Another mistake made with roasting the bones is that you will ultimately get a beefier broth. Unfortunately, this comes at the expense of everything else. Any other flavors you add will be dulled out which is not what you want. It really degrades the flavor of pho and leaves you with something overpowering. Making pho, you want the opposite. You want a soup that is a mix, balanced between ingredients.
Parboiling your broth, you’ll arrive at something fattier but with more clarity to the flavor. Any spices, herbs, and ingredients added in will come across loud and clear.
A huge element to making the perfect Vietnamese pho broth is in the time given to it. This is why pho in Vietnam can take the whole day to make for a lot of families. They spend literally the day crafting the right broth, mixing in herbs and spices, and getting everything to perfection. In mainstream restaurants, they may not have the resources to do that and you can bet any pre-made pho you buy from the store isn’t going to have that same attention to detail.
Creating a good beef broth, you want to spend at least 4 hours simmering it. A lot of chefs and cooks advocate for at least 6-8 hours although some even take it to 12 hours. It all depends on the time and resources you have available to you.
Now when it comes to the taste of the pho, this is where creativity and art come into play. It’s ultimately up to you to design the broth according to what you want it to be. With beef pho, of course, it’s going to be beefy. That’s not going to mean beef is your only go-to flavor though. Cinnamon and anise go well with beef, as do cloves. If you don’t add anything else, these 3 ingredients are worthy of including.
Ginger and charred onions are also common components to add to a beef broth. Onions charred until their skin is black and caramelized juices are oozing out can add some sweetness. Now regarding what meats to add in, a lot of the time an experienced Vietnamese cook will pull out beef knee bones which have the bone, tendon, and fat together. These cuts can make very tender meats which will add a lot to the soup.
This is just the beginning on the journey towards crafting an excellent bowl of pho. If the intention is to make it at home, there is still a lot to learn! For a bowl of pho far easier to get to, take a trip down to TorontoPHO today.
