Phở-style Noodle Soup

8 oz rice noodles (or angel hair pasta)

1 yellow onion

2 Tbsp fresh ginger, or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

5 whole pieces of star anise, or 2 teaspoons fennel seeds

3 cinnamon sticks, or 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 whole cloves, or 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

4 Tbsp sriracha sauce

1 Tbsp rice vinegar (or 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce for a more authentic taste)

Juice of 1 lime

6 cups beef broth (or broth of choice, such as chicken or vegetable)

2 cups water

1/4 cup low-sodium soy or coconut aminos sauce

1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

3 oz thinly sliced beef steak (or other protein, such as chicken or tofu)

2 cups chopped cilantro and/or Thai basil (optional garnish)

Bean sprouts (optional garnish)

Hoisin sauce, to taste (optional)

Coarsely chop the onion and ginger into large 1/2-inch chunks. Broil the ginger and onions for 6–8 minutes in the oven on the high/broil setting until they look lightly charred but not burned.

While the ginger and onions are broiling, toast the cinnamon, anise, and clove spices in a dry sauté pan on medium heat for 6–8 minutes. Stir periodically to avoid burning.

Make the broth. In a large saucepan, add the ingredients in this order; broth, water, rice vinegar or fish sauce, lime juice, soy sauce, spices, onion, ginger, and sugar. Bring the broth to a high rolling boil. Once boiling, gradually add the thinly sliced beef, cover, and allow to simmer on medium-low for 30–35 minutes. The broth should be quite fragrant by this time. Once the broth has finished simmering, with a fine mesh strainer, gently remove the spices, onion, and ginger from the mix, leaving only the broth and beef steak (or protein of choice). If you opted for powdered spices, they will be blended into the broth at this point.

While the broth is simmering, prep your noodles or angel hair pasta according to the packet’s cooking instructions. Be sure to rinse with cold water or add a touch of oil to prevent the noodles from clumping. Once finished, drain and set aside.

After the broth and noodles have finished cooking, assemble the soup. Begin by placing a serving of noodles at the bottom of a large bowl, and then gradually layer with the warm broth and beef mixture. Top with fresh cilantro, basil, bean sprouts, sriracha, and/or hoisin sauce.

Using whole spices instead of ground spices will yield a better tasting broth.

You can leave the meat out of the broth while boiling and simmering so that you can strain the broth of the spices easier. I added the meat to my bowl of noodles and pour broth over it at the very end. Make sure the broth is hot or boiling before serving in your bowl so it cooks the meat.