Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup

This is a simplified, Americanized version of Pho, substituting brown sugar for the yellow rock sugar found in Asian markets.

Serves 10

Ingredients:

• 3 pound English-cut chuck roast
• 3 medium yellow onions
• 4-inch piece ginger (about 4 ounces)
• 5 star anise
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 3-inch cinnamon stick
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 cups beef broth
• Water
• 1 ½–2 pounds small (⅛-inch wide) dried or fresh banh pho noodles (“rice sticks” or Thai chantaboon)
• 4 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 3 or 4 scallions, green part only, cut into thin rings
• ⅓ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. Trim the roast of any fat; cut it into bite-sized pieces and add to the slow cooker. Peel 2 onions; cut into quarters. Cut the ginger into 1-inch pieces. Add the onion and ginger to the slow cooker along with the star anise, cloves, cinnamon stick, salt, broth, and enough water to cover the meat by about an inch. Cook on low for 6 hours or until the beef is pull-apart tender.
2. About a half hour before serving, peel the remaining onion; cut it into paper-thin slices and soak them in cold water. For dried rice noodles: Cover them with hot water and allow to soak for 15–20 minutes, or until softened and opaque white; drain in colander.
3. Remove the meat from the broth with a slotted spoon; shred the meat. Strain the broth through a fine strainer, discarding the spices and onion; return strained broth to the slow cooker along with the shredded meat. Set the slow cooker on the high setting to bring the meat and broth to a boil. Stir the fish sauce and brown sugar into the broth.
4. Blanch the noodles in stages by adding as many noodles to a strainer as you can submerge in the boiling broth without causing the slow cooker to boil over. The noodles will collapse and lose their stiffness in about 15–20 seconds. At that time, pull strainer from the broth, letting the excess broth clinging to them drain back into cooker. Empty noodles into bowls, allowing each serving to fill about ⅓ of the bowl, and then ladle hot broth and beef over the noodles. Garnish with onion slices, scallions, and chopped cilantro, and finish with freshly ground black pepper.