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Huge disclaimer: This is not a traditional/authentic or proper pho recipe in any way. I am very much a home cook, and this recipe is my practical solution for making a comforting noodle soup with all the pho flavors at home, without a lot of active maintenance. Things I associate with making a proper pho include: using a variety of beef bones for a rich complex flavor, using all whole spices, and skimming the scum and impurities off the top of the broth for several hours to produce a completely clear broth. This recipe does not involve any of these things! You could choose to run the entire broth through a fine sieve before serving, but I do not do this since I am not looking to impress anyone at home.

The key to compensating for the lack of effort in this recipe is using a good store-bought bone broth—this basically becomes the stand-in for buying, cleaning, roasting, and boiling all those aforementioned beef bones. For Bay Area folks, I recommend the one found in the frozen section at Berkeley Bowl, that seems to be made in-house. I’ve also tried Bonafide Provisions beef bone broth and that worked well too. You are looking for something that is heavy in natural collagen from the bones and doesn’t have other added flavorings; it’s usually kept frozen and something that is sold as shelf stable is not gonna cut it in terms of richness. You want a broth that sticks to the noodles.

Now let’s talk about fresh garnishes. In that first photo, you’ll see mint, red veined sorrel, and rau răm (Vietnamese coriander?) that I grew in my backyard. These are probably not authentic pho garnishes either! From what I understand, different regions in Vietnam tend to serve different herbs depending on what grows prevalently. At restaurants near me, I see Thai basil served with pho. I like to think I am keeping to the spirit of using regional produce by using what is growing in my garden. But again, I am not making any claims of being any sort of authority on the matter here. If making this in the winter when my garden is looking lackluster, I use Thai basil and cilantro from the store.

Although it does take (inactive) time, I think of this as a cheater shortcut pho recipe that will fill your house with the smell of pho and fill your belly with beefy joy—even though it’s a little on the scrappy unrefined side.

Ingredients for Broth

4–6 short ribs (about 2.5 lbs), cut into separate rib pieces
five spice powder
salt
pepper
1 sweet onion, quartered
2–4 tbsp fish sauce
32 oz high-quality beef bone broth, defrosted
several cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled
several ginger slices
2 tbsp brown sugar
8–10 star anise
neutral cooking oil
water

Ingredients for Pho Assembly

1 package (14 oz) dry flat rice noodles
1 shallot or 1/8 small red onion, very thinly sliced
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Optional Garnishes for Serving

1 lime, cut into wedges
1 fresh jalapeño or serrano chili pepper, sliced
1–2 scallions, thinly sliced
fresh herbs, such as Thai basil, extra cilantro
sriracha and hoisin sauce, for dipping

Procedure

Generously (very generously!) rub salt, pepper, and five spice onto the rib pieces and heat up a large pan on the stove on high. Once hot, turn down to medium-high and add a splash of oil, then the beef short ribs and sweet onion. Seer all sides of the short ribs and onions, adding the garlic and ginger halfway through the process. After ribs are seared and aromatics are charred, dump everything into the slow cooker.

Turn the heat down to low and add 2 tablespoons of fish sauce and a splash of water to deglaze the pan. Add all the pan bits to the slow cooker along with the star anise and brown sugar. Add the bone broth plus about 32 oz of water

Set the slow cooker to high and cook for 4 hours.

In the meantime, prep the fresh ingredients.

Cook pho noodles according to the instructions on the package, or until they are just barely al dente. The hot broth will soften them even further.

Carefully remove the short ribs from the broth. If desired, remove the meat from the bone and slice (or, serve the bowls with meat attached to the bones). At this point, taste the broth for seasoning and add more fish sauce if desired.

To assemble, place cooked noodles in a bowl. Ladle the hot broth on top, add the short rib, and garnish with the thinly sliced onion and cilantro. Serve everything else on the side along with some Sriracha and hoisin sauce.

This recipe was originally written for my friends at Nomtastic Foods.