Hi friends! I recently updated the original Vietnamese pho recipe that I shared here back in 2013, and also created a vegetarian/vegan pho recipe for our plant-based eaters here as well.
Traditional Pho (with Beef, Chicken, Pork or Shrimp)
Vietnamese Pho Soup
- Total Time: 30 minutes
Description
Full instructions for my updated recipes are available here: Traditional Pho or Vegan Pho.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Stir together beef broth, water, onion, garlic, star anise, cloves, ginger, cinnamon stick (and fish sauce, if using) in a large stockpot, and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and let simmer for at least 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cook the noodles according to package instructions. (If your package of noodles — like mine — did not have instructions, simply bring a large pot of water to a boil. Then cook the noodles until al dente, about 3 minutes.) Immediately drain the noodles, and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Drain and set aside.
- When you are ready to serve the soup, fill the serving bowls about halfway full with noodles. Then cover with the hot broth, and immediately stir in the steak so that it cooks. Top with your desired garnishes.
- (*Most people stir the cilantro, ginger, lime, jalapenos and Thai basil into the broth to give it extra flavoring, but you don’t necessarily need to actually eat those ingredients whole.)
I made this Pho soup, but with veggie broth and just loved it.
In other recipes it sais you need rock sugar does it taste different if you don’t have it?
I am confused about the meat. Do you place the meat UNCOOKED into the broth? Does the hot broth cook the meat? Sorry for being obtuse….Thank you!
Yes! Generally thin uncooked meat is packed in boiling broth in your bow and it quickly cooks through.
The meat looks raw?
Hi Peggy — we promise it’s not!
We love pho! Making this tonight since my daughter is not feeling to well. She prefers pho over chicken noodle soup. Only question I had was it asks for salt and pepper…. Is it for the broth?
Awesome, we hope you enjoy it! We’re sorry your daughter’s sick — we hope this helps (pho is the best when you’re sick)! The salt and pepper is for the broth — you can just season to taste if you like.
We went to the Vietnam Cafe at the River Market tonight for dinner after pinning thus and reading the comments. We had never had pho before so we were wowed by how amazing it was. We (me and my 9&10year old daughters) loved the whole experience and look forward to trying to recreate it at home with your recipe. Great recommendation on the restaurant. Thanks!!
Kay, we’re so happy you and your girls enjoyed Vietnam Cafe, that’s awesome! We hope you enjoy the pho recipe as well! :)
Wow, I loved this. Not too salty, nice blend of spices. This is the type of soup that I could totally be happy just sipping on the broth. I envision days where I feel a tad under the weather and this would be the most delicious, strength-giving broth to soothe the sinuses and sore throat. hmm…maybe flu season won’t be so bad this year… ;) Thanks for an awesome recipe. I can’t wait for leftover broth tomorrow!
Thanks for sharing Amanda, we’re happy you enjoyed this! We hope you feel better!
I have been craving Pho for weeks. Had it last at a wonderful little Vietnamese restaurant by work. I need to make this myself. I will be using shrimp, squid and crabmeat for mine. I am going to make a huge pot and not share with anyone. J/K. But i can’t wait to make this tomorrow after work. #getinmytummy
Rennie, isn’t it the best?! It’s so fun to make at home too – we hope you love this recipe (and that seafood combo sounds yummy)!
Wow, that sounds so Pho-king good! (Sorry)
Haha, thank you! :D
Any idea what the nutritional value of this is? Calories, sodium level, etc?
Hi Rachel! We’re sorry but we are unsure of the nutrition facts/amount of calories in this recipe. We currently are not publishing nutrition facts on the site, as the nutrition calculators available are not 100% accurate, and we never want to publish anything that might be misleading. However, a lot of our readers love the My Fitness Pal nutrition calculator, so feel free to try that for an estimate. We hope that helps!