I adore traditional Vietnamese pho, but it is quite an involved process to make it authentically. So I created this soup to capture the aromatic essence of Vietnamese pho quickly, easily and inexpensively.
The basis of this soup is my quality homemade beef bone broth, and I recommend making this in advance so you've got it on hand when you feel like this recipe. I also substituted traditional rice noodles with zoodles (zucchini noodles) to make the dish even healthier.
Ingredients
Serves 2
Broth
- 4 cups homemade beef bone broth
- ¼ cup fish sauce
- 2 star anise
- 1 inch ginger, washed and cut into slices
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 large zucchini, cut into ribbbons
- Salt, to taste
Toppings (optional)
- I served my soup with Thai basil, mint, finely sliced red chili, bean sprouts, enoki mushrooms, and red chili paste.
- I also recommend serving this soup with cooked shredded chicken, a boiled egg, fresh cilantro, sliced spring onions, sliced crimini mushrooms, bok choy, chili oil, or sriracha. Mix and match the toppings as you please.
Method
- Put the beef bone both in a saucepan on high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat until the broth is simmering.
- Add the fish sauce, star anise, ginger, and cinnamon and simmer for 15 minutes.
- While the broth is infusing with the aromatics, peel the zucchini and cut it into ribbons.
- Taste the broth to make sure you're happy with the balance of flavors. Add salt to taste, if needed. Then remove the star anise and ginger pieces with a slotted spoon.
- Add the zucchini noodles and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
- Divide the noodles equally between bowls, and serve with a side plate of toppings.
Cooking Notes
- On this occasion I used a vegetable peeler to make the zucchini noodles, but I've also used this spiralizer in the past with good results.
- This recipe doubles or triples easily.
Zucchini noodles 'zoodles' made with a vegetable peeler.