VIETNAMESE BEEF PHO

Traditional Vietnamese Beef Pho

This soup will have your mouth and heart singing with joy, as it is so soothing, nourishing and just tastes so dam good! This soup is like getting a big hug from the Vietnamese gods of food. The secret to a good pho are dem' good bones! None of these bouillon, stock cube nonsense.

Boiling the bones of animals is one of the oldest culinary traditions that exists across cultures all over the world- from Jewish chicken soup, Russian Borscht, Vietnamese Beef Pho, Japanese Pork Ramen, Chinese Egg Drop Soup to Malaysian Laksa... Bone broth is at the heart of the Bain-Marie food philosophy, as it is a clear example of how gastronomy and health are inextricably linked. I am SO passionate about showing the world that taste and health are not mutually exclusive, but in fact two sides of the same coin. Just like eating full-fat grass-fed butter, it tastes better than any vegetable oil spreads and it is so much better for your health.

I often compare bone broth to green juice in that it extracts the goodness from the animal kingdom into a more digestible form making nutrients more readily available in your body, just like green juice does for the plant kingdom. What I love most about bone broths is how sustainable they are, as it truly uses the whole animal and true to form, I do love a bit of nose to tail eating (I am half-Chinese and half-French after all probably the two culinary traditions with the greatest penchant for truly eating the whole animal). Like with everything, your bone broth will only be as good as the quality of your ingredients, so always make sure you get your bones from an ethical source ideally a local farmer's market. And guess what, you can often get beautiful organic bones for FREE if you ask your butcher nicely with a big lovely smile! Yes free totally free, now who doesn't love free food?

Bone broth is not only a sustainable, cheap food tradition and a remedy for all sorts of ailments, but also a vital ingredient in any Michelin-starred kitchen. In Europe and Asia alike, broths are the delicious foundation of cooking and are used not only for making soups and stews, but also for preparing reductions, sauces and for braising vegetables and meats. The best part is that bone broth is simple to make, soothing and makes everything taste better!

Bone broths are a wonderfully rich source of protein, minerals and gelatin, which supports skin health (and tackles that pesky cellulite better than any cream) which is why it is often referred to as a wonderful BEAUTY food. Gelatin also supports digestive health which is why bone broth plays a critical role in the GAPS diet and maintaining a healthy gut.

I get a lot of people asking me whether bone broth is just a fashionable trend of the moment, encapsulated in questions like "isn't bone broth just a fancy word for stock?" So, you ask, what is the true difference between stock and broth? Before this modern age of "food convenience", broth and stock were indeed the same thing. However, nowadays stock can refer to stock cubes or bouillon powder which are products of "advancements" in food technology, manufactured for taste only and are often made from artificial ingredients like hydrolysed protein, emulsifiers and thickeners. Secondly, stock can refer to vegetable stock whereas bone broth is always animal-based. Another point of difference is the length of cooking time, where a stock would be simmering for about 3 hours, bone broth has been simmering for 6-48 hours to extract all the goodness from the bones! Here's my quick guide to bone broth cooking times:

• Beef broth: 24-48 hours
• Chicken or poultry broth: 12-24 hours
• Seafood broth: 6-8 hours

A bone broth bisou to you my friends!

x

Marie

Vietnamese Beef Pho
Serves 8

Preparation time: 20-25 mins Cook time: 3-4 hours

Ingredients:

• 2 white onions, peeled and finely chopped 
• 10cm / 4" of ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2-3 kilos of good beef marrow bones, preferably leg and knuckle (usually free from the butcher or just use leftover bones from a roast)
• 7 litres / 6 quarts of fresh filtered boiling water
• Pho spices placed in a spice infusion bag* (1 cinnamon stick, 1 tablespoon coriander seeds, 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, 5 whole star anise, 1 crushed cardamom pod, 6 whole cloves)
• 2 tablespoons of sea salt 
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 2 tablespoons of unrefined sugar
• 500g of grain-free noodles (buckwheat or mung bean noodles are my favourite)
• big handful of chopped vegetables of choice (I use mushrooms, leeks, broccoli)

To garnish:

• big handful of fresh mint, coriander, basil
• 2 limes, cut into 8 wedges for each bowl
• 2-3 red chilli peppers, sliced thinly

Instructions:

1. Fill a large pot with 6 quarts of fresh filtered boiling water (boiled in a kettle which saves time and energy).

2. Add the beef bones to the boiling water. Boil vigorously for 10 minutes. Using a ladle or a fine mesh strainer, remove any grey scum that may rise to the top. Lower the heat and leave to boil uncovered whilst you prepare your spices.

3. Place all your dry spices into your spice infusion bag (any mesh bag will do. I use a nut milk bag that I reserve just for making pho now).

4. Add finely chopped ginger, onion, garlic, spice infusion bag, unrefined sugar, fish sauce, salt and simmer uncovered for 1 hour and then cover the pot and boil for at least another 2 hours (up to 12 hours to extract maximum goodness from the beef bones).

5. Strain broth using a colander to remove bones (rather than fine mesh sieve so you don't lose the garlic, ginger and onion that is delicious to keep in the broth). Return the broth to the pot. Taste broth and adjust seasoning, by adding more fish sauce, salt and/or sugar to taste.

5. Follow the cooking directions on your noodle packet and cook until they are al dente as they will continue to cook when placed in boiling beef broth.

6. Add your mix of chopped fresh vegetables into the broth and bring your broth back to a boil. Line your soup bowls next to the stove. Divide the noodles between all bowls. As soon as the broth comes back to a boil and the vegetables are cooked to your satisfaction, ladle into each bowl.

7. Garnish each bowl with a generous amount of basil, coriander, mint, a lime wedge and a few chilli slices. Serve immediately. Place remaining basil, coriander, mint and chilli onto plates in middle of the table so guests can garnish their bowls as they wish.

*Alternatively, if you have a slow cooker, just place all ingredients in slow cooker and allow to slow cook for 12-24 hours.