Description
Vietnamese pho showcases delicate beef broth with rice noodles, tender meat slices, and fresh herbs. Fragrant spices and balanced flavors make this classic soup a comforting culinary journey you’ll savor to the last spoonful.
Ingredients
Scale
- 8 cups (1.9 L / 64 fl oz) chicken broth
- 4 cups (0.95 L / 32 fl oz) beef broth
- 4 cups (0.95 L / 32 fl oz) water
- 1 large sweet onion, peeled and cut into wedges
- 2 large carrots, cut into chunks
- 10 button mushrooms, sliced thin
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
- 4 whole scallions, chopped
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger, sliced
- 2 tsps sesame oil (or peanut oil)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Preparation: Orchestrate your culinary workspace by precisely slicing onions, mincing garlic, dicing carrots, and finely chopping ginger into uniform dimensions, ensuring optimal flavor integration and visual appeal.
- Flavor Development: Ignite oil in a capacious stock pot over medium-high temperature. Introduce aromatics – onions, garlic, carrots, and ginger – allowing them to caramelize and release their intrinsic essences, stirring persistently to achieve a golden, fragrant foundation.
- Liquid Composition: Pour chicken and beef broths seamlessly into the pot, complementing with water. Integrate ingredients thoroughly, creating a nuanced liquid environment that will become the broth’s soulful core.
- Flavor Extraction and Infusion: Propel liquid to a robust boil, then modulate heat to a gentle simmer. Allow the broth to evolve and concentrate for approximately one hour, enabling ingredients to harmonize and deepen their complex flavor dimensions.
- Refinement and Seasoning: Meticulously strain softened vegetables using a fine-mesh skimmer, revealing a pristine, translucent liquid. Calibrate seasoning with salt, achieving a balanced and sophisticated taste profile.
- Culinary Presentation: Transfer the aromatic broth into elegant serving vessels. Garnish with vibrant scallions and delicate mushroom slivers, elevating the dish from simple sustenance to a gastronomic experience.
Notes
- Slice Smart: Uniform vegetable cuts ensure even cooking and consistent flavor distribution, preventing some pieces from becoming mushy while others remain undercooked.
- Caramelize Carefully: Stir vegetables frequently during initial sautéing to develop deep, golden colors without burning, which releases complex flavor compounds and enhances overall taste profile.
- Simmer Strategically: Maintain a gentle, consistent simmer rather than a rapid boil to extract maximum flavor essence from ingredients without creating a cloudy or bitter broth.
- Seasoning Subtly: Taste and adjust salt incrementally, understanding that flavors concentrate during cooking, preventing an overly salty final result.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Category: Drinks, Dinner
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: Asian
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 9
- Calories: 45
- Sugar: 1 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 2 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 8 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg