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Easy as Pho

Easy as Pho Slow Cooker

Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine Vietnamese
Keyword Broth, Pho, Slow cooker, Soup
Total Time 12 hours
Servings 6

Ingredients

  • 1 whole Roasted chicken carcass
  • 1 4 in Ginger
  • 2 c  Clam shell mushroom or button
  • 1 4 in Stalk lemongrass
  • 1 b Green onion
  • 1 b Garlic 12-14 cloves
  • 1 T Black peppercorns
  • 2 T Chinese 5 spice blend best short cut!
  • 2 T Pink Himalayan salt
  • 1 T Apple cider vinegar
  • 3-4 cups Beef bone broth or soup stock
  • 8-10 c  Water
  • 1 lb London broil
  • 16 oz Fresh rice noodles Banh Pho

Toppings for the table

  • 1 b Basil leaves
  • ½ lb Beansprouts
  • 1 b Green onion
  • 2 Limes
  • Hoisin Sauce
  • Sriracha
  • Chili flakes

Instructions

  1. Start by putting in the chicken carcass in the middle of your slow cooker, it should be frozen. Cut the ginger, mushrooms and green onion into chunks, roughly chop the garlic and bruise the lemongrass to release the oil. Sprinkle on the peppercorns, five spice and salt over the top. Add in the vinegar and broth, use the additional water to fill the cooker all the way to the top of your slow cooker. Give it all a stir around the chicken bones.

  2. Cook on low for 12 hours or more. When ready use a thin strainer or cheese cloth and drain off all the broth into a stock pot and discard all the flavor items.

  3. About 30 minutes before you are ready eat get your remaining items prepped. Thinly slice your beef, use a well sharpened knife to slice it up paper thin then fan the meat out on one plate.
  4. Prep the noodles as directed. Clean and rinse the fresh veg and put it all on another plate together in heaps. A heap of basil, bean sprouts and green onion. Cut the limes into wedges, have the hoisin, sriracha and chili flakes on the table
  5. Put all the raw beef, veggies and sauces in the middle of your table for a family style meal. Get the broth to a full boil right before you are ready to serve in the stock pot. In large deep soup bowls drop a nest of noodles (about a ½ cup prepared) and ladle in the broth scorching hot about half way up the bowl. Take your bowls with the noodles and broth to the table - be careful!

  6. Each person can customize their dish by adding slices of beef and submerge them all in the broth to cook right on sight to a medium/ medium rare. Top with a sprinkle of green onion, bean sprouts and basil. Use a squeeze or two of lime and fire away with the zippy sriracha and chili flakes to taste. For a sweet element, you can add a touch of hoisin or have it on the side to just dip the meat in. Have fun with it!

Recipe Notes

  • The longer you leave the pho broth in the slow cooker you may need to add in a little water as it boils off
  • For the beef you can freeze it for an hour or so ahead as this helps to get those super thin slices
  • I used a fresh Banh pho noodle vs dry. I just had to warm them up with the broth- no cooking time. If you use a dry noodle I would cook it very al dente as they may overcook in the hot broth. Usually this type of noodle is gluten free but verify on the packaging.
  • I did use a Chinese five spice as it has all in one for the aromatics of Pho including star anise, cloves, cinnamon, fennel and pepper. This does give the broth a darker color than the authentic versions.