Pho Bo...(Vietnamese beef noodle soup)

Pho Bo ~ Vietnamese beef noodle soup - Rick Stein Far Eastern Odyssey

I shall start by saying this is sublime. Possibly because I ignored some of the recipe and added something else from the Stein stable - but frankly if you like it hot with deep flavour, this has a seriously addictive quality and I shall be making this again!

The first thing to mention is that the recipe calls for an Asian beef broth. This is a long'ish process involving shin of beef and marrow bone, neither of which I had at the time and moreover, I was hungry. So effectively, I have "topped and tailed" the broth recipe process by utilising good quality beef stock (cubes or Kallo "pots" work), dovetailing that with the original process and deciding to add some Nam Prik Pao for good measure (you can find the recipe for that under the Tom Yam entry)

Asian Beef broth (which I guess I should now call David's beef broth!)

Ingredients:
3 beef stock cubes/ stock pots. I used Kallo stock pots, mixed with 1.5L boiling water and kept simmering.
40g fresh root ginger, peeled and cut into about 6 pieces
350g shallots, sliced
4 star anise
2x 7.5cm cinnamon sticks
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
8 cloves
1 tbsp Nam Prik Pao paste (optional)

Method:
Using a dry pan, roast off the fennel seeds, cinnamon and star anise and set aside
Bash the ginger and shallots a bit with a pestle or rolling pin.
Fry the ginger and shallots in a little oil until softened, then add to the roasted spices
Add the roasted spices, ginger and shallot to the simmering beef stock
Add the peppercorns, cloves and Nam Prik Pao paste (if using)
Simmer for as long as possible, then strain and return the strained stock to the heat, keeping on simmer.

Pho Bo
Ingredients:
Asian broth - see above
Nice piece of fillet steak - say about 200g, very thinly sliced. (I rolled in cling film and put in the freezer for about an hour before slicing. Bring back to room temperature before assembly)
300g Rice noodles
10g each of the leaves of; Thai basil (sweet), mint and coriander
5 red birds eye chillies, thinly sliced
2 limes, cut into wedges
8 spring onions, sliced on diagonal, white and green parts separated
4 tbsp Nam Pla (fish sauce)
100g bean sprouts

Method:
Take a pan of unsalted boiling water and drop the noodles in. Remove from heat and sit for about 10 mins or until the noodles are softened
Put the basil, mint, coriander, limes, green parts of the spring onion and red chillies on a platter for your diners to help themselves
Add the white part of the spring onion to the simmering broth along with the fish sauce.
If you have used Nam Prik Pao, I suggest adding some sugar to taste here, along with some lime juice
Bring to a gentle boil

Assembly:
Drain the noodles and heap in the bottom of deep soup bowls
On top of the noodles, place some beef, chillies, basil, mint, coriander, spring onion and beansprouts.
Ladle the stock into the bowl
Squeeze some lime to taste.

Enjoy!