Liquid Gold

No, I’m not talking about breast milk. I’m talking about the broth used in Thai noodle soup.

Just about everyone knows what Pho is, even if they haven’t actually eaten it before. Well, let me tell you about the Thai version (or at least the one I grew up on). Mom would fill her stockpot with beef bones, coriander roots, garlic, onion, star anise, cinnamon and a splash of soy and fish sauces. She’d skim off the foam every now and then, adjust the seasonings here and there. A few hours later (like about 8), we’d have noodle soup.

When the soup broth is the star ingredient, I think it is worth the effort to make the stock rather than buy it. It can be a time consuming process (mostly just passive waiting), but I try to make enough to freeze some for later use. I’ve added a few more ingredients to get a richer broth.

Asian Beef Stock

• 2 carrots, cut in half and lengthwise
• 10 coriander roots or 4 stalks celery cut into thirds
• 1 onion, quartered
• 1 knob ginger (about 2x2 inch), sliced
• 5-6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 star anise
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 tbs thick soy sauce
• 2 tbs regular soy sauce
• 1 tbs brown sugar
• 5 lbs beef bones

In a stock pot on medium-high heat, add 1 tbs oil. When hot, add the carrot, coriander/celery, onion, ginger and garlic. Saute until the vegetables start to take color. The more color the veggies take, the more flavor they add to the stock. Add the anise and cinnamon and continue to sauté for about 1-2 (or more) minutes. Just don’t let them burn. Add the sauces and brown sugar and sauté for another minute. Add the beef bones and enough water to cover (if you want to brown the beef bones first, you can do this in a preheated 400º oven until they take on nice color). Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and simmer until about 1/3 of the liquid has evaporated. This could take 4 hours or more, depending on the size of your stockpot. Skim off the foam occasionally.

After the liquid has reduced, turn off the heat and let the stock cool enough to handle. You could cover it and let it sit on the stove for about an hour. Remove the bones and strain the stock (if the bones were meaty, you could save a few and set aside to use in the soup). The finer the sieve, the better. At this point I put the stock in the fridge to cool completely. The fat will rise to the top and the next day I just skim it right off. What’s left is a gelatinous, concentrated stock, probably equaling about 4-6 cups.

For the soup

• Bean sprouts, as much as you like
• ½ bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
• 2-3 green onions, finely sliced
• steak, thinly sliced (I use NY strip or Ribeye)
  
• beef meatballs from my Thai-Viet store
• tripe (optional! But a must for my mother)
• 1 lb vacuum-packed rice noodles or 1 pack dry rice noodles

Start with 2-3 cups stock and add 3-4 cups of water, bring to a boil, cover and then turn down the heat to simmer. Season with salt to taste (you could certainly use fish sauce, but I like to serve that on the side with the soup). If the broth tastes thin, add more stock by the cupful. Freeze any leftover stock for later use (even if you only have 1 cup left). I might add another star anise or cinnamon stick or up to 1 tbs hoisin sauce depending on my mood. The broth should be sufficiently salted and have a hint of sweetness from the caramelized vegetables and spices. If you saved the meaty bones, add that back to the broth. I also like to add beef meatballs, which I buy at my Thai-Viet market.

Like the Vietnamese, we use rice noodles. They can be thin or wide, fresh or dried (don’t confuse them with chow fun noodles though). I like to use the fresh, vacuum-packed noodles because they are more convenient. No pre-soaking required. If you use the dry noodles, soak them until they are just workable, not until they are soft. Boil the noodles for about 15-30 seconds for fresh or up to 1 minute for dry noodles. I do each serving separately. Fish them out using a spider and put them into separate bowls immediately, as they tend to clump up quickly. But don’t worry, they separate nicely when the broth is added. If you’re using bean sprouts, make sure they are washed and boil them for about 30 seconds. Fish them out and put them in the bowls. Put the sliced steak into the bowls on top of the bean sprouts. Ladle hot broth over the steak and add enough to cover the noodles. Don’t forget to give each bowl a couple meatballs and a little braised meat (from the bones). Garnish with the scallions and cilantro.

Noodle soup is always served with condiments so that each person can adjust the flavor to their liking. These should include (brown) sugar, fish sauce, sambal oelek or chopped Thai chillies in vinegar (2-3 chopped chillies, 1/4 cup rice vinegar, 1 tsp fish sauce), fried garlic in oil (1 head chopped garlic fried in about 1-2 inches of oil in a small saucepan), roughly chopped cilantro, finely chopped scallions, lime wedges, and extra bean sprouts.

Remember my post about Pae-lo and at the end of the post, I said to save any leftover broth. Well, now is the perfect time to use it. Pae-lo broth has all the same ingredients found in this beef stock, but it’s made from pork. No matter, it still gives the noodle soup a richer taste than just store-bought stock alone. For each cup of Pae-lo broth, use about 2-3 cups beef stock.