Authentic Pho Tai Soup Recipe

A detailed guide on how to make authentic Pho Tai broth, and assemble the dish, in 5 steps.

For those of you looking for an intense culinary experience, this authentically prepared traditional Vietnamese classic is the way to go. Cooking the traditional Vietnamese way takes some patience, but your efforts will be rewarded with an authentic and delicious tasting Pho Tai soup.

If you want to recreate the authentic Pho Tai soup, the best thing to do is to follow the traditional way and trust the process. With a little practice and patience, the reward will be a truly classic, authentic and mouthwatering dish that will have everyone in your family asking for more.

Successfully making Pho Tai soup is essentially about staying true to the traditional recipes that have been passed down through generations. This classic Vietnamese soup is a labor of love for many families who take pride in creating a truly authentic dish.
With a few simple techniques, the key ingredients and some patience, anyone can make it a success. Lets go!

More than delicious, this soup has been described as “an explosion of taste from the first contact of the taste buds with this perfumed liquid with spices and magic herbs

The process laid out step by step — how to make it:

Basically, Pho Tai is made with rice noodles that are cooked until they are soft and chewy. The soup base for Pho is a broth typically made by simmering roasted beef bones for hours (usually about four hours total, although some say it can be done in as little as two hours), along with aromatic spices such as star anise, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom. The result is a deeply flavored broth that’s both savory and slightly sweet.

But what really sets pho tai apart from other soups is the thinly sliced raw beef that’s added to each bowl just before serving. This beef cooks in the hot broth within seconds, becoming tender and juicy without losing its texture or flavor!

In addition to the ingredients mentioned above, there are some other traditional components that are added to pho tai to customize it according to each person’s taste:

• Herbs: Fresh herbs such as cilantro, basil or mint add brightness and freshness to each bite.
• Lime: A squeeze of fresh lime juice adds acidity, which helps cut through any richness in the dish.
• Bean Sprouts: These crunchy sprouts add texture contrast, while also bringing additional nutritional benefits
• Sriracha Sauce: If you like spicy foods then this chili sauce will definitely kick things up a notch!
• Hoisin Sauce: A sweet sauce made from fermented soybeans which pairs perfectly with savory meat.

Step One:

Check if you have all the needed kitchenware ready, so you’ll not be looking for items mid-recipe.
Let’s equip ourselves with the right tools! Here’s the list of kitchenware you’ll need for this recipe:

Step Two:

Check if you have all the ingredients (see list in recipe below):
In short:
a. Broth: beef bones, onions, ginger, spices, etc.
b. Noodles: rice noodles, cooking and preparation
c. Meat: thinly sliced beef
d. Garnishes: bean sprouts, Thai basil, lime wedges, jalapeños, and cilantro

Step Three:

Prepare the Broth (see instructions on recipe below):
In short:
a. Roast the bones and vegetables
b. Boil and simmer
c. Add and toast the spices
d. Strain and season the broth

Step Four:

Prepare the Noodles, Meat, and Garnishes:
In short:
a. Cook and rinse the rice noodles
b. Slice the beef thinly
c. Arrange the garnishes

Step Five:

Assemble the Pho Tai Soup (whoo-hoo!!):
In short:
a. Arrange the noodles, meat, and garnishes in the bowl
b. Pour the hot broth
c. Let each diner customize flavors with garnishes and condiments

Feast your eyes, your nose, your mouth!!

Authentic Traditional Pho Tai Soup Recipe

Authentic Pho Tai Soup Recipe

This is a detailed recipe for you to make an authentic Pho Tai at home, and delight everyone!

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 4 hours hrs

Total Time 5 hours hrs

Course Soup

Cuisine Vietnamese

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

For the broth:

• – 4 pounds beef bones oxtail preferentially, or a combination of marrow bones and knuckle bones
• – 1 pound beef chuck roast cut into 2-3 pieces
• – 6 quarts water
• – 2 medium yellow onions quartered
• – 4-inch piece fresh ginger halved lengthwise and smashed
• – 1/4 cup fish sauce
• – 3 tablespoons rock sugar you can also use granulated sugar
• – 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• – 8 whole star anise
• – 5 whole cloves
• – 1 cinnamon stick

For the Pho Tai:

• – 8-10 ounces dried rice noodles thin or flat
• – 1 pound thinly sliced raw sirloin
• – 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
• – 4 green onions thinly sliced
• – 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• – 2 cups bean sprouts
• – 2 jalapeños thinly sliced
• – 2 limes cut into wedges
• – Thai basil

For garnish:

• – Fresh herbs such as cilantro or basil
• – Bean sprouts
• – Lime wedges
• – Sriracha sauce optional
• – Hoisin Sauce optional

Instructions

 

• In a large stockpot, parboil the beef bones for 5 minutes to clean them. Transfer them to a bowl of cold water to chill. Wash the bones thoroughly to remove any congealed blood, or other contaminants that can cloud your soup. Drain, rinse, and set aside.
• Wash the pot out well, and then, add the boiled beef bones, beef chuck roast, quartered onions, smashed ginger, and 6 quarts water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a simmer (fill the pot with enough water to cover the bones and brisket). Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to a simmer.
• Cook for about 2 hours, skimming off any foam or impurities rising to the top.
• Now toast the spices (star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, cardamom pod (if using), fennel seeds, and coriander seeds) in a dry pan over medium low heat for about 3 minutes, until fragrant. To make them easier to remove later, use a kitchen string to tie up the spices in a piece of cheesecloth, before adding them to the broth.
• Add fish sauce, sugar, salt, star anise, cloves, and cinnamon stick to the pot.
• Continue to simmer for another 2 hours. Skim the surface often to remove any foam and fat.
• Taste the broth and adjust seasoning by adding more salt, sugar, and/or fish sauce as needed.
• Soak rice noodles in warm water for 20-30 minutes until soft.
• Cook the noodles according to the package instructions.

  Drain and set aside.
• Prepare the garnishes: thinly slice the onion, chop the green onions, cilantro, and slice jalapeños.

  Set aside.
• After the broth has simmered for a total of 4 hours, strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean pot. Remove and discard the beef bones, spices, and vegetables.
• Remove the beef chuck from the broth, thinly slice it, and set aside.
• Bring the broth to a rolling boil.
• Assemble the Pho Tai: In serving bowls, layer cooked rice noodles, sliced raw sirloin, and sliced cooked beef chuck.
• Pour the boiling hot broth over the top to cook the raw sirloin, make sure the sirloin slices are submerged in the broth.
• Garnish the soup with the sliced onions, green onions, cilantro, jalapeños, bean sprouts, and Thai basil.
• Squeeze lime wedges over the top.

Notes

Nutritional Information (per serving):

– Total Calories: 993 calories (this may vary slightly based on the quantity of noodles and beef used)

– Protein: 56g

– Carbohydrates: 101g (from noodles, vegetables and sugar)

– Fat: 39g

– Sodium: 2155mg

– Fiber: 4g

Please note that the nutritional information provided is an estimation and may vary depending on the specific ingredients used.

This recipe can be adjusted to personal preferences and dietary restrictions if necessary.

Dietary restrictions:

1. Vegetarian: No

2. Vegan: No

3. Gluten-free: Yes (ensure you use gluten-free rice noodles and gluten-free soy sauce if you want to replace the fish sauce)

4. Dairy-free: Yes

5. Nut-free: Yes

6. Paleo: No (due to rice noodles)

7. Low carb: No

8. Low FODMAP: No

9. Low calorie: No

10. Whole30: No (due to rice noodles, sugar, and fish sauce)

11. Keto: No

12. Diabetic-friendly: No (due to noodles and sugar)

Keyword Pho Tai soup

Tips and tricks:

1 – To add a really complex yummy smoky flavor, and delicate sweetness to your soup, roast the bones (just after point 1 in the Instructions):
Preheat your oven to 425F (220C).
Place the beef bones on a baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30 minutes, flipping once halfway through.
Some people might try to speed things up, by, instead, using a torch or putting the them right on the stove, but that won’t work as well.
Use the broiler in your oven, for that nice even layer of burnt flavor and some extra sweetness too.

2 – For even more flavor, you can char the onion and ginger: While the bones are boiling, put them on a baking pan, and place it directly under the heating element of your broiler, cut side up.
Broil until the onion and ginger is nicely charred. Rinse away all the blackened skins.

3 – If you don’t have a meat slicer, you can partially freeze the meat, so that it’s firm enough to hold its shape.
Then you can use a long sharp knife to slice it thinly against the grain.

4 – One trick to getting super thin meat already sliced for you, is to get meat that’s already cut for shabu-shabu at a Japanese grocery store.

5 – Do not use too much ginger — ginger is a good anti-inflammatory and digestive aid, but it can also be too strong for some people’s taste buds.

6 – To prevent the noodles from sticking together, you should use a large bowl and add them to the hot broth in small quantities at a time.
If you have many noodles, it is better to cut them into smaller pieces so they can be easily taken out of the soup.

7 – You can add salt if desired, but keep in mind that fish sauce already contains an abundance of sodium.

8 – Serve this soup immediately, with fresh herbs on top like Thai basil or mint leaves (optional).

9 – Some people will let it simmer for 6 hours, and even more; the longer it simmers, the richer the broth.

FAQ’s

REFERENCES:
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/pho-soup