History

Houston's pho tradition arrived with the post-Vietnam-War refugee wave that began in 1975 when Catholic Charities and the Diocese of Galveston-Houston resettled thousands of Vietnamese families along the Gulf Coast. The Bellaire Boulevard corridor west of Beechnut crystallised into the country's most concentrated Vietnamese food strip through the 1980s and 90s. Pho Binh opened in 1983 and remains the standard-bearer for southern-style (clear, sweeter) pho across multiple locations. Northern-style (cloudier, peppery) is rarer but available. The Houston pho self-assembly ritual (Thai basil, bean sprouts, jalapeño, lime, sriracha, hoisin) is now the American norm.

Common allergens: Gluten, Soy

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 45 minTotal 6 hrDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 2kg beef knuckle and marrow bones
  • 500g beef brisket
  • 2 large onions, peeled and halved
  • 1 thumb fresh ginger, peeled and halved
  • 4 star anise
  • 1 stick cinnamon
  • 4 whole cloves
  • 2 black cardamom pods
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
  • 30g rock sugar
  • 60ml fish sauce, plus more to taste
  • 2 teaspoons fine salt
  • 400g flat rice noodles (banh pho), prepared per packet
  • 300g rare sirloin, sliced paper thin
  • Thai basil, bean sprouts, lime wedges, sliced jalapeño, sliced spring onion, sliced white onion, fresh coriander, sriracha and hoisin, to serve

Method

  1. Blanch the bones in boiling water for 5 minutes. Drain, rinse cold. This removes scum and gives clean broth.
  2. Char the onion halves and ginger over a gas flame or under the grill until blackened.
  3. Toast the star anise, cinnamon, cloves, cardamom and coriander seeds in a dry pan for 2 minutes. Tie in muslin.
  4. Combine bones, brisket, charred onion and ginger, spice bag, sugar, fish sauce and salt in a stockpot with 5 litres water. Bring to a slow boil, skim foam, then reduce to a steady simmer for 4 to 6 hours. Pull the brisket at the 2-hour mark, cool and slice thin.
  5. Strain the broth through fine muslin. Taste; add fish sauce and salt. Keep on a low simmer.
  6. To serve: divide cooked noodles between 4 deep bowls, top with sliced brisket and raw sirloin, ladle hissing-hot broth over (the meat cooks). Bring herbs and condiments to the table; let everyone build their own.

Tip from the editors. Clear broth, not cloudy: slow simmer and skim every 30 minutes. Hoisin and sriracha go in a side dipping bowl, never in the soup.

This is the TableJourney editorial recipe, modelled on the canonical bistro / counter version. The first place to try the dish in its city of origin is below.

Where to eat houston pho

Houston pho in Houston

Pho Binh (Bellaire) ★ 4.4

Pho Binh on Bellaire in Houston is the 1983 Vietnamese counter from the Le family, with rare-beef pho under $14 and a Vietnamese-iced-coffee tradition that is the Bellaire constant.

Try: Pho tai (rare beef)

Tip: Pho tai (rare beef) is the standard. Cash strongly preferred. Add Thai basil and lime at the table.

10827 Bellaire Blvd, Houston, TX 77072

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