Soup Pho

For the Broth:
Submerge the bones in hot tap water and bring to
boil, then discard this first "broth" so that the "pho" final broth would
be nice and "clear" and not muddy looking. Now for the real broth, add
1.5 gallons of water and 1 tsp. salt and bring to boil. While waiting for
boiling point, add these:

Lightly charbroil the ginger root and shallots over open flames on your
stove. For the ginger, roast until you can easily peel the skin, about 3
min. Peel off the out skin. Add to the broth. For the onions, charbroil
until the outer skin layer are burnt, but don't over do it, about 3 min.
Lightly roast the auiseeds for about 1-2 min. in a pan. Add all of these
to the broth. Add the sugar (optional). When the water boils, lower the
heat and simmer for about 6 hrs.

When you are ready to eat:

For the rice noodles preparation, boil some water in a pot. Put the
amount of rice noodles you want in a strainer (the kind with a handle, and
small enough to fit in the pot you're using.) and submerge it in the
boiling water for a few seconds and quickly take it out!! The timing is
important for a good rice noodle. You don't want to overcook the rice
noodle for too long ( even 15 sec. can be too long!!) and have soggy
noodles! Just dip the noodles in the boiling water and lift it out (about
5 sec., or just done) quickly and put it in your bowl.

If you have a lot of broth and only wants to make one or two servings,
take out enough broth you want and bring it to a boil in another pot. Dip
in the amount of sliced beef you want, just enough to cook the meat,
depends on how well done you want it. Put the cooked meat into your bowl
of rice noodle and add enough broth to submerge them. Then add the green
onions & cilantro to garnish. Add fish sauce to taste, if needed.
Usually the broth is good w/out any extra salt or fish sauce. Then
garnish with fresh basil leaves and/or bean sprouts (a handful)if you
like. I love to squeeze a slice of fresh lemon and a bit of red hot
pepper (or jalapeno) to taste. This is optional. If you're using hot red
pepper, becareful! It can too very hot, depending your your taste buds
tolerance!!

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NOTES : Note 1: One toe sized lump of rock sugar (available in Vietnamese