin.

Ingredients

For the broth

  • 2 kg oxtail, cut into 3 cm pieces
  • 2 kg beef brisket
  • 6 litres cold water
  • 180 ml fish sauce
  • 80 g rock sugar
  • 1 garlic bulb, unpeeled
  • 4 large onions, unpeeled
  • 150 g unpeeled ginger
  • 4 tbsp salt, in all (3 tbsp for soaking)

For the spice pouch

  • 8 cloves
  • 5 star anise
  • 2 pieces of cassia bark, each 10 cm
  • 1 tbsp black peppercorns

To serve

  • 1.6 kg fresh rice noodles (about 200 g a serving)
  • 400 g sirloin, thinly sliced
  • 4 spring onions, sliced
  • Fresh coriander sprigs
  • 2 bird's eye chillies, sliced
  • 1 lime, in wedges
  • Freshly ground black pepper

Method

  1. Soak the oxtail Soak the oxtail in cold water with 3 tbsp of the salt for 1 hour, then drain.
  2. Make the spice pouch Dry-roast each spice separately until fragrant, cool, grind coarsely, put in muslin and tie tightly.
  3. Char the aromatics Grill the unpeeled garlic, onions and ginger over medium-high heat for about 15 minutes until blackened all over. Peel, discard the skins and chop roughly.
  4. Start the stock Put the oxtail, brisket and water in a stockpot, bring to the boil and skim for about 15 minutes. Reduce to a low simmer.
  5. Simmer Add the fish sauce, the remaining salt, the rock sugar, charred aromatics and spice pouch. Cover and simmer for 3 hours until the stock has reduced by about half.
  6. Strain Strain the stock through muslin. Lift out the brisket, cool and slice thinly.
  7. Assemble Blanch each portion of noodles in boiling water for 20 seconds, drain and put in bowls. Top with 3 or 4 brisket slices and 3 or 4 slices of raw sirloin. Pour boiling stock over so the sirloin turns grey and cooked through.
  8. Garnish Add spring onion, pepper and coriander to each bowl and serve with chillies and lime.

Food safety

Raw sirloin is cooked only by the stock: the stock must be at a rolling boil, the slices very thin and the beef grey with no pink. Anyone pregnant, elderly, young or unwell should have the beef simmered in the stock until cooked through. Charring and a large pot of boiling stock burn: keep children away. Cool leftovers quickly and reheat until piping hot.

The stock keeps in the fridge or freezer.

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