Pho Bo (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

Pho is the pride of Vietnamese cooking: a spiced beef stock cooked for hours, which in the bowl is poured over the raw meat and the fresh greens.

The stock

1. Blanch the beef bones, pour off the scum, then put the bones back on to cook in clean, cold water.

2. In a dry pan char the halved onion and the ginger, until their cut sides blacken – this gives the stock its deep aroma.

3. Put the charred onion and ginger, together with the cinnamon and the star anise, into the stock.

4. Over a low heat, at just a gentle simmer, cook it for several hours, then strain it, and season it with fish sauce.

The serving

5. Cook or soak the rice noodles separately, then divide them into bowls.

6. Slice the beef very thinly, and lay it raw onto the noodles.

7. Pour over the boiling-hot stock, which cooks the meat in a few seconds, then serve it sprinkled with sliced spring onion and fresh coriander.

Tip: The colder the meat, the easier it is to slice paper-thin – put it in the freezer briefly before slicing.