Leighton ... used your blend method recipe today and had the best bowl of Pho I have ever had! The words escape me trying to describe the rich and flavorful broth. Here's a video of my results (camera work needs some work) th-cam.com/video/-x2okgpDuVY/w-d-xo.html.
WOW WOW!! I can taste how good it is through the screen. Insanely concentrated and rich. Looks almost identical to what I serve here. Most of all you succeeded using this method. You're family will be very impressed with this. Well done Jerry. Will use this for my upcoming 2023 revision of this tutorial.
If I could only eat one dish for the rest of my life, it'd be Pho and it's the only thing I've struggled to replicate well as a home cook, so this information is pure gold, thanks so much for this channel! So awesome to find someone as passionate about making Pho as I am about eating it lol, I geek out at all your videos. I am very technical person so this is perfection.
made this for my family and my mother-in-law the other day to close out 2023. As she was leaving, my Vietnam-born Cantonese MIL got out of the car and with a huge smile on her face told me "good job on the pho!" and gave me a huge hug. That alone was worth it but the entire family loved it as well. My wife said it was the most flavorful broth* she had ever had, hopefully not in front of her mom who has been making it for her from birth. *this was without even having hat nem to throw in, nor adding a single grain of MSG. Perhaps the extra 30 hours of simmering the bone broth made up for that - good thing I didn't have an appropriate container to store it in my fridge until after that second day? Thank you for sharing this method and recipe. Have been wanting to make pho for years and this breakdown somehow clicks with my engineer's brain in ways others haven't. Cheers.
Thank you for this. Your blend method and step by step instructions have changed how I make pho. I wouldn’t put mine up for the public, but it’s worlds ahead of what it was. My family loves it
Leighton, keep on posting more videos. You do such a great job at explaining things and you have a great sense of humor. You and your nephew are natural TH-camrs...
Hey Leighton, greetings from up above to down under 😁. Thanx for all the effort you put in this channel - I really love it! I followed this vid (rev 2) nearly completely. But I did the cooking in an instant pot. So I didn't loose any liquid and the cooking time was much shorter. I cooked the roasted bones for 2 hours with high pressure and let it a few hours in holding function. The blending next day also with instant pot for 25 minutes. The broth was so intense I ended up with adding nearly 1 l of boiling water. Color and clearness looked like in your videos. We don't have a large vietnamese community here in munich and so is the amount of authentic restaurants. Comparison is not really possible. But this the best pho I ever had, nothing I ever had before could even come close! Family-verdict: I have to cook it at least once a month in the future - no way out. Something attracted my attention in your vids: you're driving on the wrong side 🙃! Cheers from the capital of Oktoberfest 🍻🎡
Thank you so much for sharing Uli heart warming to read =) When I made this video I honestly never thought one day someone on the other side of the world, in a country I've never been would be make it 'my way' and getting their best result ever. Still gives me chills. I'm so happy to hear the family love what you created - it's a great feeling isn't it? Oh yes I did warn everyone it's a very strong recipe but the reason I did this is to take everyone to this 'destination'. From here you can makeup your own mind and add back water until you are happy with it. Don't stop practicing and again thank you for sharing.
I love your passion for Pho! I’m always looking for authentic Pho in NYC and I’m on a mission to making great Pho at home. I appreciate your detailed videos. Thank you!
I made this recipe for a group of friends yesterday fir New Years, It turned out amazing, the best I've ever made. It's a long process but well worth the time it takes. Thanks so much for sharing this method and recipe. I recommend everyone try it.
Leighton, I just finished a 5L batch of your 1:1 UC Beef Bone Broth. Stunning! Even without seasoning, it has such great depth ~ I can’t wait to make some Phó with it. Actually, I didn’t wait: I strained out the pooled broth in the bottom of the bone-discard bowl; thinned it a bit and seasoned it, and simmered it with garlic powder, onion powder, a star of anise, a clove and a pinch of ground cinnamon. Then I strained this over a bit of noodle and sliced onion. A bit of fish sauce, a dash of msg and ~ What a bowl of soup! This faux phó was better than what our local restaurant sells here in Asheville, North Carolina! I’m really looking forward to using your recipe to make the real deal this weekend. Now, if I can just get my hands on some Hat Nêm! Thanks for the videos.
So pleased to hear you are getting some mind blowing results. There is something magical when it all comes to together and actually taste right. Like I said this recipe blows away any local restaurant and you made it! My online store is up so you can order Hat Nem anytime.
Nothing better than a bowl of pho in cold country..believe me😂😊 . One thing I always thought that was funny. Pho has a different taste on a hot day and,or a cold day.
Great video on Pho. Everytime I make it at home it always seems like I'm missing something. Your techniques are very educational. Thank you so much for sharing!
Just ordered 4 packs of hat nem from a random lady on a vietnamese facebook food group. About to have a pho’n party this weekend (or next). Appreciate the clarity in this video! I previously ran into an issue with losing a ton of volume of liquid during the 3hr process. I’ll reduce heat this time and hope for the best
Love the 3 second technique for tasting. Thanks for the tutorials. These are great even here in LA it can be tough to find good pho. So I love being able to get the hat nem and making my own.
Thanks Cris means a lot to me. I do my thing and if it inspires others to cook better Pho my job is done. If it makes you want to open a Pho restaurant even better!
I made this today and it was amazing, for the first time I was happy with my Pho!!! Almost fills the hole in my heart after my favorite Pho restaurant owners retired. How would you recommend using this method for Bun Bo Hue?
Simmering the bone broth as we speak! Awesome video. Can’t wait for the result. Question, what do I do with the beef fat? Do I skim it all off after 24hr bone simmering process?
Leighton ever thought about using a urban cultivator to grow your own herbs etc? Also using a polyscience control freek induction works amazing. Like a extention of the rationals.
In theory we always wanted to do the whole grow your own herbs etc. Before we started it was all mapped out and would of sounded cool but in reality there isn't time for this. The volumes of herbs and asian vegetables that the store's go through is ridiculous. Wohooo I'm big on induction. It's like a Tesla compared to the old gas stoves 😆
Thank you Bryan. Still get goose bumps when people say where they are watching from. I have a chicken Pho tutorial coming out next week so stay tuned 😃
Hi Michael thanks for the question. Yes I use oxtail daily at the store. It’s cooked separately in a crockpot and the concentrate I use back into my batch of Pho. I refer to this in the video as the “X-factor” where you manipulate the final taste by adding in something else to change the “taste trajectory” - one way to do this is with oxtail.
Hi Leighton, thanks really enjoyed your video. 1 question can you blend up the marrow and soft tissue from the bone broth and add it back. Seems quite a waste to throw out all that collagen. What do you suggest?
Hi Michael yes brought up often. The wastage. At home wastage isn't a problem as you can pull apart the meat/tendon/collagen etc and add back into your bowl. Be warned it will makes it even very richer. Growing up I'd rummage mum's stockpot and go through everything. A personal favourite was the marrow with a straw and some hoi sin. But to answer the question definitely can do this. Just keep in mind it may cloudy up the broth. If the broth gets cold you'll get big pockets of fat forming. In an ideal world I would pick out everything and reuse but it's just not possible at a restaurant level. Labour intensive.
There's conflicting information out there how long you can store. I've read 6-12 months. The most important thing is after you make the broth base chill it immediately! This extends the life of your soup or sauces. It's called the cook and chill method (commonly throughout food industry to extend shelf life, so instead of 5 day shelf life in the fridge you can get up to a month if you do this technique correctly). Will talk about this in a future video. If you do the above PLUS freeze in a properly sealed container I'd say easily 1 year. But I doubt it will take you that long to use it because this base can be used for a ton of other dishes, eg any beef related dishes like a stew.
Tomorrow, Sunday May 8 (in the US) I'll be making this recipe for the first time. I am going to video it for you. Bones, ox tails, onion, ginger and Hat Nem standing by.
Me again .... short video of me comparing blend method broth next to broth from my favorite Indianapolis Phó restaurant. Enjoy! th-cam.com/video/L3vMinwQZ0U/w-d-xo.html
Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for doing this. Love the side by side glass cup comparison. Everything you described is what I intended people to experience when they make this recipe and you hit the nail on the head. Very natural speaker on camera btw one take Tony!
Hi Leighton. Much appreciated for the vid and downloadable recipe. I made it last weekend and it was so good. (I’m việt kiều raised in San Jose). Was wondering if you had advice on scaling up to serve 2 or 3 times the one in your downloadable recipe that serves 6. Can I just linearly multiply the ingredient amounts? Or is this just a “go by taste” thing. Hoping to make it for my giant family this holiday year end
Good day Mr. Leighton, I would like to ask you what I'm doing wrong, I follow the instructions, I've seen your videos probably 100 times in detail, and my problems are as follows 1, even if I use a thermometer to measure the temperature of my broth (87-91 celsius), a lot of water always evaporates 2, when the beef broth is ready, I do step 2 => PHO after 3 hours of cooking the PHO, it feels like I'm eating more sauce than soup. Pho is very thick, collagen (24H broth)... in the instructions, you don't mention if I finish the stock, should I mix the stock with water? or make PHO directly from the broth. I saw that you give concentrate + water
I'm doing 16 pounds of beef bones for 8 gallons of Pho stock or bone broth for the blend method. What a great tip Im still confused as to when and how much spices ??? How long and when do you add ??? ! Kind regards.
Hi Leighton, love your content. Your blend method is so revolutionary and makes preparing a pho session so easy. The only problem is that here in Canada, there's no way for us to get hat nem. Do you recommend any alternatives or do I need to wait until I go back to Vietnam to get some?
In the downloaded recipe under prerequisites it list 3.5L bone broth. Under stage 2 pre seasoning it list 2.5 L of bone broth. I can see anywhere the other 1 L come into the recipe and wondered if it's a typo or the prerequisite bone broth is the yield.
Leighton, excellent video and recipe! Maybe a little too much commentary and a little slow on pace, but that's just style. Question...what is exactly in Hat Nem especially Korr's brand. Is it mostly MSG? I tried searching on the Internet, but I don't see the ingredients breakdown.
I get a lot of criticism for "my style" but people forget I shot this early in the piece for a small audience expecting a few hundred views. A lot has changed since then. A 2023 version of this video will be out soon which is much clearer. As for what is exactly in Hat Nem > it contains the usual salt/sugar/MSG mix typical of most seasoning powders but has some extra propriety ingredients that a normal person doesn't have access to > unlocks more potential. Difference between tasting a Pho with and without it is day and night. Essentially if you can create the bone base correctly and you get the ratio of salt/sugar/hat nem correct = a wicked tasting Pho. Every single time.
@@Pho Don't get me wrong, Leighton. Your videos (even the older ones) are so much better than a lot of experienced TH-camrs out there. There is a style to your videos that's very watchable. And the editing and camera angles make the video flows. Your content is an interesting perspective to what have already been covered so many times on TH-cam. I watched a lot of TH-cam videos, so I know. :-) You ever watched Kyle Le's video? He's been doing TH-cam for a while and even went to UCLA for film degree. You only been doing relatively short period, but it's very good and I think better than him (kyle's).
When making bone broth base it is 1 part of bone to 1 part of the water. If you are making say 5 Litres of base you would use 5kg of bones + 5L of water - BUT depending on your pot size this won’t be enough for the water to cover all the bones so I find adding in 30% more water is a good starting point. After you’ve finished cooking it > strain into a container or measuring jug > from here if the volume is not quite 5L (say it’s 4.5L) then top up 500mL to get it to 5L to make it 1:1. This is the best way I’ve found to ensure consistency. Once you move onto seasoning the pot adding the correct amount of salt/sugar/fish sauce will result in a perfect tasting Pho > if you add the exact same amount of seasoning into your new batch which isn’t exactly 1:1 (say it’s more watery) it will throw off the taste and you will notice the change in consistency.
Have you ever experimented with incorporating deer bones into your broth? I have the opportunity to get some from a friend who recently got a buck and was curious if they could be used alongside beef bones
Hi Leighton- where abouts do you get the Hat Nem in Brisbane? Also how much MSG (ballpark) do you recommend adding at the end- I downloaded your recipe- it doesn't give any quantity? Cheers man- I look forward to coming to Pho Queue when I'm in the area.
Hey Steveo thanks for the question. I normally shop at Inala or Darra and it's everywhere. Most Vietnamese grocery store's have it in the seasoning section (along side chicken powder). Van Long inside where Woolies is has literally a mountain of it. It's a pallet worth of hat nem sitting against the wall. I left this blank because I didn't put any when I made the video because I felt it was already good. I'd say 1 tea spoon at a time - but before you add it in take a tiny sample so you can taste it side by side and see the difference it makes. Just remember one thing. Don't go overboard because the recipe is very concentrated already and you want to do it in a way that is subtle and no one can tell it has extra msg in it.
Hey thanks so much mate- I must have tried every asian supermarket in Sunnybank the other day and could not find hat nem anywhere- they all had the knorrs chicken powder but not hat nem. I will be going past inala on Saturday so I will stop in and grab some from there. Thanks again for the info mate I thought I was going crazy- I thought I'd definitely find some in Sunnybank. And thanks for the pro-tip on the msg 👍 cheers man.
Yes I recommend checking out Jason Farmer’s channel - he just did a video based off this video for home cooks. He did an amazing job at explaining it in a more simplified way.
Love the blend method, I actually buy instant Pho and add my duck bone broth to it. I raise my own ducks(Muscovy) they are a lean duck with a beefy flavor. I am new to Pho and would like to make it like you do. Do you know of a substitue I can get here in the US for the Knorr HẠT NÊM ?? I contacted them and they do not sell it here and do not have an equivalent to purchase.
Very clever. You've put your own spin on it by "blending it" with duck broth. Ingenious. It's all about using what you've got around you. Unfortunately no. That is the million dollar question on this channel so far. Everyone ask the exact same question. It's just not the same and it's the secret sauce you need. Some on the channel have searched long and hard and managed to find some over there but it depends what state you are in. I have an online store which will be ready in a few days where you can buy Hat Nem directly on the channel.
Yes I love coffee. I went through a period where I was obsessed with getting that perfect espresso shot. In my store a very rare La Marzocco one group Strada (it's like the only one in Australia). It's a manual machine. You can do custom profiles and when you get it right the taste is out of this world. It literally tasted like that espresso shot had 2 sugars in it. Of course the grind / age of the bean / pre-infusion / extraction time / weight in and out all played its part, the lessons from this experience did help me "season" my broth better as a result.
Hi there in the past I would roast first > cartons arrive from butchers > onto tray > roast > blanch lightly > dump water > begin the process. I do this mainly to reduce double handling. To blanch first then scoop all the bones out onto trays is more painful than the above. But lately I've stopped blanching and go straight from oven into simmering. The way I layer my end product it has very little effect. If you did this at home using a few kg it doesn't hurt to blanch first then roast or vice versa.
May have skip this shot but yes the brisket is removed at the same time I filter the aromatics (i.e after 3hrs which is an ideal cooking time for brisket)
The key is to use umami rich based savory ingredient that is preferably fermented. This would be soy sauce or miso paste. But don’t call it pho anymore. 😉
You can but the quality of the broth won't be an amber color. When simmered bones release beneficial nutrients, gelatin, collagen, and various minerals.
Hi Leighton, I’m not sure were I went wrong. I followed the recipe (except for the brisket since bones are expensive 😂) but I found the broth to be way too perfumy and not beefy enough. Any idea what could have gone wrong?
The base you made most likely was watery to begin, ie it may have reduced as you were making it and you topped it up. The amount of spices in this recipe is very little and shouldn’t be able to overpower the base. If it does most likely the base. Please be patient I have the 2023 Pho tutorial coming out end of this month. It’s a much better and clearer version of this video with an entire chapter on how to create the base properly.
@@Pho thank you for your reply! I actually didn’t top the base up even though it reduced. I had somewhere around 4 L at the end of making the base. I’ll await your new tutorial, looking forward to making some good pho!
Yes the “traditional method” is to do it all at the same time. I would advise against this if you are brand new to Pho. Once you’ve done it right and know your target volume yes it can be done at the same time. The issue I found when I first started was with the bones/onion/spices in the pot at the same it’s difficult to judge your finished broth levels. Until you remove everything you can’t see where it’s at. What I used to do was use a ruler - I would season my pot at the height it was at > if it tasted good I would use the ruler and measure how many cm from the top down to the level of the broth (eg if it was 7cm) I would remember the seasoning “setting” for this volume. It really helps if you have a pot with markers on the side and work towards a target volume. Ensures consistency and the same taste every time.
Hi Courtney I get asked this a lot. No the brisket is raw as it's seared in the oven - from here you have a few choices. You can throw it in the pot to cook/infuse over that 3 hour cooking period as it turns into a Pho (what I do most of the time) Or leave it in the oven to fully cook and pour the drippings into the pot. Each will give a different finish to the brisket. But I highly suggest brisket into the oven first thing. Let it roast away slowly as you prepare everything else.
I’ve just updated my online store to now include shipping to Canada. I didn’t realise this whole time shipping price to US and Canada were identical! www.phoqueue.com.au/shop
I was the first Vietnamese restaurant to introduce charcoal back in 2010 in Brisbane. My first store is Red Lotus Vietnamese "Chargrill" Over the years suppliers have changed but currently: www.charcoalbrisbane.com.au/ If you use charcoal to roast your onion it will give a different "shade" to your broth. The colour that charcoal can bring out is different what an oven can do. It's more work but it just depends how far you want to go.
@@Pho I just use for my backyard BBQ family gathering. I just went to Brisbane last December. I definitely back to Brisbane again to try your Pho . I can see how serious your kitchen set up and your food quality on the plate , Now is very hard to find someone like you stick to details and provide high quality pho . Keep it up 👍🏼
100% beef bones = marrow bones. I also have pork stock / chicken stock / oxtail stock in the pantry - this you can use right at the end to give it that edge. This last part is very important and makes that Pho unique. I refer to it as the X-factor on this channel. If you use 100% beef bones it has a very linear taste. The bit at the end curls the taste off into a different direction.
500mL = 1 serving so 5. If my memory is correct I did add some water which brought it up to 3-3.5L giving you more mileage. Don’t be afraid to freeze leftovers if reheat at a later date. You will lose some of the fragrance but not noticeable.
@@Pho Thanks Leighton! I've got some 24 hour beef bone broth ready to go and will be using your Blend method for my son's birthday celebration this weekend. Video coming! Again thank you SO MUCH for all the effort you put in your video's to help us all experience the best Pho possible!
That's really odd I've never ran into that problem before. Shouldn't be milky unless someone accidently poured coconut milk into it 😆 Pho is very hard to get right on the first go. If you nail it first then go buy a lottery ticket 😅
I will get around to doing a recipe with some alternative seasoning options without hat nem - unfortunate part is knowing what is readably available where you are.
Thank you! I’m in San Francisco. We have various beef flavored “pho” soup base (ie Cot Pho Bo or Vien Gia Vi brand) seasoning. Does Knorr’s beef bouillon cubes work? I’ve read other people in the comments use some sort of mushroom seasoning.
Good things to learn in this video, but I will say this is not really a good video for at home cooks- this is too long winded, and difficult to follow from an at home perspective. I mean there is a whole video of talking before the cooking even begins. I would love to try Leighton's Pho but I would not be able to interpret this video to cook myself, I think if it was reduced and translated to an at home method that would be wonderful!
My beef broth at the restaurant is 100% beef but I also don't say it's Halal either. I put pork broth in this video because that's all I had lying around at the time.
@@Pho thanks for clarifying. I knew you probably didn't use hat nam in your restaurant broth since it's pork based. So we will still be waiting for your real restaurant recipe video 😀
Leighton ... used your blend method recipe today and had the best bowl of Pho I have ever had! The words escape me trying to describe the rich and flavorful broth. Here's a video of my results (camera work needs some work) th-cam.com/video/-x2okgpDuVY/w-d-xo.html.
WOW WOW!! I can taste how good it is through the screen. Insanely concentrated and rich. Looks almost identical to what I serve here.
Most of all you succeeded using this method. You're family will be very impressed with this. Well done Jerry.
Will use this for my upcoming 2023 revision of this tutorial.
If I could only eat one dish for the rest of my life, it'd be Pho and it's the only thing I've struggled to replicate well as a home cook, so this information is pure gold, thanks so much for this channel! So awesome to find someone as passionate about making Pho as I am about eating it lol, I geek out at all your videos. I am very technical person so this is perfection.
Amen =) I'm one of a kind and the channel will only get better with time. Thank you for the support!
This is the most hilarious yet informative Pho tutorial I’ve seen. Thanks for time + effort, I’m going to give it a try.
made this for my family and my mother-in-law the other day to close out 2023. As she was leaving, my Vietnam-born Cantonese MIL got out of the car and with a huge smile on her face told me "good job on the pho!" and gave me a huge hug. That alone was worth it but the entire family loved it as well. My wife said it was the most flavorful broth* she had ever had, hopefully not in front of her mom who has been making it for her from birth.
*this was without even having hat nem to throw in, nor adding a single grain of MSG. Perhaps the extra 30 hours of simmering the bone broth made up for that - good thing I didn't have an appropriate container to store it in my fridge until after that second day?
Thank you for sharing this method and recipe. Have been wanting to make pho for years and this breakdown somehow clicks with my engineer's brain in ways others haven't. Cheers.
Just had a taste for pho but tired of buying it so I’m here learning how to make it from one of the best I heard other TH-camrs say.
Thank you for this. Your blend method and step by step instructions have changed how I make pho. I wouldn’t put mine up for the public, but it’s worlds ahead of what it was. My family loves it
You are very welcome Grant.
Thank you for sharing. If it tastes better than your last, my job is done.
Leighton, keep on posting more videos. You do such a great job at explaining things and you have a great sense of humor. You and your nephew are natural TH-camrs...
Hey Leighton,
greetings from up above to down under 😁. Thanx for all the effort you put in this channel - I really love it!
I followed this vid (rev 2) nearly completely. But I did the cooking in an instant pot. So I didn't loose any liquid and the cooking time was much shorter. I cooked the roasted bones for 2 hours with high pressure and let it a few hours in holding function. The blending next day also with instant pot for 25 minutes. The broth was so intense I ended up with adding nearly 1 l of boiling water. Color and clearness looked like in your videos.
We don't have a large vietnamese community here in munich and so is the amount of authentic restaurants. Comparison is not really possible. But this the best pho I ever had, nothing I ever had before could even come close! Family-verdict: I have to cook it at least once a month in the future - no way out.
Something attracted my attention in your vids: you're driving on the wrong side 🙃!
Cheers from the capital of Oktoberfest 🍻🎡
Thank you so much for sharing Uli heart warming to read =)
When I made this video I honestly never thought one day someone on the other side of the world, in a country I've never been would be make it 'my way' and getting their best result ever. Still gives me chills.
I'm so happy to hear the family love what you created - it's a great feeling isn't it?
Oh yes I did warn everyone it's a very strong recipe but the reason I did this is to take everyone to this 'destination'.
From here you can makeup your own mind and add back water until you are happy with it.
Don't stop practicing and again thank you for sharing.
I love your passion for Pho! I’m always looking for authentic Pho in NYC and I’m on a mission to making great Pho at home. I appreciate your detailed videos. Thank you!
I made this recipe for a group of friends yesterday fir New Years, It turned out amazing, the best I've ever made. It's a long process but well worth the time it takes. Thanks so much for sharing this method and recipe. I recommend everyone try it.
This content is pure gold thank you for upping my pho game ten fold best of luck for the future 🙏
Def. Agree with a few restaurants cutting corners with the broth.
Leighton, I just finished a 5L batch of your 1:1 UC Beef Bone Broth. Stunning! Even without seasoning, it has such great depth ~ I can’t wait to make some Phó with it. Actually, I didn’t wait: I strained out the pooled broth in the bottom of the bone-discard bowl; thinned it a bit and seasoned it, and simmered it with garlic powder, onion powder, a star of anise, a clove and a pinch of ground cinnamon. Then I strained this over a bit of noodle and sliced onion. A bit of fish sauce, a dash of msg and ~ What a bowl of soup! This faux phó was better than what our local restaurant sells here in Asheville, North Carolina! I’m really looking forward to using your recipe to make the real deal this weekend. Now, if I can just get my hands on some Hat Nêm! Thanks for the videos.
So pleased to hear you are getting some mind blowing results.
There is something magical when it all comes to together and actually taste right.
Like I said this recipe blows away any local restaurant and you made it!
My online store is up so you can order Hat Nem anytime.
You are so entertaining to watch. I was horoughly engrossed in this entire video.
Thank you for the kind words.
Much appreciated =)
Congrats Leighton!
I made the first revision and loved it, can't wait to try V2!
Appreciate your videos and hope to make it out to your shop some day!
Appreciate it Steve
So interesting- thank for explaining!
Nothing better than a bowl of pho in cold country..believe me😂😊 . One thing I always thought that was funny. Pho has a different taste on a hot day and,or a cold day.
I have no idea how i found your channel, but i love your passion and expertise! Keep up the incredible work!
Great video on Pho. Everytime I make it at home it always seems like I'm missing something. Your techniques are very educational. Thank you so much for sharing!
My pleasure! Explaining isn't my strong point but I'm working on it 😀
Love your videos and style. Keep it up, you're on to great things.
Thanks for your kind words Jessie 😌
This is the best Pho I have ever made. Your blend method saves so much time and makes the rest so simple. Thanks for the Hat Nem advice
Question… I was told Hat Nêm is just Knorrs Beef bouillon for Americans?? Is this true
Thank you for all the great info in this video.
I save every one of these Pho videos. Thanks for this Leighton!!!
Thanks Ken!
Just ordered 4 packs of hat nem from a random lady on a vietnamese facebook food group. About to have a pho’n party this weekend (or next). Appreciate the clarity in this video! I previously ran into an issue with losing a ton of volume of liquid during the 3hr process. I’ll reduce heat this time and hope for the best
Good to hear you've narrowed it down. That is the biggest killer losing too much broth and topping it up with water again which weakens the base.
Love the 3 second technique for tasting. Thanks for the tutorials. These are great even here in LA it can be tough to find good pho. So I love being able to get the hat nem and making my own.
Thanks for generosity and hard work. Now I found a recipes I looking for, very well written. Wishing you the best. Thanks again
My pleasure 😌
ok, I've been watching your videos and I am ready to say I will be DTP in no time and I cant wait!!
Thank you Esmeralda =))
Love the work you put into this video! So entertaining 😂
Thanks chef for sharing your idea and this is a big help for me as one of the beginner too to put up a business like you do.
Thanks Cris means a lot to me. I do my thing and if it inspires others to cook better Pho my job is done. If it makes you want to open a Pho restaurant even better!
Hi anh! I really like your modern way of cooking Pho. I enjoyed cook Pho at home for my family. Thanks for sharing this 💖
My pleasure 😊
Excellent instruction Thank you.
I made this today and it was amazing, for the first time I was happy with my Pho!!! Almost fills the hole in my heart after my favorite Pho restaurant owners retired. How would you recommend using this method for Bun Bo Hue?
Simmering the bone broth as we speak! Awesome video. Can’t wait for the result. Question, what do I do with the beef fat? Do I skim it all off after 24hr bone simmering process?
Learning about Pho.. dying laughing... Keep it up!
Leighton ever thought about using a urban cultivator to grow your own herbs etc? Also using a polyscience control freek induction works amazing. Like a extention of the rationals.
In theory we always wanted to do the whole grow your own herbs etc.
Before we started it was all mapped out and would of sounded cool but in reality there isn't time for this.
The volumes of herbs and asian vegetables that the store's go through is ridiculous.
Wohooo I'm big on induction. It's like a Tesla compared to the old gas stoves 😆
@@Pho the control freek set the temperature dead and can be programmed like a rational. Worth a look.
Just know your video is being watched from the middle of the United States Wichita ks cheers brother.
Thank you Bryan. Still get goose bumps when people say where they are watching from.
I have a chicken Pho tutorial coming out next week so stay tuned 😃
DTP, lol!! I like this method and use it too. Same ratios for broth too.
Thanks Severian 😆
Great job with this lesson Sir.. I couldn’t help noticing your pink shorts though 😂
Thank you Leighton I'm looking forward to trying this recipe out. Just wondering if you've used oxtail much in any of your phos?
Hi Michael thanks for the question.
Yes I use oxtail daily at the store.
It’s cooked separately in a crockpot and the concentrate I use back into my batch of Pho.
I refer to this in the video as the “X-factor” where you manipulate the final taste by adding in something else to change the “taste trajectory” - one way to do this is with oxtail.
Hi Leighton, thanks really enjoyed your video. 1 question can you blend up the marrow and soft tissue from the bone broth and add it back. Seems quite a waste to throw out all that collagen. What do you suggest?
Hi Michael yes brought up often. The wastage.
At home wastage isn't a problem as you can pull apart the meat/tendon/collagen etc and add back into your bowl. Be warned it will makes it even very richer.
Growing up I'd rummage mum's stockpot and go through everything. A personal favourite was the marrow with a straw and some hoi sin.
But to answer the question definitely can do this. Just keep in mind it may cloudy up the broth. If the broth gets cold you'll get big pockets of fat forming.
In an ideal world I would pick out everything and reuse but it's just not possible at a restaurant level. Labour intensive.
What is the beef bone and water ratio and how long do you roast the beef bones in oven? Thanks
DTP baby!!
Totally laughed out loud on DTP!!!! 😆
love it brah. thank you for sharing, question how long Can you store the bone broth in the freezer for if you were to make extra batches?
There's conflicting information out there how long you can store. I've read 6-12 months.
The most important thing is after you make the broth base chill it immediately! This extends the life of your soup or sauces. It's called the cook and chill method (commonly throughout food industry to extend shelf life, so instead of 5 day shelf life in the fridge you can get up to a month if you do this technique correctly). Will talk about this in a future video.
If you do the above PLUS freeze in a properly sealed container I'd say easily 1 year. But I doubt it will take you that long to use it because this base can be used for a ton of other dishes, eg any beef related dishes like a stew.
I love you. Thank you for your videos!
You are so welcome!
Tomorrow, Sunday May 8 (in the US) I'll be making this recipe for the first time. I am going to video it for you. Bones, ox tails, onion, ginger and Hat Nem standing by.
I wish I knew you were coming to the US. Dang I missed you. Next time hopefully.
Thanks for all your help!!!
My pleasure! 😃
Thx Leighton will give it a go asap
Thanks Viv will look forward to people's feedback
Good sense of humour. Your face is so serious talking about pho. 🤣
Me again .... short video of me comparing blend method broth next to broth from my favorite Indianapolis Phó restaurant. Enjoy! th-cam.com/video/L3vMinwQZ0U/w-d-xo.html
Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for doing this.
Love the side by side glass cup comparison.
Everything you described is what I intended people to experience when they make this recipe and you hit the nail on the head.
Very natural speaker on camera btw one take Tony!
This is a great video, thank you. Is there something comparable to the Hat Nem? I can't get it in the States.
Hi Leighton. Much appreciated for the vid and downloadable recipe. I made it last weekend and it was so good. (I’m việt kiều raised in San Jose). Was wondering if you had advice on scaling up to serve 2 or 3 times the one in your downloadable recipe that serves 6. Can I just linearly multiply the ingredient amounts? Or is this just a “go by taste” thing. Hoping to make it for my giant family this holiday year end
Good day Mr. Leighton,
I would like to ask you what I'm doing wrong, I follow the instructions, I've seen your videos probably 100 times in detail, and my problems are as follows
1, even if I use a thermometer to measure the temperature of my broth (87-91 celsius), a lot of water always evaporates
2, when the beef broth is ready, I do step 2 => PHO
after 3 hours of cooking the PHO, it feels like I'm eating more sauce than soup. Pho is very thick, collagen (24H broth)...
in the instructions, you don't mention if I finish the stock, should I mix the stock with water? or make PHO directly from the broth. I saw that you give concentrate + water
I'm doing 16 pounds of beef bones for 8 gallons of Pho stock or bone broth for the blend method. What a great tip Im still confused as to when and how much spices ??? How long and when do you add ??? ! Kind regards.
lol awesome that you treat the rock sugar in post like video editing and also graphing it like video editing color correction/histogram🤣
Hi Leighton, love your content. Your blend method is so revolutionary and makes preparing a pho session so easy. The only problem is that here in Canada, there's no way for us to get hat nem. Do you recommend any alternatives or do I need to wait until I go back to Vietnam to get some?
He sells his own hat nem on his website.
In the downloaded recipe under prerequisites it list 3.5L bone broth. Under stage 2 pre seasoning it list 2.5 L of bone broth. I can see anywhere the other 1 L come into the recipe and wondered if it's a typo or the prerequisite bone broth is the yield.
Not sure if anyone has mentioned this. This is slightly different than the ramen + tare method but I think it has the same overarching concept.
Leighton, excellent video and recipe! Maybe a little too much commentary and a little slow on pace, but that's just style. Question...what is exactly in Hat Nem especially Korr's brand. Is it mostly MSG? I tried searching on the Internet, but I don't see the ingredients breakdown.
I get a lot of criticism for "my style" but people forget I shot this early in the piece for a small audience expecting a few hundred views.
A lot has changed since then. A 2023 version of this video will be out soon which is much clearer.
As for what is exactly in Hat Nem > it contains the usual salt/sugar/MSG mix typical of most seasoning powders but has some extra propriety ingredients that a normal person doesn't have access to > unlocks more potential. Difference between tasting a Pho with and without it is day and night.
Essentially if you can create the bone base correctly and you get the ratio of salt/sugar/hat nem correct = a wicked tasting Pho. Every single time.
@@Pho Don't get me wrong, Leighton. Your videos (even the older ones) are so much better than a lot of experienced TH-camrs out there. There is a style to your videos that's very watchable. And the editing and camera angles make the video flows. Your content is an interesting perspective to what have already been covered so many times on TH-cam. I watched a lot of TH-cam videos, so I know. :-) You ever watched Kyle Le's video? He's been doing TH-cam for a while and even went to UCLA for film degree. You only been doing relatively short period, but it's very good and I think better than him (kyle's).
Don’t change please. Your slow pace and the commentary are what draw me to your videos!
How much is the proportion of beef bones to broth/water? Should the bones be more than the water? 😊
When making bone broth base it is 1 part of bone to 1 part of the water.
If you are making say 5 Litres of base you would use 5kg of bones + 5L of water - BUT depending on your pot size this won’t be enough for the water to cover all the bones so I find adding in 30% more water is a good starting point.
After you’ve finished cooking it > strain into a container or measuring jug > from here if the volume is not quite 5L (say it’s 4.5L) then top up 500mL to get it to 5L to make it 1:1.
This is the best way I’ve found to ensure consistency.
Once you move onto seasoning the pot adding the correct amount of salt/sugar/fish sauce will result in a perfect tasting Pho > if you add the exact same amount of seasoning into your new batch which isn’t exactly 1:1 (say it’s more watery) it will throw off the taste and you will notice the change in consistency.
@@Pho thanks for the great advice. You are the pho guru lol.
The brisket looks pre cooked before you add it into the broth. Was this roasted with the bones at the start?
Have you ever experimented with incorporating deer bones into your broth? I have the opportunity to get some from a friend who recently got a buck and was curious if they could be used alongside beef bones
What kind of cinnamon stick is that i eould like to know please is it saigon
Hola , from Fresno California !!
Thanks Ziggy yes I've heard of Fresno CA in Hollywood movies!
Hello Leighton, that big soup cooking equipment, would you mind sharing the brand and model of the equipment thanks
Silly question but what do you do with the brisket after the 3hrs?
Hi Leighton- where abouts do you get the Hat Nem in Brisbane? Also how much MSG (ballpark) do you recommend adding at the end- I downloaded your recipe- it doesn't give any quantity? Cheers man- I look forward to coming to Pho Queue when I'm in the area.
Hey Steveo thanks for the question. I normally shop at Inala or Darra and it's everywhere. Most Vietnamese grocery store's have it in the seasoning section (along side chicken powder). Van Long inside where Woolies is has literally a mountain of it. It's a pallet worth of hat nem sitting against the wall.
I left this blank because I didn't put any when I made the video because I felt it was already good. I'd say 1 tea spoon at a time - but before you add it in take a tiny sample so you can taste it side by side and see the difference it makes. Just remember one thing. Don't go overboard because the recipe is very concentrated already and you want to do it in a way that is subtle and no one can tell it has extra msg in it.
Hey thanks so much mate- I must have tried every asian supermarket in Sunnybank the other day and could not find hat nem anywhere- they all had the knorrs chicken powder but not hat nem. I will be going past inala on Saturday so I will stop in and grab some from there. Thanks again for the info mate I thought I was going crazy- I thought I'd definitely find some in Sunnybank. And thanks for the pro-tip on the msg 👍 cheers man.
"Ném Dó" sounds like the hungarian "nem jó" which means (not good) What a similarity :)
So do you have a video with a recipe that I can make in my home kitchen. The amount of bones plus everything else?
Yes I recommend checking out Jason Farmer’s channel - he just did a video based off this video for home cooks. He did an amazing job at explaining it in a more simplified way.
Dr. Pho.😎
Love the blend method, I actually buy instant Pho and add my duck bone broth to it. I raise my own ducks(Muscovy) they are a lean duck with a beefy flavor. I am new to Pho and would like to make it like you do. Do you know of a substitue I can get here in the US for the Knorr HẠT NÊM ?? I contacted them and they do not sell it here and do not have an equivalent to purchase.
Very clever. You've put your own spin on it by "blending it" with duck broth. Ingenious.
It's all about using what you've got around you.
Unfortunately no. That is the million dollar question on this channel so far. Everyone ask the exact same question. It's just not the same and it's the secret sauce you need.
Some on the channel have searched long and hard and managed to find some over there but it depends what state you are in.
I have an online store which will be ready in a few days where you can buy Hat Nem directly on the channel.
@@Pho Thanks, I will be watching for your online store.
Who's DTP?
We're all getting ready to DTP 🤣🤣🤣
do you like coffee? i mean the way you create graphs, use atago, even acaia scales... i wonder!!
Yes I love coffee. I went through a period where I was obsessed with getting that perfect espresso shot.
In my store a very rare La Marzocco one group Strada (it's like the only one in Australia). It's a manual machine. You can do custom profiles and when you get it right the taste is out of this world. It literally tasted like that espresso shot had 2 sugars in it. Of course the grind / age of the bean / pre-infusion / extraction time / weight in and out all played its part, the lessons from this experience did help me "season" my broth better as a result.
Leighton! Do you roast your bones for pho broth or do you blanch them before adding them into the 24hour bone broth process
Hi there in the past I would roast first > cartons arrive from butchers > onto tray > roast > blanch lightly > dump water > begin the process.
I do this mainly to reduce double handling. To blanch first then scoop all the bones out onto trays is more painful than the above.
But lately I've stopped blanching and go straight from oven into simmering. The way I layer my end product it has very little effect.
If you did this at home using a few kg it doesn't hurt to blanch first then roast or vice versa.
@@Pho heard! Thank you!
What bones did you use
Did I miss something? Where did the brisket go when you filtered the aromatics into the bin?
May have skip this shot but yes the brisket is removed at the same time I filter the aromatics (i.e after 3hrs which is an ideal cooking time for brisket)
Can you replace fish sauce with something else when seasoning if someone doesn't like fish sauce?
The key is to use umami rich based savory ingredient that is preferably fermented. This would be soy sauce or miso paste. But don’t call it pho anymore. 😉
Can you make an instant pot recipe of Pho?
You can but the quality of the broth won't be an amber color. When simmered bones release beneficial nutrients, gelatin, collagen, and various minerals.
Hi Leighton, I’m not sure were I went wrong. I followed the recipe (except for the brisket since bones are expensive 😂) but I found the broth to be way too perfumy and not beefy enough. Any idea what could have gone wrong?
I should add that while simmering for the last 3 hours, the smell of spices was VERY strong (I'm guessing star anise?)
The base you made most likely was watery to begin, ie it may have reduced as you were making it and you topped it up.
The amount of spices in this recipe is very little and shouldn’t be able to overpower the base. If it does most likely the base.
Please be patient I have the 2023 Pho tutorial coming out end of this month. It’s a much better and clearer version of this video with an entire chapter on how to create the base properly.
@@Pho thank you for your reply! I actually didn’t top the base up even though it reduced. I had somewhere around 4 L at the end of making the base.
I’ll await your new tutorial, looking forward to making some good pho!
Could i still “blend” it with the beef bones still in the pot?
Yes the “traditional method” is to do it all at the same time. I would advise against this if you are brand new to Pho. Once you’ve done it right and know your target volume yes it can be done at the same time.
The issue I found when I first started was with the bones/onion/spices in the pot at the same it’s difficult to judge your finished broth levels. Until you remove everything you can’t see where it’s at. What I used to do was use a ruler - I would season my pot at the height it was at > if it tasted good I would use the ruler and measure how many cm from the top down to the level of the broth (eg if it was 7cm) I would remember the seasoning “setting” for this volume.
It really helps if you have a pot with markers on the side and work towards a target volume. Ensures consistency and the same taste every time.
Does the brisket get fully cooked before searing to start the pot or is it partially cooked?
Hi Courtney I get asked this a lot.
No the brisket is raw as it's seared in the oven - from here you have a few choices.
You can throw it in the pot to cook/infuse over that 3 hour cooking period as it turns into a Pho (what I do most of the time)
Or leave it in the oven to fully cook and pour the drippings into the pot.
Each will give a different finish to the brisket.
But I highly suggest brisket into the oven first thing. Let it roast away slowly as you prepare everything else.
@@Pho You are truly the Best! Thanks so much, your quick response is unmatched on this platform. Making a batch at the moment. Cant wait!!!
Can you ship the Hat Nem seasoning to Toronto Canada?
I’ve just updated my online store to now include shipping to Canada. I didn’t realise this whole time shipping price to US and Canada were identical!
www.phoqueue.com.au/shop
Hi mate , mind to ask where you get your charcoal ? Is very hard to get a real charcoal in Australia . TIA .
I was the first Vietnamese restaurant to introduce charcoal back in 2010 in Brisbane.
My first store is Red Lotus Vietnamese "Chargrill"
Over the years suppliers have changed but currently:
www.charcoalbrisbane.com.au/
If you use charcoal to roast your onion it will give a different "shade" to your broth.
The colour that charcoal can bring out is different what an oven can do.
It's more work but it just depends how far you want to go.
@@Pho I just use for my backyard BBQ family gathering. I just went to Brisbane last December. I definitely back to Brisbane again to try your Pho . I can see how serious your kitchen set up and your food quality on the plate , Now is very hard to find someone like you stick to details and provide high quality pho . Keep it up 👍🏼
Is there a step by step recipe for home/family
Will be doing a simplified / short version of this recipe in the near future.
Hi how do I get the hat nem seasoning? I’m from Fresno Ca.
Just send me an email and I can give you a price. I sent one out just last week. It was around $50 AUD shipped for a packet.
What bones do you use for the stock?
100% beef bones = marrow bones.
I also have pork stock / chicken stock / oxtail stock in the pantry - this you can use right at the end to give it that edge.
This last part is very important and makes that Pho unique. I refer to it as the X-factor on this channel.
If you use 100% beef bones it has a very linear taste. The bit at the end curls the taste off into a different direction.
@@Pho thanks a bunch, I will get some marrow bones!
So how many servings should 2.5l make?
500mL = 1 serving so 5.
If my memory is correct I did add some water which brought it up to 3-3.5L giving you more mileage. Don’t be afraid to freeze leftovers if reheat at a later date. You will lose some of the fragrance but not noticeable.
@@Pho Thanks Leighton! I've got some 24 hour beef bone broth ready to go and will be using your Blend method for my son's birthday celebration this weekend. Video coming! Again thank you SO MUCH for all the effort you put in your video's to help us all experience the best Pho possible!
Will you make DTP tshirts?
Yes! Working on a few designs including my DTP line haha
Down to Pho
My broth turned out to be a milky brown color during the 15:17 step. I need to re cook this recipe.
That's really odd I've never ran into that problem before. Shouldn't be milky unless someone accidently poured coconut milk into it 😆
Pho is very hard to get right on the first go. If you nail it first then go buy a lottery ticket 😅
I wish there was a substitute for hat nam
I will get around to doing a recipe with some alternative seasoning options without hat nem - unfortunate part is knowing what is readably available where you are.
Thank you! I’m in San Francisco. We have various beef flavored “pho” soup base (ie Cot Pho Bo or Vien Gia Vi brand) seasoning. Does Knorr’s beef bouillon cubes work? I’ve read other people in the comments use some sort of mushroom seasoning.
It is torturous to stay awake through the entire video. The information could and should have been delivered in one fifth of the time, or less!
Leighton = Bruce Lee
Teaching Westerners the secret will have haters all over you just like Bruce Lee did. 🤣
The Bruce Lee of Pho I like it 😆
New travels fast amoung Phobers. Usually Phobers will allow 2 poor experiences before banning you from their list.
Good things to learn in this video, but I will say this is not really a good video for at home cooks- this is too long winded, and difficult to follow from an at home perspective. I mean there is a whole video of talking before the cooking even begins. I would love to try Leighton's Pho but I would not be able to interpret this video to cook myself, I think if it was reduced and translated to an at home method that would be wonderful!
I made this first try and its such a luxury to have so much high level detail and explanation. This isnt tuesday night supper.
In your past video i was going to say hat nam is pork based. I see you straight up put pork broth in this video. How hasn't any Muslims sued you? Lol
My beef broth at the restaurant is 100% beef but I also don't say it's Halal either.
I put pork broth in this video because that's all I had lying around at the time.
@@Pho thanks for clarifying. I knew you probably didn't use hat nam in your restaurant broth since it's pork based. So we will still be waiting for your real restaurant recipe video 😀
Way too long of a video, just list the key ingredients and steps, lord help us all
He gives me Jeffrey Dahmer vibes. And it’s not just the glasses..
Just get to to point u talk to much
South veatnam people will tell you blatantly the truth.