1. Peel onions and ginger – First the ginger and onions are removed from their shells. This can be done, as usual here, with a vegetable knife or a peeler, or as usual in Vietnam: On an open fire. In Vietnam, the ginger and onions are simply held or placed in the open fire (hob or gas stove) for a while. Then you can peel the ingredients like a jacket potato.

2. Leave to cool – Once you have chosen the open fire option, keep the onions and ginger under warm water and remove any skin residue.

3. Boil the bones – Put the beef bones in a large pot (at least 12 litres) and fill the pot with water. Bring to the boil on a high heat. Now let the bones boil for about 3 minutes so that the impurities dissolve. After cooking, pour everything into the sink so that the water with the impurities is washed into the drain. The bones are then returned to the pot.

4. Brewing bones – Put 6 litres of water on the bones and bring to the boil under great heat. Then reduce the heat and let the bones simmer uncovered for about 1.5 hours.

   Remove the meat from the bones and put it aside. It is needed later for the soup. In my experience, it is advisable to cook a little beef in the broth, as there is relatively little meat on the bones.

   After boiling, pour the broth through a fine sieve to filter out the remains of the bones.

   With a ladle you skim off as much fat as possible from the broth and put it in the fridge to cool it down. Season the broth with salt, fish sauce and brown sugar. It is important that the broth is seasoned a little more salty, as the other ingredients are added rather unseasoned or unsalted (noodles, vegetables).

5. Preparing meat – To prepare the serving, cut the beef into strips and put them aside. Heating is not necessary, as the hot soup is later poured over the individual ingredients.

6. Heat the broth and prepare the noodles – During the preparation of the soup bowls, slowly heat the broth over medium heat. Soak the dried pasta in hot water for about 10-15 minutes. Fresh noodles are simply rinsed off. The noodles are now prepared and remain in the sieve for the time being.

7. Preparing noodles – Bring about 4-5 liters of water in a pot to the boil. The best way to blanch the pasta is to use a sieve, in which you always fill part of the pasta. This sieve is then held in the boiling water for 10-30 seconds. Then drain the water from the sieve and place the noodles in the soup bowls. The bowl should be filled up to one third with noodles.

   If desired, you can also blanch the bean sprouts (30 seconds) in the same broth of the noodles and add them to the bowls.

8. Add more ingredients – Spread the beef over the bowls, add the onion, leek and chopped coriander and season with black pepper.

Arrange

1. Finish and serve the soup – When the broth is boiling, scoop it out of the pot with a ladle and fill the soup bowls with it. The noodle soup is traditionally served with chopsticks and a spoon and the ingredients are then eaten separately. It is interesting to note that the Vietnamese never spoon the soup completely. This should be considered when planning a stay in Vietnam.