dhkim2

apologies to all for the lack of a timely response (not that anyone is losing any sleep in anticipation of this thread). Something came up literally minutes after I posted this that didn't allow me for sufficient time to do much at all. Suffice it to say I had to leave the city for the event in question, and I just got back. I'll definitely buy the ingredients I need and start tomorrow in the morning. P.S. Is there any way at all to extend the shelf life of veggies like bean sprouts? Put a bunch in my tupperware and it goes bad so quickly... kinda annoying to constantly have to go grocery shopping.

I think this may be the problem too. Thanks for the response. I have 2 questions though. I parbroil fairly intensely for about 15 minutes, so i see minimum "scum." I was told that you should skim every 20-30 minutes throughout the entire boiling process (i'm forgetting the word, the fire is set on very very low though... not boiling but dang it, the word starts with an "s.") 1) Can you just use a mini-colander... Once again, don't have the word for it, just like a.. eh.. a filter that's the size of the palm of your hand that has a handle to filter out all the scum? Cause if I use a ladle, I fear I'd take out too much of the broth. 2) What do you mean by boil it overly? I was told that the best pho restaurants boil in excess of 7-8 hours. I have the light on extremely low however. Could you please clarify? Thanks. I apologize to everyone for my obvious lack of culinary knowledge as I only started becoming interested in cooking. I'll post my recipe up within the day. Kinda preoccupied RIGHT NOW however. Thank you for the enlightening responses.

I'll be trying out your recipe within the hour. Thanks.

oh, i'm very aware of that thread. That thread was the impetus for me joining egullet. Many of your responses definitely make me question some of my methods. I'll get back to you guys once I go for another round.

the last 4 photos were done fairly casually although I still kept it simmering for about 7 hours, or so. Seriously, why the f is it so dark?

I've been trying to make pho like the best Viet restaurants do but to no avail. 6 months, approx. 20 tries, and an unspeakable amount of money later (seriously, my first try involved inviting 10 people over with every meat imaginable... cost me about 150 probably), I'm closer to making some damn good pho, but there's definitely something substantively different about my pho from the ones in the best restaurants. My broth is usually darker for one thing. Why is that? My partner in crime is a Viet girl, 2nd generation though, who's a fantastic cook. She has her own blog, has worked for restaurants all her life (French and Japanese though)... and she just can't figure it out either. I've even approached it scientifically, recording amount of exact minutes spent doing what. I've scoured the web for every single recipe. Have I tried ___? Probably If I don't figure something out in the next 7 days, my plan is to go my favorite Viet restaurants around here, and offer them anywhere from 300-700 dollars just to stand around and look while they're doing their thang... and no, I'm not rich, but I'm about to leave the country in 2 weeks, and this has become something of a personal obsession for me. Any insight from pho connoisseurs would be most appreciated. Thanks.