PHO OXTAIL RECIPES

Steps:

• Char ginger and onions in the oven on broil until everything is nicely charred. Peel the ginger and onions and set aside until you’re ready to start your broth.
• Toast the coriander seeds, cloves and star anise in a dry pan on low heat until spices are aromatic, about 2-3 minutes. Tie the spices up in cheesecloth for easy removal from your soup. If you do not have whole spices and you really don't want to buy whole spices, you can use a teaspoon of each dried spice. This may affect the final colour of your stock though.
• Put your oxtail pieces in a large pot with cold water and bring to a hard boil for 5-10 minutes to force the scum and impurities out. There will literally be foamy 'debris' at the top of your boiling water. Drain, rinse the oxtails and wash your pot.
• Fill your clean pot with about 5 quarts of water and add the oxtail, ginger, onions, spice packet, cinnamon stick, carrots and daikon. Bring to a boil and lower to a very gentle simmer, uncovered. Simmer for as long as you can; reducing it will intensify the flavour. Let the water reduce and simmer for at least 4 hours.
• After 4 hours, take out oxtails, set aside, remove everything else from the stock and strain the stock into a new clean pot and cool before putting in the fridge overnight.
• Remove the meat from the oxtails and discard the bones, cover and put in the fridge for the next day. The meat should fall off the bone.
• The next day, a large amount of fat will have coagulated on the top of your stock. The stock will also be gelatinous. Skim and discard the fat. Gently heat the stock up and season with fish sauce and sugar. Keep in mind that you will be adding hoisin to the stock later when eating, so the stock does not have to be that salty. Bring the stock to a roiling boil.
• Prepare your noodles according to the package, strain and place in a large bowl. Add a generous amount of oxtail meat (the stock will heat the meat up), top with broth and all the garnishes. Enjoy your homemade bowl of pho!

Steps:

• Put the beef bones, oxtail, beef chuck and 1 tablespoon salt in a large pot and add cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat and boil vigorously until the surface of the water is foamy, about 10 minutes. Drain the bones and meat in a colander (discarding the liquid) and rinse well with cold water. Clean the inside of the pot, put the blanched bones and meat back into it and add enough cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over high heat then reduce to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes, skimming and discarding any foam that rises to the surface.
• Meanwhile char the onion and ginger over an open flame until well blackened on both sides. (Alternatively you may place them on a foil-lined baking sheet and broil on high, turning once, until well charred, about 10 minutes.) Add the onion, ginger, fish sauce, cloves, star anise, cinnamon, black peppercorns and rock sugar to the pot and continue to simmer. Skim the surface of the soup often to remove the fat and foam that rises. If necessary, add water during cooking to keep the bones submerged. Cook until a paring knife pierces the chuck easily and comes out with little resistance and the oxtail meat pulls easily away from the bone, 3 1/2 to 4 hours.
• Remove the meat and bones from the pot with a slotted spoon or spider to a rimmed baking sheet. Discard the larger bones and let the chuck and oxtail cool enough to handle, 10 minutes. Meanwhile pour the broth through a fine-mesh strainer into a clean pot and keep hot over medium-low heat. (You should have about 12 cups of broth.) Put the rice noodles into a large bowl and cover with hot water. Let the noodles soak until soft, 10 to 15 minutes, then drain and divide between 6 serving bowls. 
• Pick the oxtail meat from the bones and divide it between the bowls. Thinly slice the beef chuck across the grain of the meat and divide it between the bowls. Divide the sliced eye of round between the bowls and then ladle the hot broth over. Top with the cilantro and onion and serve with the bean sprouts, basil, lime, sriracha and hoisin on the side.