KUALA LUMPUR, June 21 — What’s not to love about Beef Pho? From its rich, clear broth that’s concentrated with amazing flavours to the presence of fresh, aromatic herbs and the silky smooth rice noodles that practically glide down your throat effortlessly, this dish is a true winner. Hence, one should be equipped with a fantastic recipe to satisfy sudden Beef Pho cravings.

The broth is undoubtedly the star of this dish. A slow cooker is usually used to boil the beef bones. The bones are quite large in size, so a slow cooker is really the best option, as a normal pot would require water to be topped up all the time and careful monitoring of the flame. 

The bigger beef bones also means it takes a longer time to extract all the nutrients and minerals from it, and we definitely don’t want to compromise where nutritional benefits are concerned. The slow cooker allows you to leave the bones to simmer for hours, giving you perfect concentrated beef stock accompanied by an amazing portfolio of flavours.

While many people look at the stock merely as the soup for this dish, we fail to acknowledge the healthy goodness of this concentrate. As it is made from boiling the bones for hours, the minerals that are derived from it is easily absorbed by our body, nourishing it with the likes of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, silicon, sulphur and trace materials. 

Besides that, the broken-down material from the cartilage and tendons would also be present in the stock, providing stuff like chondroitin sulphates and glucosamine. If these seem familiar to you, you might have seen them in pharmacies, sold as expensive supplements for the treatment and prevention of arthritis and joint aches. Why bother with supplements when you can consume those in a much palatable manner?

This dish is best served piping hot. And if the weather is a little cold, that’s even better. But then, no day is a bad day for a beefy affair like this!

Vietnamese Beef Pho

Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: Approximately 4-4.5 hours
Serves 6-8

1.5kg beef bone with marrow, cooked for 15 minutes and then discard water.
2 large Bombay onions, grilled until skin is slightly burnt
5 star anise
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon cloves
 2 litres water
200gm dried Chinese shiitake mushrooms, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
2-inch ginger piece, sliced thinly
1 chicken bouillon
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons rock sugar
1kg beef brisket, cooked for 15 minutes and then discard water
1 packet of Vietnamese rice vermicelli, soaked in hot water for 15 minutes or until soft 
Handful of fresh beansprouts
Handful mint leaves
Lime wedges

1. To prepare the soup, cook beef bones, onions, beef brisket and water for 3 hours in a slow cooker. Remove bones and onions and then add soaked shiitake mushrooms, ginger, star anise, cloves and cinnamon to cook for further 1.5 hours. Add chicken bouillon, salt and sugar and simmer for further 30 minutes.

2. Remove beef brisket from the stock and let it rest to cool. Put it in the refrigerator and when it has hardened up a bit, slice beef brisket thinly and put aside on a clean plate.

3. To prepare the dish, place cooked noodles in a clean bowl. Add thin slices of beef brisket and then pour soup over noodles until it covers noodles.

4. Garnish with mint leaves, lime wedges and bean sprouts. For that extra omph, you can add a squeeze of Vietnamese chilli sauce into the soup.

NOTE: You can also add raw slices of beef into your bowl just before you pour the boiling hot soup over it to cook it.

* For more recipes, go to www.chopstickdiner.com