My Phở Recipe

I love cooking, and I love cooking my family's phở even more.

The best gifts are simple. I've been gifted a special Vietnamese heritage. And that heritage has gifted me the wonderful ability to cook my family's phở recipe.

At my going away party, my gift to my friends in New York City was also simple. A slip of paper with my favorite font, Helvetica Neue, I got printed at Walgreens (because who owns a p printer in NYC?), inside a plastic insert from a pack I bought on a whim at Hobby Lobby in FiDi (lets talk about how big that store is…).

Some of my favorite memories in New York were making my family's phở recipe for my closest ones. I left them with a physical representation of these memories. I cannot wait to see them try it out while I forge new memories with my community in San Francisco.

The Party Favor

The Recipe: Benji’s Phở Recipe

By Benji Vo Wong, updated August 2026

I'm half Vietnamese, and growing up, one of my favorite memories was helping my mom cook our family's phở recipe. She didn't follow any written instructions, and we always "estimated" the amount of ingredients we put into the broth (i.e., Not salty enough? Add a bit more fish sauce. Not "meat-y" enough yet? Simmer for another hour). What I love about my family's phở recipe is that it's a hybrid between the Northern & Southern Vietnamese styles. My mom's family was originally from Central Vietnam. The Vo version combines the clear broth principle from Northern phở (influenced by French consommé) and the bold flavors of herbs and spices from Southern phở.

Ingredients

Makes a big pot, comfortably 8-10 bowls. Plan on a full afternoon, roughly 5-6 hours start to finish (or ~36 hours if you run the broth overnight on lowest heat).

Protein

• 3-5 lb of beef leg bones

• 2 pieces of beef shank

• 1 package of beef balls ("bò viên" in the refrigerated section of an Asian market)

• (Optional) 2 lb oxtail (sliced ideally ~1/2 inch by the butcher)

• (Optional) 1 lb beef tendon

• (Optional) 1 lb beef flank

Soup Base

• Pho Hoa Vietnamese Special Spice, 2 packets (Gia Vi brand)

• Star Anise (~3-4 pods)

• Cracked pepper (~0.5 tbsp)

• 2-3 yellow onions, sliced whole into 1" thick slices

• Ginger (~1 large hand), sliced whole into 1/2" thick slices

• Fish Sauce (to taste, start ~1/3 cup)

Condiments

• Pho noodles (refrigerated fresh one called Bánh Phở Tươi is better than dry, but either work!)

• Coriander (a.k.a. cilantro or Chinese parsley), chopped finely

• Green onion (a.k.a. scallion), chopped finely

• White onion, sliced thin

• Asian mint

• Limes, cut into 8ths

• Bean sprouts (a small handful for each bowl)

• Hoisin sauce

• Sriracha

Instructions

• Get your largest stockpot, and put in the beef leg bones (and optional oxtail). Cover with cold water, and bring to a boil over high heat for 15 min. Dump the water out in the sink, and rinse the bones under running water to get rid of the brown/white impurities. Use a dry paper towel to collect the impurities that may have stuck to the side of the pot, then fill the pot back up with cold water, about 3/4th full.

• Place stockpot with water and bones/meat back onto the stove, set to medium heat, and watch the soup until you see small boil bubbles (i.e., a simmer). At this point, reduce the heat to low, and add in the beef shank, but do not add in the beef balls, or the optional tendon and flank). From here on forward, the broth should never be more than a small boil or simmer (i.e., little bubbles floating to the top). Every 20-30 minutes, use a spoon or oil strainer to carefully collect the impurities that float to the top of the broth; you don't want to disturb the broth too much.

• Once the soup has been simmering for ~2 hours, start the following (both run while the broth keeps simmering, so you're not stopping the pot): (a) Char the onion and ginger by either grill-grating directly over the flame of a gas burner, or putting into the oven at a 375 degrees F broil (will take longer). Each side should be charred so that it's at least golden brown, ideally dark brown. (b) In a separate pot, put in the optional tendon and let it cook under low-medium heat until soft, about 1.5 hours (i.e., you're able to stick a fork through it).

• By now the soup has been simmering for ~2.5-3 hours. Take out the beef shanks (and let cool), and then add the charred onion, ginger, 2 packets of Pho Hoa Vietnamese Special Spice (do not open the packets!), pods of star anise, and cracked pepper into the broth. Close lid, and let cook for another 1.5-2 hours.

• Add in fish sauce, starting at ~1/3 cup (to taste) into the broth. (You can also season the broth to taste with more salt.) Add in beef balls, and let cook in the soup for at least 30 minutes before serving.

• Prepare pho noodles according to package directions, and prep the herbs (i.e., coriander, green onion, white onion, mint, limes, bean sprouts). Slice the shank and optional tendon into thin slices; optionally slice raw beef flank extremely thin (which will "cook" once you pour the hot soup over it when ready to serve).

• Lay all condiments out and prepare the bowls: add in the freshly cooked noodles, any herbs and meats to your liking, then use a ladle to add soup to your bowl (directly on top of the raw beef flank slices if you have them in your bowl). Use the ladle to pick up some beef balls and oxtail pieces as well (don't pick up the beef bones for your prepared bowl). (Tip: More broth = better, as the noodles often absorb some broth, lessening the volume of soup available in the bowl when ready to eat!)

• Add any sauces (i.e., hoisin or Sriracha) and squeeze lime over the finished bowl to brighten flavors, and then enjoy!

A Picture of my Phở