Packed with tender beef strips, soft noodles and vibrant veggies, our Vietnamese-style pho is a brilliant way to brighten a chilly day. Fair warning, though, slurping up the richly spiced broth at the end can be messy, so lean in and leave your usual table manners (and favourite top) at the kitchen door!
Slimming World beef pho recipe
serves 4
Free
ready in 50 minutes
What you need:
2 small shallots, halved and sliced
2 red chillies, sliced
3 tbsp rice vinegar
low-calorie cooking spray
300g lean sirloin or beef fillet steak, visible fat removed
300g dried rice vermicelli noodles
300g spring greens, roughly shredded
100g bean sprouts, rinsed
½ small pack each of fresh coriander and mint
lime wedges, to serve
For the broth:
2 litres hot beef stock
2 x 5cm pieces of fresh root ginger, peeled and halved lengthways
2 onions, halved widthways
4 tbsp fish sauce
2 level tbsp sweetener granules
5 star anise
6 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
1 tbsp fennel seeds
What you do:
- Put the shallots and chillies in a small bowl, cover with the vinegar and set aside to pickle.
- For the broth, bring the stock to the boil in a large pan. At the same time, preheat your grill to medium-high and grill the ginger and onions for 3-5 minutes until blackened (this will give the broth a lovely smoky flavour). Add them to the stock with the fish sauce, sweetener and spices. Simmer for 30 minutes, or until reduced by about a third. Strain through a fine sieve into another pan, discarding the ginger, onions and spices, then set aside.
- Spray a non-stick griddle or frying pan with low-calorie cooking spray and put it over a high heat. Season the steaks and cook for 2 minutes on each side. Remove from the pan and leave to rest, covered with foil.
- Cover the noodles with boiling water then leave to soak for 5 minutes, or until soft. Drain and divide between 4 bowls. Bring the broth back to the boil, add the spring greens and cook for 2 minutes. Ladle the stock and greens over the noodles. Slice the steak thinly and add to the pho with the bean sprouts, herbs and a spoonful of the pickled chillies and shallots. Serve with lime wedges for squeezing over.
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