Pho Bo
Aromatic beef noodle soup with charred ginger and toasted spice.
Ingredients
- 1000 g Beef shin
- 300 g Beef flank steak
- 500 g Pho rice noodles
- 1 Ginger
- 2 Onion
- 4 Star anise
- 1 Cinnamon stick
- 4 Whole cloves
- 4 tbsp Fish sauce
- 1 tbsp Salt
- 1 bunch Thai basil (optional)
- 200 g Bean sprouts (optional)
- 2 Lime (optional)
Method
- Char the ginger and onion directly over a flame or under a broiler until blackened.
- Toast the star anise, cinnamon, and cloves in a dry pan until fragrant.
- Simmer the beef shin with the charred aromatics and toasted spices, skimming, at a bare simmer for 3 hours.
- Soak the pho noodles in warm water until pliable, then dip them in boiling water for a few seconds just before serving until soft.
- Slice the raw flank as thinly as you can.
- Pile noodles and raw beef in bowls and ladle over the boiling broth to cook the beef.
- Serve with a plate of basil, bean sprouts, and lime.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Pho Bo
Pho bo is Vietnam's beef noodle soup and one of the country's defining dishes, prized for a broth that manages to be both deeply meaty and remarkably clear. The character comes from two preparatory steps most soups skip: ginger and onion charred black over a flame, and star anise, cinnamon, and cloves toasted dry until fragrant. Those aromatics simmer with beef shin at a bare whisper for around three hours, with the cook skimming steadily so the broth stays clean rather than cloudy. Fish sauce seasons it, giving the savory depth that reads as unmistakably Vietnamese.
At the table it becomes an assembly: soft rice noodles and paper-thin raw flank steak wait in the bowl, and the boiling broth is ladled over to poach the beef right there in seconds. The result is warming and aromatic, the spice present but restrained, the beef silky. A side plate of Thai basil, bean sprouts, and lime lets each person tune their own bowl with herbs, crunch, and acid. It's a weekend project rather than a weeknight one given the long simmer, but the broth can be made ahead, and it feeds a crowd of six as a complete meal in a bowl.
Pho Bo: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Pho Bo?
A serving has about 625 calories — 53.6g protein, 77.5g carbs, 11.2g fat, 4.3g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 53.6g of protein, roughly 34% of its calories.
Is Pho Bo gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Pho Bo has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
How long does Pho Bo take to make?
About 210 minutes start to finish, but only around 32 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Pho Bo?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out thai basil, bean sprouts, lime — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Pho Bo make?
This recipe makes 6 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.