Le Creuset Dutch Oven Recipe: Vietnamese Beef Pho

This recipe is packed full of spices and flavour for an un-pho-getable meal

There's nothing quite like having a delicious bowl of hot Vietnamese beef pho – chewy noodles, tender beef slices, crunchy bean sprouts, fresh greens and flavourful spices all sitting in a delightful savoury broth. Making pho is all about the broth, which can be a long-simmered affair. This recipe is a quicker alternative that uses store-bought beef stock. We used the Le Creuset cast iron dutch oven to make this delicious beef pho. Cooking pho with a dutch oven is ideal for simmering and creating the rich beef broth, utilising the pot's ability to have even heat dispersion when cooking to balance flavours. Cast iron cookware also has brilliant heat retention making it great for slow cooking and keeps ingredients hot for serving long after cooking.

Ingredients

For the aromatic beef broth:

• 2L fresh beef stock
• ½ teaspoon (about 12) cloves
• 1 teaspoon cracked black peppercorns
• 5cm peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 6 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 medium-hot red chilli, thinly sliced
• 2x7.5cm cinnamon sticks
• 3 star anise
• 8 green cardamom pods, cracked open
• 2 teaspoons light muscovado sugar

For the soup:

• 175g dried flat rice noodles
• 300g piece beef fillet
• 4-6 spring onions, trimmed
• 200g baby bok choy, halved length-ways
• 250g mixed oriental or shiitake mushrooms
• 100g fresh beansprouts

To finish:

• 6 tablespoons Thai fish sauce, plus extra to serve
• Juice 1 lime, plus lime wedges to serve

Method

1. For the aromatic beef broth, put all the ingredients into the Le Creuset Signature Cast Iron Oval Casserole; bring to a boil and leave to simmer gently for 15 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, drop the rice noodles into a pan of boiling water, turn off the heat and leave to soak for 8-10 minutes until just tender. Cut the beef fillet across the grain into thin slices, then slice each piece into 1cm wide strips. Cut the spring onions, across into two, then each piece lengthways into thin shreds.
3. Strain the beef broth into a bowl and discard the flavouring ingredients left in the sieve. Return the broth to the casserole and bring it back to a gentle simmer. Add the bok choy and simmer for 2 minutes, then add the mushrooms and simmer for a further 2 minutes.
4. Remove the broth from the heat and stir in the Thai fish sauce, lime juice, bean sprouts and shredded spring onions. Drop the strips of beef into the hot broth, then garnish the top with the sliced red chilli, coriander and mint leaves. Ladle into deep bowls to serve with extra fish sauce and lime wedges for squeezing.

Cook's Notes

1. Look for pouches of fresh beef stock in the chilled cabinet of the supermarket. Diluted beef stock cubes will not work for this soup.
2. Spinach would be an ideal alternative if you cannot get hold of any bok choy.
3. Beef fillet is one of the most tender cuts, which makes it ideal for this recipe, but any lean tender steak, cut into very thin slices would also work for this dish.

Recipe source by Le Creuset

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