On any cold or rainy day, a bowl of soup is the most comforting. And it does not have to be chicken noodle soup every time. I enjoyed my first bowl of pho in the US and have had many since then. Somehow in Singapore I haven't found a bowl that has been quite upto the mark and so I decided to make my own.

Now the key to a good bowl of pho like any other good soup is in the broth or the base that is used. Traditionally, the pho broth is made after hours of simmering the meat and bones. Now in the busy life we live today, it is not easy to take out the time to make the soup from scratch. I researched for recipes online and came upon this recipe from a blog - TheKitchn. Love the passion of all other bloggers out there who try out the different foods out there and experiment and blog about it to share it with the others.

The first thing I figured out was that it was still possible to make a good broth by using readymade stock as long as the traditional flavors were added to it. These flavors include dry roasted spices and grilled vegetables that are simmered with the readymade broth for about 30 minutes to ensure all the flavors are infused into the broth. This step ensures a very robust broth that blends beautifully with the rice noodles, meat and sprouts to create a wonderful bowl of pho.

The meat used in this case should be a cut of meat that will cook quickly with the hot broth when sliced thinly. Sirloin, round eye and London broil is the choice of meat. I have used sirloin for the pho in this recipe. Make sure you trim all the excess fat if any from the meat before you slice it.

I have adapted the original recipe almost entirely. It is a lovely recipe and needs very little modifications. The recipe below serves 3-4.

Ingredients:

2 large onions (peeled and quartered)

4-inch piece fresh ginger (peeled and quartered)

2 (3-inch) whole cinnamon sticks

2 whole star anise

3 whole cloves

2 teaspoons whole coriander seeds (I did not have at hand so I skipped these)

6 cups good quality beef broth (low sodium if possible)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons fish sauce

3 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1/2 pound sirloin steak, round eye, or London broil

8 ounces dried rice noodles ( bahn pho , 1/16-, 1/8-, or 1/-4 inch wide)

3 scallions

1 chili pepper (Thai bird, serrano, or jalapeño)

1 to 2 limes

1 cup bean sprouts

1/2 cup fresh herbs (cilantro, basil, Thai basil, mint, or a mix)

Method:

1. Using tongs, char the onions and ginger on all sides over high flame on a gas stove, or on a baking sheet placed directly under the broiler (about 5 minutes on each side) or on a hot pan/grill - until the onions and ginger pieces show charred spots. Rinse the pieces under cool water to remove any loose, gritty, overly charred bits.

2. Place the cinnamon, star anise, cloves, and coriander seeds in the bottom of a dry pan and dry-roast over medium-low heat for 1 to 2 minutes, until toasty and very fragrant. Stir frequently to prevent the spices from burning.

3. In a stock pot, add the onions, ginger, carrots, spices and beef broth. Bring the broth to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Cover and continue simmering for 30 minutes to give time for all the spices and aromatics to infuse in the broth.

4. While the broth is simmering, put the beef on a plate, cover with plastic wrap, and freeze for 15 minutes. The edges of the beef should feel firm to the touch, but the beef should not be frozen through. This will make it easier to slice the beef thinly. Remove the beef from the freezer and immediately use your sharpest knife to slice the beef into very thin slices. Slice across the grain, and aim for slices no thicker than 1/4-inch. Once sliced, keep the beef covered and refrigerated until ready to serve.

5. Bring a second saucepan of water to a boil, drop in the rice noodles and cook according to package instructions. Drain and set aside. You can divide them into the bowls in which they will be served.

6. Thinly slice the scallions and the chili pepper. Cut the lime into wedges. Place the bean sprouts in a serving dish. Roughly chop the herbs or tear them with your hands. Arrange all the toppings on a serving dish and place it on the table.

7. When the broth is ready, set a strainer over another bowl or saucepan, and strain the solids from the broth. Discard the solids. Place the broth back over low heat and keep it just below a simmer — you should see a fair amount of steam, but the broth should not be boiling. The broth needs to be quite hot to cook the beef.

8. Top the noodles in the bowls with a few slices of raw beef. Arrange the beef in a single layer so that the slices will cook evenly in the broth; slices that are stacked or clumped may not cook all the way through.

9. Ladle the steaming broth into each bowl, pouring it evenly over the beef in order to cook it. The beef should immediately start to turn opaque. Fill each bowl with as much broth as desired.

10. Let each person top their pho as desired.