Pho Three Beef Cuts Recipe

Prepare bones and blanch

Place beef bones and oxtail/short rib in a large stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat. Boil vigorously for 10 minutes to remove impurities. Drain bones and rinse under cold water, scrubbing off any scum. Rinse the pot.

Char onion and ginger

While bones blanch, halve the onions and smash the ginger slightly. Char onion (cut-side down) and ginger over an open flame, hot skillet, or under a broiler until deeply browned and slightly blackened (about 8–10 minutes), turning ginger to char evenly. Set aside.

Toast spices

In a dry skillet over medium heat, toast star anise, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, cloves, coriander seeds, and fennel seeds for 2–3 minutes until fragrant, shaking the pan so they do not burn. Transfer toasted spices to a piece of cheesecloth or a spice infuser bag and tie closed.

Simmer the broth

Return the cleaned bones to the stockpot and add 5 liters of water. Add the charred onion and ginger and the spice bundle. Add rock sugar and 1 tsp kosher salt. Bring to a gentle simmer (do not boil hard) and skim any surface scum for the first 30 minutes. Simmer gently for at least 4 hours, preferably 6–8 hours for a richer broth. During the last 30 minutes, add the optional oxtail or short rib if not used earlier.

Finish seasoning

After simmering, remove bones and strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a clean pot. Discard solids. Stir in fish sauce, remaining 1 tsp kosher salt, and taste; adjust with more fish sauce or salt as needed. Keep broth hot over low heat. If excess fat collects, skim or refrigerate briefly and remove hardened fat.

Cook brisket

Place the brisket in the simmering broth during the last 1.5–2 hours of the broth simmer (or cook separately in salted water or broth) until fork-tender. Remove and let rest until cool enough to slice thinly against the grain. Keep cooking liquid to rewarm slices if desired.

Prepare raw poach beef (flank/eye of round)

Freeze the flank or eye-of-round very briefly (20–30 minutes) so it firms for paper-thin slicing. Using a sharp knife, slice as thinly as possible across the grain. Keep chilled until ready to serve; the hot broth will poach these slices quickly in the bowl.

Prepare rare steak

Chill the sirloin/ribeye briefly and slice very thinly across the grain. These slices are intended to be served almost raw and will quickly turn pink when hot broth is poured over them. Optionally sear a very thinly sliced portion for contrast.

Prepare noodles

Soak dried rice noodles in warm water for 20–30 minutes until pliable (follow package instructions for width). Drain. Briefly blanch noodles in boiling water for 10–30 seconds until just tender, then immediately drain and divide into serving bowls.

Assemble bowls

Place sliced brisket in each bowl on top of noodles. Arrange raw thin slices of flank/eye-of-round and the very thin steak slices over the noodles as desired (raw slices should be closest to the top so they contact the hot broth). Add a handful of bean sprouts and sprinkle sliced green onions and cilantro.

Ladle hot broth

Bring broth to a rolling gentle simmer and ladle very hot broth directly over the meat and noodles in each bowl. The hot liquid will poach the raw slices to medium-rare and warm the brisket. Cover bowls briefly (10–15 seconds) if you want more even cooking of raw slices.

Serve with garnishes

Serve immediately with lime wedges, Thai basil, extra bean sprouts, sliced chilies, hoisin, and Sriracha on the side so each diner can season to taste.