Pho bo tai

Categories: March, soup

Ingredients

• 1-1.3kg beef rib or shin bone
• 1 large onion, cut in half with skin on
• 3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
• 50g fresh ginger, unpeeled and halved
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
• 2 cloves
• 1 lemongrass stalk, bruised, or grated zest of 1/2 lemon
• 4 tbsp fish sauce, plus extra to serve
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar
• 200g medium rice noodles
• 2 heads Chinese-type greens, such as pak choi, roughly chopped
• 2 thick-cut sirloin steaks, trimmed
• bunch of spring onions, cut into short lengths
• 150g beansprouts
• 2-3 small red chillies, sliced
• 2 limes, halved
• small bunch of fresh Thai basil or tarragon
• small bunch of fresh Vietnamese coriander, or regular coriander

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 200˚C/fan 180˚C/gas 6. Put the bone, onion, garlic and ginger in a roasting tray and cook for 1 hour.

2. Transfer to a large pan and add 2.5 litres of cold water. Add the cinnamon, cloves and lemongrass or zest and bring to a simmer on the hob. Cook for 2 hours, then strain into a bowl, discarding the solids – you should have about 1 litre. Season with the fish sauce, salt and sugar. Ideally, cool overnight, then skim any fat from the top.

3. To make the final dish, cook the noodles in plenty of boiling water for 2 minutes, until just tender. Drain, cool under cold running water and divide the noodles between bowls.
4. Put the stock into a large wok or pan and heat until simmering. Add the Chinese greens. Thinly slice the steaks, add to the pan and remove from the heat – the steak will be just cooked and very tender.
5. Divide the soup between the bowls of noodles, then top with the spring onions. The beansprouts, chillies, limes and herbs are served at the table, with extra fish sauce.

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