Tái Chín Gầu Gân Sách Phở Recipe

Clean tripe and tendon

Rinse tripe (sách) under cold running water. Rub with 2 tbs vinegar and a little salt, then rinse thoroughly. For tendon, trim any loose connective tissue and rinse. Place tripe and tendon in a pot, cover with water, bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes, then drain and rinse to remove impurities.

Parboil bones

Put the beef marrow bones into a large stockpot, cover with cold water and bring to a vigorous boil for 8–10 minutes. Skim scum, then drain bones and rinse under running water. Clean the pot.

Prepare raw meats for serving

Slice the eye round steak very thinly across the grain (partially freeze 20–30 minutes to make slicing easier). Slice lean and fatty brisket into thin slices for serving. Keep the raw eye round refrigerated and covered until assembly.

Char onion and ginger: halve the onions and grate off loose skins from the ginger. Place them cut-side down on a hot dry skillet or under a broiler until edges are browned and slightly blackened (5–10 minutes). This adds color and aroma to the broth.

Toast spices: In a dry pan over medium heat toast star anise, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, coriander and fennel seeds until fragrant (1–2 minutes). Place the toasted spices into a piece of cheesecloth or a spice infuser and tie closed.

Build the stock: Return the cleaned bones to the cleaned large stockpot. Add 5 liters of fresh water, charred onion, charred ginger, and the spice sachet. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Do not boil aggressively—maintain small bubbles.

Skim and simmer: In the first 30 minutes, skim any foam and impurities. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 4–6 hours to extract collagen and flavor. Add parboiled tendon and tripe after the first hour so they simmer until tender (total simmer time for tendon ~3–4 hours, for tripe ~1.5–2 hours depending on texture).

Season broth: In the last 30 minutes of simmering, add fish sauce (4 tbs), rock sugar (1 tbs), salt (1.5 tsp) and 1 tsp coarse black pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning to balance savory and slightly sweet notes.

Clarify and strain: Remove bones and large solids. Strain broth through a fine-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth into a clean pot. Let the broth cool slightly, then refrigerate if desired to make fat removal easier. Skim excess fat from surface to desired richness; leave some fat for mouthfeel to match 'gầu' style.

Cook brisket for hot-served slices: Place both lean and fatty brisket pieces into a pot of simmering broth or water and poach until fully tender and cooked through, about 1–1.5 hours depending on thickness. Remove and slice thinly across the grain. Reserve cooking liquid to reheat broth.

Cook tendon and tripe to desired tenderness: Ensure tendon is soft and gelatinous (3–4 hours total simmer) and tripe is tender (1.5–2 hours). When tender, remove and slice/tear into bite-sized pieces. Keep warm in the strained hot broth or briefly reheat before serving.

Prepare eye round for tái (rare): Keep the thinly sliced eye round chilled until just before serving so it will cook quickly when hot broth is poured over.

Prepare noodles: Bring a separate pot of water to a rolling boil. Briefly dip the rice noodles to loosen and cook according to package instructions (usually 20–60 seconds for fresh rice noodles; longer for dried). Drain and divide among serving bowls.

Arrange proteins: On top of the noodles place a portion of sliced cooked brisket (lean and fatty), pieces of cooked tendon, pieces of tripe, and arrange 3–4 slices of the raw eye round (tái) on top.

Heat broth and finish bowls: Bring strained broth to a rolling simmer. To serve, pour the simmering hot broth directly over the raw eye round slices and other meats in each bowl—this will lightly cook the eye round to a rare/medium-rare doneness (tái). Make sure broth is hot enough (near boiling) to cook the thin beef quickly.

Garnish and serve: Top with sliced white onion, scallions, cilantro, and cracked black pepper. Serve with lime wedges, Thai basil, sawtooth herb, bean sprouts and sliced chilies on the side so each diner customizes to taste.