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1
Place the onions and ginger directly on the cooking grate of a medium-hot charcoal or gas grill or a gas stove with a medium flame, or on a medium-hot burner of an electric stove.
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2
Let the skin burn (if youre working indoors, turn on the exhaust fan and open a window), using tongs to rotate the onions and ginger occasionally and to grab and discard any flyaway onion skin.
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3
After 15 minutes, the onions and ginger will have softened slightly and become sweetly fragrant.
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4
There may even be some bubbling.
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5
You do not have to blacken the entire surface.
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6
When amply charred, remove from the heat and let cool.
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7
Rinse the cooled onions under warm running water, rubbing off the charred skin.
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8
Trim off and discard the blackened root and stem ends.
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9
Use a vegetable peeler, paring knife, or the edge of a teaspoon to remove the ginger skin.
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10
Hold it under warm water to wash off any blackened bits.
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11
Halve the ginger lengthwise and bruise lightly with the broad side of a cleaver or chefs knife.
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12
Set the onions and ginger aside.
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13
To achieve a clear broth, you must first parboil and rinse the beef bones.
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14
Put them in a stockpot (about 12-quart capacity) and add cold water just to cover.
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15
Bring to a boil over high heat and boil vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes to release the impurities.
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16
Dump the bones and water into the sink (make sure it is clean), and then rinse the bones with water to wash off any clinging residue.
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17
Quickly scrub the stockpot clean and return the bones to the pot.
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18
Pour in the 6 quarts water, bring to a boil over high heat, and lower the heat to a gentle simmer.
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19
Use a ladle or large, shallow spoon to skim off any scum that rises to the top.
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20
Add the onions, ginger, star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, beef, salt, fish sauce, and rock sugar and cook, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours, adjusting the heat if needed to maintain a simmer.
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21
At this point, the boneless meat should be slightly chewy but not tough.
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22
Press it and it should feel like the flesh at the base of your thumb.
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23
When it is cooked to your liking, use tongs to transfer it to a bowl of cold water to cover.
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24
Let the meat soak for 10 minutes to prevent it from drying out and turning dark.
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25
Drain the meat, set aside on a plate to cool completely, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.
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26
Meanwhile, maintain the broth at a steady simmer for 1 1/2 hours longer.
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27
Strain the broth through a fine-mesh sieve (or a coarse-mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth) positioned over a pot.
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28
If desired, remove any bits of gelatinous tendon from the bones to add to the cooked beef in the refrigerator.
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29
Discard the remaining solids.
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30
Use a ladle to skim as much fat from the top of the broth as you like.
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31
(To make this task easier, you can cool the broth, refrigerate overnight, lift off the solidified fat, and then reheat before continuing.)
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32
Taste and adjust the flavor with salt, fish sauce, and rock sugar.
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33
There should be about 4 quarts (16 cups) broth.
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34
If using dried noodles, cover them with hot tap water and let soak for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are pliable and opaque.
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35
Drain in a colander.
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36
If using fresh rice noodles, untangle them, place in a colander, and rinse briefly under cold running water.
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37
Cut the cooked beef across the grain into slices about 1/16 inch thick.
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38
For the best results, make sure it is cold.
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39
Freeze the raw beef for 15 minutes, then slice it across the grain into pieces 1/16 inch thick.
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40
Set all the beef slices aside.
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41
Ready the yellow onion, scallions, cilantro, and pepper for adding to the bowls.
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42
Arrange the garnishes on a plate and put on the table.
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43
To ensure good timing, bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat as you are assembling the bowls.
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44
(For an extra treat, drop in any unused white scallion sections and let them poach in the broth.
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45
Add the poached scallion sectionscalled hanh chanto a few lucky bowls when ladling out the broth.)
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46
At the same time, fill a large pot with water and bring to a rolling boil.
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47
For each bowl, place a portion of the noodles on a vertical-handle strainer (or mesh sieve) and dunk the noodles in the boiling water.
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48
As soon as they have collapsed and lost their stiffness (10 to 20 seconds), pull the strainer from the water, letting the water drain back into the pot.
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49
Empty the noodles into a bowl.
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50
If you like, once you have finished blanching the noodles, you can blanch the bean sprouts for 30 seconds.
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51
They should wilt slightly but retain some crunch.
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52
Drain and add to the garnishes.
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53
Top each bowl of noodles with cooked and raw beef, arranging the slices flat.
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54
Place a mound of yellow onion in the center and shower some scallion and cilantro on top.
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55
Finish with a sprinkle of pepper.
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56
Raise the heat and bring the broth to a rolling boil.
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57
Do a final tasting and make any last-minute flavor adjustments.
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58
Ladle about 2 cups broth into each bowl, distributing the hot liquid evenly to warm all the ingredients.
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59
Serve immediately with the plate of garnishes.
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60
To add more types of beef to the soup, head to a Vietnamese or Chinese market.
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61
At the butcher counter, buy a small piece of book tripe (sach), which is precooked.
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62
Before using, rinse and gently squeeze dry.
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63
Thinly slice it into fringelike pieces and add them to the bowl during assembly.
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64
The hot broth will warm them up like the other meats.
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65
In the refrigerated food case or frozen-food aisle, you will find small packages of precooked crunchy beef meatballs (bo vien).
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66
Slice each one in half and drop into the finished broth to heat through.
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67
When you are ready to serve, ladle them out with the broth to top each bowl.
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68
Serve with hoisin and Sriracha chile sauces on the side for dipping.
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69
To use the beef nam trimmings left over when you make Beef Flank and Ginger Simmered in Caramel Sauce (page 149), simmer the meat in the broth for about 2 hours, or until chewy yet tender.
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70
Thinly slice the meat with the grain at assembly time and add to the bowl during assembly.
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71
At ph shops, this meat is identified as flank.
