Chef's Notes
- Have your butcher thinly slice the beef tenderloin for you. You can also freeze it slightly which makes it easier to slice by hand. Thinly-sliced beef flank can be substituted.
- Freeze the remaining broth and you’ll be able to serve up this delicious and healthy soup any time! See: Tricks for Freezing Stock
Step 1: Blanching the Meat & Bones
- 2 lb beef bones (approx.)
- 2 lb braising beef ribs
- 2 lb oxtail
- cold water (as needed)
To blanch the meat, place everything into a tall, skinny soup pot and cover with cold water. Bring the water up to a boil over medium-high heat.
Skim the impurities off the top as they rise to the surface. Once the water comes to a boil, drain and discard the murky water. Cover the meat again with cold water and return to the heat. Slowly bring to a simmer, skimming any additional impurities off the surface.
In the meantime, prepare your mise en place.
Step 2: Preparing Your Mise en Place
- 4 large onions
- 5 inches fresh ginger
- 6 garlic cloves
- 6 whole star anise
- 8 cloves
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 tsp black peppercorns
To prepare your mise en place, first peel the onions and ginger. Cut the onions in half. Slightly char the onions and ginger over an open flame (or under the broiler) just to soften. Remove any large blackened bits. Dice the onions into about 1" -inch pieces. Cut the ginger into large slices.
Gather the bouquet garni (star anise, cloves, garlic, cinnamon sticks and peppercorns). Set aside.
Step 3: Starting the Broth
- salt (1/4 tsp per L/qt of liquid)
Once the impurities have been skimmed from the surface of the broth, add the salt, mirepoix and bouquet garni. Continue to gently simmer until the meat is cooked through, at least 2 hours.
Step 4: Finishing the Broth
Once the broth has finished cooking, remove and discard the solids (the meat, however, can be reserved for other preparations). Strain the broth through a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth.
Skim as much fat from the surface as possible. If desired, cool the broth over an ice bath and refrigerate. Remove any hardened fat before proceeding with the recipe.
Step 5: Seasoning the Broth (optional)
- 12 cups beef broth
- 2 tsp fish sauce (or to taste)
- 1 tsp rock sugar (or regular sugar)
Bring the desired amount of broth to a simmer (about 2 to 3 cups per person).** Taste the broth (reheat first if cold) and season to taste with the fish sauce and rock sugar. Adding fish sauce and rock sugar will help balance out the soup.
Depending on how much broth you are using you will need to adjust the fish sauce (nuoc mam) and rock sugar (duong phen) to taste.
Step 6: Soaking the Noodles
- 8 oz thin rice noodles
To prepare the noodles, place them into a large bowl and cover with very hot water. Soak for about 30 minutes or just until soft.
In the meantime, prepare the rest of the garniture.
Step 7: Preparing the Garniture
- 1 small white onion
- 2 green onions
- 2 whole serrano chilies
- 1 1/2 cups bean sprouts
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- 1 small bunch Thai basil
- 1 fresh lemon
- Sriacha sauce (optional)
- oyster sauce (optional)
- 12 oz thinly-sliced tenderloin*
To prepare the garniture, peel and thinly slice the white onion into rounds. Thinly slice the green onions and chilies on a bias. Wash and spin-dry the bean sprouts, cilantro and basil. Set each aside. Cut the lemon into wedges. Place the Sriacha sauce and oyster sauce into small sauce dishes.
Remove the beef tenderloin from the refrigerator.
Step 8: Building and Serving the Soup
Drain the noodles and divide among each bowl. Add a few slices of white onion and some sliced green onions over top. Place about 3 ounces of sliced beef over top.
Pour the simmering broth directly over the beef. Serve immediately. The beef will immediately begin to cook from the heat of the hot broth.
Have each person squeeze lemon wedges into the broth to taste. Top with bean sprouts and cilantro. Season with the sliced green chilies, Sriacha sauce and oyster sauce to taste).