Homemade Pho Bo

I made pho bo (Vietnamese beef noodle soup) for the first time several weeks ago. It took a total of 12 hours because I messed up on the first batch of broth. I didn't realize that my fish sauce was old and when I poured it in the broth to season, it ruined all the hard work I had put in so I had to go out and buy new fish sauce and remake the broth. After eating homemade pho, I don't know if I could eat Koreatown pho again. At the Koreantown pho places they use powder to make the broth instead of beef knuckles, oxtail and bone marrow. They also use a lot of msg to give it that savory flavor. At home you can use the best ingredients, omit msg, and make it healthier.

I used these two recipes for the pho:

• http://steamykitchen.com/271-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup-pho.html
• http://eatdrinknbmerry.blogspot.com/2007/03/pho-bo-vietnamese-beef-noodle-soup.html

I went to 4 markets to get all the ingredients:

• Galleria Market (Olympic and Western)
• Bangkok Market (Melrose and Kingsley)
• Whole Foods (Fairfax and 3rd)
• 99 Ranch Market (Arcadia)

beef brisket and beef knuckles (I also added oxtail shortly after taking the pic)

Some of the spices and ingredients

The broth that got ruined by the old fish sauce

Second attempt at beef broth

Blood, fat and gunk you need to skim off the surface of the broth

Forgot to take a picture before I started eating

Brother-in-law enjoying the noodles