Vietnamese beef Pho

Serves 2 | 40 mins cooking | 10 mins preparation

Beef pho is a popular street food from Vietnam, with its delicious combination of fresh ingredients and a spicy, rich stock. This is ideal comfort food for anyone craving a rich noodle soup and great for when you have a cold

Ingredients

225g Rump beef
1 carrot – chopped
1 bunch of spring onions
2 cloves garlic – chopped
75g Root ginger – peeled and chopped
3 Whole star anise
2 Stems of lemon grass – finely chopped
1 tbsp Palm sugar (or demerara sugar)
1 ltr Beef stock
Flat rice noodles for two
2 handfuls of bean sprouts
2 tbsp Fish sauce
1 lime – juice of one half, other half cut into two wedges
2-4 Thai chillies – 2 x chopped fine
Handful of coriander, leaves only

Method

Reserve two spring onions for the garnish, roughly chop the remainder and add to a large pan with the ginger, garlic, star anise, lemon grass, palm sugar and stock (add two chillies cut in half now if you like this a bit spicier as I do). Bring to the boil and simmer for 35 minutes
Cook the noodles as per the packet instructions, don’t over cook them as they will cook a little more in the soup when you serve later. Drain and rinse the noodles in cold water and split the noodles between two bowls for serving
Heat a frying pan and fry the steak to your liking but remember it will cook further in the stock when you serve it later so cook a little less than how you normally like it. I prefer to cook to rare at this stage. leave the steak to rest. pour the resting juices into the stock and slice up the steak and place in the bowls
Place a handful of beansprouts into each bowl, on top of the noodles
Season the broth with the fish sauce and lime juice. strain the hot broth over the beef and noodles. thinly slice the remaining spring onions and 2 chillies and add to the bowls with the coriander. Add the lime wedges and serve

Notes

I also like to add a medium/hard boiled egg halved to this also

As always I am trying to use up any veg and leftovers so this time when I made I also added a couple radishes – finely sliced and a bratwurst that was leftover from lunch sliced up on top too