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Pho Broth: The Soul of Vietnamese Pho

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(@mohan)
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Joined: 10 years ago

Hi,

Is the broth can made without beef bones???

In pho 24 noodle shop the soup they serving with chicken is made of beef bones???

I am a hindu , I dont eat pork and beef. want to know exactly about the broth soup made in Pho 24 noodles shop. Is it contains beef as mentioned in the article???

Please reply.

Thanks.

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Cuong Huynh
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(@cuonghuynh)
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@mohan: If you order chicken pho (phở gà) then you should have 100% chicken in your pho. I cannot comment on how Pho 24 makes its chicken broth, but I do know many pho restaurants use beef broth in their chicken pho, which is really unacceptable. So it's a possibility Pho 24 use beef broth on their chicken pho. If you have any doubt about Pho 24's chicken pho then I'd recommend you ask them before ordering. Make sure you tell them clearly you do not eat beef or pork and you do not want beef broth in your chicken pho. If they can't do this right for you then I think you can find a much better chicken pho elsewhere. Good luck to you.

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 Kon
(@Kon)
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Hi!
I cooked bones and spices for 12 hours on low heat and I get slime jelly instead of soup.... Why? Can I do anything with this or it's just junk?

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Cuong Huynh
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(@cuonghuynh)
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@Kon: I think 12 hours is overkill! Did you keep adding water as you go, even at low heat? You must have lost all water from the broth and are left with just the fat and protein product. But I wouldn't say it's a total loss. Try adding water back to what your recipe called for, heat it up and see how it tastes. I hope you've already taken all the bones and other solids out.

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(@MOONROCK)
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so the brisket/flank is stored off and cooled at the end of the broth operation and then when the PHO is served portions are sliced and added back in ?

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 Dave
(@Dave)
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Joined: 10 years ago

I have a few questions for you.

1. I was wondering if you know what cut of meat at restaurants they call well done lean meat? Is it chuck? Sirloin? Eye of Round?

2. How much meat do you think is necessary in a bowl of pho assuming you use 20 ounces of broth and about 5 ounces of noodles? 3-4 ounces seems about right to me?

3. I have seen restaurants that simmer the meats in with the pho for up to 5 hours. Do you think it is better to take them out sooner?

4. Do you prefer to have the rock sugar and fish sauce added to the broth for the entire cooking process or at the end?

5. What do you do to cool the meats so they do not brown when placed in the refrigerator?

6. When you refrigerate the broth, it is easier to remove the fat as it hardens at the top. I have noticed that the broth obviously doesn't taste as good if you remove too much fat. How much do you like to remove?

7. What do you think are the best tasting meats for pho broth? I like oxtail in mine but the cost goes way up if you use too much. Sirloin, chuck and brisket are all in the $2.50/lb range and seem to produce a nice flavor.

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Cuong Huynh
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(@cuonghuynh)
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@MOONROCK: Yes you are correct. At the end of the broth cooking, the meat has done its job to flavor the broth. You can slice it any time between then and serving, but many people slice it closer to service to get the freshest meat possible.

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Cuong Huynh
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@Dave: Here goes:

1. "Well done" may be flank or brisket, but you can use anything really.
2. If you are selling your pho in a restaurant, then your meat portions depends on the size of the bowl, and on your food cost and profit margin desired. If you're serving at home, then anything goes!
3. The simmer time for the meat depends on how tender you want the meat to be, and whether you have extracted flavor into the broth.
4. I do not have a preference, but I do have a recipe I follow. Whether or not you have your own recipe, rock sugar and fish sauce are used to flavor the broth, so if you add them near the beginning, then you will get those flavors in the meat also. If you add them toward the end, then less of those flavors goes into the meat. So it depends on what you want.
5. You're assuming I remove the fat. I don't because I like it in my pho. The question is: why remove the fat at all? That's the good stuff.
6. Again, Dave, if you're selling pho then you should look at your food cost and profit margin as part of your decision. Otherwise, use what you can afford, is what I would say.

Sounds like you're trying to figure how to run a pho restaurant. If you need help then head over to fill out the pho consultation contact form to get some help. Hope the answers above helped.

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