Beef Pho

My version of pho and easy and impressive!  This is a great recipe for entertaining: the stock can be made the morning of your event or even a day or two in advance, while stock takes a while to cook, it's simple to throw together.  When it's time to serve, arrange ingredients in buffet-style so everyone builds their own bowl.  So easy and so impressive!

Beef Pho

Ingredients

Stock

• 2 beef shanks with meat on them
• 3 large yellow onions, halved
• 1 6-inch piece ginger, halved lengthwise
• 1 head garlic, halved crosswise
• 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 4 star anise pods
• 3 Tbsp. black peppercorns
• 3 quarts quarts beef stock
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• salt, to taste

• Soup

• 1 lb. pho or ramen noodles (both work great, just use what you can find)
• 3 steaks (6 oz. each) sirloin, or filet are good choices
• 4 cups bean sprouts
• 1 large bunch Thai basil or sweet basil (or cilantro, depending on the season)
• 2 jalapeno peppers thinly sliced
• 1 bunch scallions, diagonally sliced
• Hoisin sauce and Sriracha, for serving

Serves 6
Cook Time: 2 hours

Make the broth: Position a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat to 450. Toss the beef shanks, onions, ginger and garlic with the vegetable oil on a rimmed baking sheet and season generously with salt (if your stock pot can go in the oven you can just use that instead of dirtying up a sheet pan). Roast, turning once halfway through, until the meat and vegetables are slightly charred, about 30 minutes. Transfer to a large pot.
Add the beef stock, 2 quarts water, the toasted spices and the fish sauce to the pot with the beef shanks. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, skimming off any foam that rises to the top, until the meat is tender, 1 hour to 1 hour, 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and transfer the beef shanks to a cutting board; strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve into another large pot. (The broth can be made up to 2 days ahead; let cool, then refrigerate in a covered container.)
Shred the meat from the shanks with two forks, discarding any bits of cartilage, then stir back into the broth. Discard the bones.
Cook the noodles as the label directs just before serving.  I have everyone put their accoutrements in the bowl and then top with the homemade pho stock.