Experience the magic of one of the greatest soups in the world with this easy to follow traditional Vietnamese Pho recipe! With the signature broth that’s light yet at the same time so full of flavour, it’s infused with spices like cinnamon, star anise and cardamom. Utterly addictive and every spoonful leaves you wanting more!
Vietnamese Pho recipe
This Pho recipe has been in the works for a while now. It’s been quietly made and remade by various RecipeTin family members since our first trip to Vietnam. We’ve compared notes, debated furiously about how the latest iteration compared to the (many) bowls of Pho soup we slurped during our travels, and our favourite Pho restaurants back home here in Sydney.
We take our Pho very seriously. One of the greatest noodle soups in the whole world commands respect!
And I am very pleased to report every member of the RecipeTin family whole heartedly approves of this final recipe!
Pho is the first thing you seek upon landing in Vietnam, always choosing vendors crowded with locals rather than tourists!
What is Pho?
If you’re wondering “What is Pho?” then you’re probably also wondering “Why is she so bonkers over it???”
I don’t blame you. It looks like a relatively harmless bowl of beef noodle soup.
That is, until you take your first slurp.
The Pho soup broth is everything. It’s light yet full of flavour, deceptively beefy, savoury, complex, has the tiniest hint of richness and is filled with beautiful spices like cinnamon.
It is, without question, one of The Best Soups in the whole world!
This Pho recipe is actually quite straightforward – but you do need a very large pot!
Best place to try Pho?
In Vietnam, of course. 🙂 Here’s our Saigon Food Guide, including the best Pho vendor in the city that you will not find in any guide book!
How to make this Beef Pho
While you’ll need to man handle a considerable mound of bones and beef, I think you might be surprised how straightforward it actually is to make pho. It’s more time than anything – and a very big pot!
- Quick boil – Remove impurities from beef with a 5 minute boil, it’s the path to a beautiful clear soup;
- Scum – be amazed at all the icky stuff that comes out;
- Wash the bones to get all the icky scum off;
- Simmer for 3 hours – bones, beef, water, onion, ginger and spices (cinnamon, cardamom, coriander, star anise);
- Remove brisket – some is used for Pho topping, see below recipe for ways to use remainder;
- Simmer 40 minutes further with just bones;
- Strain; then
- Ladle into bowls over noodles and pile on Toppings!
Best beef for Pho soup broth
The ONLY way to get enough beef flavour into the broth is to use a combination of meat AND bones. You will NOT get enough flavour into the broth using just bones – trust me, we tried multiple times. And it distresses me to see so many Pho recipes online using just bones!?
The single most important thing in a pho recipe is using the right beef and bones – and most recipes get it wrong.
Here’s the combination of beef and bones I find yields the best Pho soup flavour:
- 1.5kg / 3 lb brisket – the beef of choice with pho vendors in Vietnam, for its beefy flavour and it holds up to hours of simmering without fall apart (like chuck and rib). Other slow cooking cuts like chuck and gravy beef are also less “beefy”. See below recipe for amazing ways to use leftover cooked brisket!
- 1kg / 2 lb meaty bones – bones with decent amount of meat on them, for beef flavour and some richness. Best sub: oxtail bones, more brisket or chuck beef (same amount). Next best sub: any beef bones.
- 1kg / 2 lb marrow bones – bones like leg, shin and knuckle, with less meat on them but are quite big and are cut to reveal some of the marrow inside so it can leach into the broth. This provides the least flavour but it adds that essential hint of richness in Pho broth. Best sub: more meaty bones – lose a bit of richness but still super good.
None of these are difficult to find nowadays though perhaps not all at your local supermarket. I get everything either from my butchers or from Asian butchers (extremely good value). You’ll find brisket and meaty “soup bones” at large supermarkets. And marrow bones are now widely available at butchers and also the freezer section of Asian stores.
Other ingredients
Beef aside, the rest of the ingredients in the broth are surprisingly straight forward!
The spices are toasted to bring out the flavour before adding into the pot. And the ginger and onion are charred to add a subtle smokey flavour into the broth – a secret little step that adds that extra something-something to make this pho recipe authentic and traditional!
How to serve Pho
The classic way to serve Pho is with:
- rice noodles – fresh or dry;
- thinly sliced raw beef that cooks to a perfect medium rare when the hot broth is ladled over – see below for more information;
- piles of bean sprouts, Thai basil and coriander/cilantro on the side – help yourself as you eat the pho;
- lime wedges; and
- hoisin sauce and sriracha (or other chilli sauce).
Typically, the bowls come out with just noodles, beef and broth, then everything else is served on the side.
Thinly sliced raw beef for Pho – best cut
I like to use beef tenderloin for the raw beef slices. While that’s a premium cut that is a bit costly, you only need about 30g / 1 oz per serving so a bit goes a long way!
TIP: To thinly slice the beef, just partly freeze the beef then slice. Makes it so much easier to thin super finely!
↓↓↓The beef is pink because pouring the broth over raw beef slices cooks it to medium rare, which is how it’s traditionally served and how I love it.
But if the thought of pink beef in your soup is off-putting, it’s an easy fix – just dunk the beef into the pot of hot broth first, it will cook in 10 seconds!
Ways to use leftover brisket
The pho broth calls for a considerable piece of brisket to ensure the broth gets enough flavour. Once slow cooked for hours, it’s fall apart tender and much of the flavour has been sucked out into the broth.
While a few thin slices are used for the Pho topping, I always end up with 500g/1lb leftover and I’ve shared this Caramelised Vietnamese Shredded Beef recipe which I created especially to use up the remaining brisket. Those golden crispy edges are amazing!!!
More ways to use the leftover Pho brisket
- Garlic Butter Shredded Beef – shred and pan fry with garlic and butter
- Use in Egg Foo Young (Chinese Omelette)
- Shredded Beef Shawarma – toss with shawarma spices used in Chicken Shawarma then pan fry golden;
- Use in a stir fry using my All Purpose Stir Fry Sauce, or make a beef noodle stir fry
- Slice and serve on Chinese Noodle Soup or Wonton Soup
Why make Pho at home?
I say this is a straight forward recipe because there’s no tricky techniques involved. But it does involve handling mounds of meat and bones, a big pot of broth and lots of patience as it simmers away on the stove, working its magic.
So why make Pho at home?
- If you love Pho as much as I do but don’t live in reasonable proximity to a (good) Pho restaurant;
- If you’re wanting to impress at a gathering with something different. This recipe will serve 6 as a full meal, or 10 to 12 smaller bowls as part of a larger banquet. Add some Vietnamese Rice Paper Rolls, Lemongrass Chicken, Bun Cha (Vietnamese Pork Meatballs) or the famous Vietnamese Caramel Pork!
- To save money – you’d pay $60+ for 6 bowls of Pho in the city;
- You feel smug with a stash of extra special things in the freezer – this broth keeps for months; or
- Your idea of a leisurely Sunday involves pottering around in the kitchen (Pho is a great Sunday pottering project!)
My situation is mainly #5. Because I am one of those crazy foodies who will drive 1 hour to Vietnamese neighbourhoods for a Pho fix! – Nagi x
PS I’m also #4. Because yes, I’m that immature at heart. ?
Vietnamese Pho recipe
Watch how to make it
Originally published April 2019. Updated for housekeeping matters – no change to recipe, I wouldn’t dare!
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Vietnamese Pho recipe
Ingredients
Aromatics:
- 2 large onions , halved
- 150g / 5oz ginger , sliced down the centre
Spices
- 10 star anise
- 4 cinnamon quills
- 4 cardamon pods
- 3 cloves (the spice cloves!)
- 1.5 tbsp coriander seeds
Beef bones (Note 1):
- 1.5kg / 3lb beef brisket
- 1kg / 2lb meaty beef bones
- 1kg / 2lb marrow bones (leg, knuckle), cut to reveal marrow
- 3.5 litres / 3.75 quarts water (15 cups)
Seasoning:
- 2 tbsp white sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
- 40 ml / 3 tbsp fish sauce (Note 2)
Noodle Soup - PER BOWL:
- 50g / 1.5 oz dried rice sticks (or 120g/4oz fresh) (Note 3)
- 30g / 1 oz beef tenderloin, raw, very thinly sliced (Note 4)
- 3 - 5 brisket slices (used for broth)
Toppings:
- Beansprouts, handful
- Thai basil, 3 - 5 sprigs
- Coriander/cilantro, 3 - 5 sprigs (or more basil)
- Lime wedges*
- Finely sliced red chilli*
- Hoisin sauce*
- Sriracha* (for spiciness)
Instructions
Aromatics
- Heat a heavy based skillet over high heat (no oil) until smoking.
- Place onion and ginger in pan cut side down. Cook for a few minutes until it's charred, then turn. Remove and set aside.
- Toast Spices lightly in a dry skillet over medium high heat for 3 minutes.
Remove impurities:
- Rinse bones & brisket then cover with water in large stock pot.
- Boil for 5 minutes, then drain.
- Rinse each bone and brisket under tap water.
Broth:
- Wipe pot clean, bring 3.5 litres / 3.75 quarts water to boil.
- Add bones and brisket, onion, ginger, Spices
- Add onion, ginger, Spices, sugar and salt - water should just barely cover everything.
- Cover with lid, simmer 3 hours.
- Remove brisket (should be fall-apart tender), cool then refrigerate for later.
- Simmer remaining soup UNCOVERED for 40 minutes.
- Strain broth into another pot, discard bones and spices. Should be about 2.5 litres / 2.65 quarts (10 cups), if loads more, reduce.
- Add fish sauce, adjust salt and sugar if needed. Broth should be beefy, fragrant with spices, savoury and barely sweet.
Assemble:
- Prepare rice noodles per packet, just prior to serving.
- Place noodles in bowl. Top with raw beef and brisket.
- Ladle over about 400 / 14 oz hot broth - will cook beef to medium rare.
- Serve with Toppings on the side!
Recipe Notes:
- Brisket - don't skip this, adds way more flavour into broth than any bones and other beef cuts like chuck (brisket has intense beef flavour). If omitted, broth is weak. Leftovers not wasted - see in post for easy, really terrific ways to use up. Also FREEZES for months.
- Brisket sub - boneless beef short ribs
- Leftover cooked beef - see below recipe card for uses, also this Vietnamese Shredded Beef I shared specifically to use the leftover cooked beef!
- Marrow bones add richness to the broth but not as much flavour. Use leg bones, knuckle, anything that is cut in a way so you can SEE some of the marrow (so it can leach out).
- Marrow bones can be subbed with more meaty beef bones but soup may lack richness.
- Australia - meaty bones used are called "soup bones" at supermarkets. Brisket and marrow bones from butcher.
Vietnamese food favourites
I am so fond of Vietnamese food, I made it my Pilot foodie travel video! I adore the freshness, signature balance of savoury-sweet-sour, the kaleidoscope of colours and textures, and the incredible depth of flavour you get in relatively simple sauces. Here are some of my favourites!
Life of Dozer
I have no issues with the way he sprawls across doorways like this. EXCEPT in the middle of the night when I need to go to the bathroom……
You’d think he’d learn. Or that I’d learn.
But no. The trip/curse/yelp routine happens almost every night.
This looks spectacular & makes me miss living in Asia even more! I don’t eat beef and was wondering if I make this with chicken do I just pop a whole raw chicken in and go from there or would I need to do something more with flavour? x
This was delicious! Thank you so much for the wonderful recipe!
I made a few “alterations” out of necessity but still came out with a beautiful Pho.
First of all, I was really pressed for time, so I boiled my meat and bones and then rinsed them, but then I only cooked the bones and spices for 40 minutes in my pressure cooker.
Then I strained the broth and added the meat (I used cut up venison shank because it’s what I had) and pressure cooked it for another 15 minutes in the broth.
I also used Shirataki noodles for a low carb count.
I love the ability to change the serving size of the recipes!
Sounds like you nailed it Dawn, I’m so glad you loved it!!!! N x
I made this on Sunday when I had the time to make the broth… like you said it’s a good puttering around project… lol
Definitely takes time, but it’s not hard. Made a slightly bigger batch of broth because by the time I hunted around at butchers, grocery store and Asian market I had slightly more bones and brisket than called for, so just increased everything for the broth a bit.
I have never made from scratch before, but love to cook so gave it a shot. It was wonderful!!!
Just two of us, so I had enough broth and some brisket to freeze for another meal…. plus still broth I didn’t freeze so we are having pho again tonight…. and tomorrow we are using the other chunk of brisket for the caramelised beef bowls… can’t wait for that.
I will let you know how that turns out!!
So yep I’m #4 & #5…. lol
I love that you gave it a go Darlana – I tend to make a big batch and freeze so I have it on hand 🙂
Pho is one of my favorite things! Thanks for sharing, I’ve never made it myself but after reading this I really want to try and make my own!
I really hope you do give it a go Lucas! N x
I’m so devoted to Pho I’m flying all the way to Ho Chi Minh for my first Vietnam trip in July. Can’t wait!
Tell me you’ve seen our Vietnam foodie travel video!!! BEST PHO is featured! N x
https://www.recipetineats.com/vietnamese-top-10-best-street-food-ho-chi-minh-city/
Nagi, MY KITCHEN IS A MESS!! And our tummies and hearts are so happy!
Thank you for supporting my husband’s desire to make homemade pho. It’s been on his to-do-list for many years, but his research resulted in a dead end. No pho. Recently, Bob was inspired by another internet chef, but the method was more intimidating and lengthy. No pho. Then, I shared your recipe with him; although still a bit intimidating and lengthy, he became possessed. Everything else is history . . . Pho success!
Nagi, I’ve made a number of your dishes (most recently, Fish Tacos) where Bob was wowed beyond belief. He’s heard your name in our kitchen long enough that he trusts you and your thorough recipes.
In the meantime, we’re enjoying pho leftovers and looking forward to more yummy ‘messes’ from Nagi-inspired dishes. Thank you!
I’m so happy you gave it a shot!!! I usually do a big batch and freeze the stock – just because it is a little labour intensive 🙂
I can’t wait to make this. I’ve been craving pho for ages and finally found a good recipe
I love Pho! Tried it first when I was a student in Syndey.
You must try “An Pho” in Bankstown. It’s the bomb!!
No. 2 your recipe excites me. Can’t wait to try this at home.
No. 3 your pictures are FANTASTIC!
Thanks so much Sarah!
Funny….I actually have all the bones and marrow bones for this because I order these bones (human grade of course) for my dogs to make bone broth. LOL. I can’t wait to make this!!! Can this be made in an Instant Pot? How long do I boil the bones and meat?
Awesome Vanessa! I prefer to simmer this rather than pressure cook (I’ve tried both) – the flavours are much better. N x
Good to know……I will make this next time. Making your Lemongrass Chicken tonight.
I think using the black cardamom will be more authentic.
You could use black if you prefer Theresa 🙂
We love the taste of the pho, however we found it to be much oilier than restaurant style pho. Did we do something wrong? We followed the recipe exactly for 6 servings.
Hi Jessica! It will come down to the type of restaurant style Pho that you’ve had. Pho in Vietnam is typically actually a bit rich from the bone fat, people don’t realise it because it looks and tastes “clear” but actually it is a bit rich. However, there are certainly versions overseas with almost fat free broths though you will find that they typically the flavour in the broth is not quite as strong. So to reduce the oil in yours, either switch the beef and bones to use less fatty ones OR (and this is my recommendation) let the broth cool then scoop the white fat off the surface. For a short cut way to do this, if you put a bunch of ice in a colander then pour the broth over, the fat will immediately freeze on contact with the ice 🙂 N x
From my experience, excess oil might be caused by the roasted onion in the broth. When I roast the onion, I can see the oil secrete to which I dump before adding the onion to the broth. Generally, when you dump the spices (which should be in a pouch), you ought to dump the onion and ginger as well. Otherwise, the refrigerator method is the only way to remove the solidified oil and fat.
I’d just use a fat separator jug, no need to wait for the broth to cool. I do this with all my broths, quick and easy.
I want to make this broth, love Pho soup. Since I’m severely allergic to bean sprouts, I can’t eat at the Pho soup restaurants.
Well it is obvious you do not think like a dog. I had a black lab and when I cooked beef ribs the leftovers were put in the refrigerator (of course he got the bones coming of the grill when I finished my eating on them). When ever I moved in that house that dog would move to keep himself between me and fridge. Dozer is doing the same outside your bedroom door.
Hi Nagi. The beef was brilliant. How would you cook this with chicken? A whole chicken plus thinly sliced breast meat ? I have some non red meat eaters coming for dinner and would like to make chicken pho
Hi Julia, I don’t have a chicken pho recipe just yet, feel free to request it on my recipe request page if you like! – N x
Question: I have 8 coming over for dinner tomorrow. I want to double the broth recipe so I can freeze some. Do I need as much brisket as the slider says for 16 if I’m going to freeze half of it or can I get by on the quantity of brisket for 8?
Hi Brian, the brisket flavours the stock as well so you really need the full amount – N x
Cooked as prescribed save substituting short ribs for brisket. The dinner was phenomenal! As an aside, my Sydney residing sister-in-law asked me where I got the recipe. I replied that I was being advised by a Japanese born, Sydney residing woman named Nagi. I then added you were equally effective with Mexican carnitas. Her face lit up and she stated “I use her recipes too!” Thanks for providing more common ground between us – not to mention outstanding eats!
I have seen several Pho recipes and they call for rock sugar. Why did you use regular sugar?
Rock sugar isn’t easily accessible to everyone 🙂
Oh my gosh, what a recipe and dish. Absolutely amazing. I used beef cheek and marrow bones.
Thankyou Nagi x
Sounds like you nailed it Nikki ❤️
I made the pho soup using your recipe last night for our MJ gathering. Everyone said it was the most delicious and tasty pho better than restaurant versions. Also because it was very nutritious too. They all asked for your recipe. I will make it again soon. Thank you so much for sharing your pho recipe and it was easy to follow especially the pictures and the video.
Susie
You’re so welcome Susie, I’m so glad you enjoyed it!
I love this recipe. It came out so flavorful and delicious. Now I do not *have* to go to the restaurant for good pho.
Make a big batch and freeze and you’ll always have some on standby!! – N x
I try to cook your pho and everybodyloves.it.thankyou.and I’ll do more.