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Pho soup seasoning recipe Videos

1. How to make pho: recipe howcookingworks.com

how to make pho: recipe howcookingworks.com

Recipe available at //www.howcookingworks.com/pho Ingredients 1 tablespoon fennel seeds 1 tablespoon coriander 1 cardamom pod 1 cinnamon stick 1 ...

User Comments

kimjack1000 commented on 08 Aug 2011

hi, thanks a lot for the video... i more or less followed your recipe to the tee with probably some very important exceptions. I don't have a broiler, so i put my oven on broil and charred the spices for 10 minutes, and instead of your 3 hours, i simmered it for double that, 6 hours, in the hopes of more flavor. Honestly, the pho came out great (not my first time, probably more like my 15th time)... my pho usually ends up looking VERY brown... Is this cause I char everything too much?

Howcookingworks commented on 26 Jan 2011

@msdaisypinkie bones were 90% shank, and the rest knuckle. Pot size.. I used a 24 qt.. but as long as you bones fit, thats all that matters! The reason to use cold water after the parboil, is that it extracts the maximum amount of gelatin and flavor from the bones. All stock creations stock with cold water, bring to boil, drop to a boil. Each restaurant has their own spice mixture and ratios which they keep different. Restaurant pho often adds msg which muddles the flavor of the stock.

raptorculiacan commented on 15 Feb 2011

I watched Anthony Bourdain No Resovations last night and it was about food porn (no real porn, just food), they showed him eating some Pho in asia and it looked soooooooooooooooooo good. So I told myself I have to learn how to make that. Question; The meat added at the end wasnt cooked right? Im assuming it needs to be cut pretty thin so that it cooks a little bit from the heat of the broth, right??? Can Cilantro be used as a garnish? Can shrimp and chicken go with it too? Thanks!

gardenvespers777 commented on 02 Feb 2011

Thank you for posting this video! I had always wanted to make pho but never thought I could do it. I followed your instructions and recipe and this came out perfect! As it was cooking it smelled sooo good I thought WOW! lol I will definitely make it again! I was able to find that Black cardamom. I'm glad you showed what it looked like because at first I had the green, and thought it didn't look the same. Thanks again for a great video!!

Ck Ng commented on 20 Nov 2011

@kimjack1000 Too much heat when simmering will make the the broth looking brown. We owned a Pho Soup Kitchen in Saigon in 1955-58 (After moving from Ha Noi in 1955). I remember the broth was simmered with bone over night at very low heat (close to boiling). We had two pots . Each pot is about 10 to 20 gallons (about 40 to 80 liters). Now in USA, I use 8 quart slow cooker to set @ Low for overnight. Broth comes out fairly good.

Howcookingworks commented on 26 Dec 2010

@msdaisypinkie a) i used mainly shank, some knucle b) i used a pretty large pot.. i think it was 20 qt? You just want to buy a stock pot that will hold enough liquid you want to cook for c) so the reason for filling it with cold water is to maximize the gelatin extraction from the bones. In essence, the stock will be more flavorful d) the spices in pho are pretty regional in Vietnam. The common base st as cardamom good luck!

IsaraiLee commented on 06 Nov 2011

Okay so i followed this video exactly and the broth is over poweringly bitter and strong. it's horrible. I'm pretty sure it's not supposed to taste like this, at first i thought it might have been too much ginger so i tried again but with no ginger at all and it taste exactly the same. what can cause it to be soo bitter and strong. this is my first time ever cooking pho(or tasting it) s it supposed to taste like this?

msdaisypinkie commented on 26 Dec 2010

What type of bones did you use specifically in this video? shank? What size pot are you using? Why fill pot with cold water instead of boiling water when you put the bones back after parboiling? does it ake a difference? I've never heard of putting caramom pods in pho? Is that why restaurant pho tastes a bit different than homemade? sorry for so many questions - just want it to go well smoothly : )

Christopher Pierce commented on 26 Jan 2011

Great video and very informative. You make it look less daunting than I anticipated. Question for you. How much fresh water did you add after you parboiled the beef? I know you said something about adding as much as you want in a previous comment but when you add the 1/3 cup of fish sauce and you don't add enough water then it could come out pretty salty. Was it a gallon of water? Thanks

Howcookingworks commented on 08 Aug 2011

@kimjack1000 So when you describe not great, what do you feel is it lacking (no enough salt, no enough fish sauce, not gelatanious enough?) People sometimes add too much water, so to correct that is to boil the stock down, to reduce it and concentrate the flavor, or add more salt and fish sauce to bring up the flavor profile. Most of the time is added more fish sauce to solve problems.

Howcookingworks commented on 15 Feb 2011

@raptorculiacan yea the meat added at the end wasn't cut. The cut usually used is beef eye round (center cut between top and bottom), cut thinly. Cilantro definitely can be used as a garlic, and I've seen newer styles of pho with shrimp in it. For chicken, there is actually something called chicken pho where the stock is created with a whole chicken. A video of that will be out soon!

mistahpita commented on 02 Feb 2011

Oh, you really know your stuff. I like it :D I cook a similar Pho, but I add beef bones and pork bones when I can. Also, I use palmsugar, and only Phu Quoc fishsauce (there are several brands, but almost any fishsauce originating from Phu Quoc island is high quality. For Herbs I go Hanoistyle, with cilantro, mintleaves and sweet basil. And a whole lot of fresh red chillies.

Timothy Ton-Estelle commented on 24 Jun 2011

I've watched my mom cook this (along with other Vietnamese dishes) throughout my childhood and you'd think by now I would know how to cook all of them, right? (well, I'm 21 and I haven't a clue how to cook pho!) I was always confused about how to cook the bones. Parboiling is the key... I just have to remember that! Thanks for the awesome video!

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