Humble Bowl of Homemade Pho

It’s been a while since I last wrote about homemade pho. We’ve definitely made and enjoyed many pots of pho since. It seems we've been giving Phnom Penh noodles more love.

One of the many pots of pho was made with pork bones. We try to buy the meatier pork bones. The meat becomes tender after being simmered in the soup for two or three hours and just melts in your mouth.

Thin rice noodles were soaked in cold water at least an hour prior to eating. Since the rice noodles have already absorbed a lot of water, they only need to soften in boiling water for literally one second. I like to press the cooked noodles with the ladle to drain any excess water, that way it doesn’t taint the soup.

My bowl of noodles was topped with some tender bits of pork, some slices of beef (eye of round), and some green onions. We didn’t have any cilantro or onions that day or else those would’ve been added too.

I like to bring the pot of pho soup to a boil for a few seconds and then bringing it down to a gentle simmer when I’m ready to eat. The soup would become cloudy if the pot of pho were to be left on a boil. Ladles of super hot soup filled the bowl and then the bowl of pho was eaten immediately. The thin slices of beef are cooked in the soup and the pork bits are heated through.

The thing I love about homemade pho is that you can just top up your bowl with more soup afterwards. I usually end my meal with a ladleful of soup to wash everything down. Mmm...