Oxtail Pho Stock
Diners have been munching away on our Seabass Crackers and the feed back is very good.
They look like Prawn Crackers (or Shrimp Chips) and are made in the exact same way.
When we serve these Crackers, there are never any left over from the Service, (the staff like to munch on the crunchy chips, they are highly addictive!) :) .
For our next batch will be using Salmon, which hopefully should turn out a little pinkish. :) .
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Many people have been asking about our Pho Stock, which we use in many dishes. This is a very versatile stock and can be used to “lift up” many recipes. This is our basic recipe, which is unseasoned as it is neutral and will be further used and manipulated for other things.
Oxtail is washed and rinsed.
To get the lovely dark and sweet roasted aroma that Pho is known for, Onions and Ginger are grilled and blackened.
There is a reason why there is a fork in the head of Garlic, and no, its not a neat trick or anything, its just to show you that the Garlic has to be pricked over to allow the flavour to escape. :) .
Accompanying the Onion and Ginger are Cinnamon Sticks and Star Anise.
Everything goes in to a pot and is covered with cold water which is brought to a boil then simmered (and skimmed) until the meat from the Oxtail is soft and almost falling from the bone.
At this point the whole kitchen will smell lovely and inviting… :) .
After a few hours we remove the solids from the stock.
The remaining stock will be chilled and the layer of fat which settles on the top will be removed. It is then ready to be used or can be frozen. For a more concentrated flavour we sometimes reduce this stock further, or season it and clarify it to make a clear soup.
Though we don’t actually serve Pho at the restaurant, we make a huge amount of Pho Stock, as I said before, it has numerous uses in the kitchen, especially in our Terrines and Pâtés.
The cooked Oxtail will have the meat and fat removed and be used for fillings in our Pho Ravioli or Croquettes. The fat is also used in our Pho Burgers, which are sublime and not for the weight conscious! 
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This fine specimen is a cut of Loin.
At first glance you could be mistaken for thinking that this marbled piece of meat is from some exotic and expensive cut of beef. And you would be mistaken because it is a cut of Pork Loin, Iberico Pork to be precise.
Iberico Pork in my opinion is the King of Swine. Best served medium rare and seasoned with Maldon Salt. With a good bottle of wine and very good company, it makes for a wonderful dinner. :) .
March 2nd, 2009 at 3:38 am
Wonderful to see such well-marbled pork!
March 11th, 2009 at 5:19 am
the recipe seem easy to follow up…i am glad i am come back and read it over…
May 7th, 2009 at 2:49 am
As I read through your recipes, it’s as if you snuck into my mom’s kitchen!!! I’ve always tried to write down and replicate my mom’s recipes but it’s hard when she doesn’t measure. I am definitely making your pho stock soon!!! Kob Jai Lie Lie!!! PS… I will tell me mom to try using cocunut milk/cream in her recipe. I don’t think she uses it in her recipe.
May 10th, 2009 at 10:48 am
Hi Chan and thanks for your nice comments.
Mums are always the best cooks!
When you say you´ll be telling her to add Coconut Milk/Cream to her recipe, to which recipe are your referring? I hope its not the Pho!
June 29th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Popped in for the first time and love your food Vienne.
The Pho stock – “manipulated for other things”, what other things? and do you have the full Pho recipe please. (or is it a secret?) It’s winter in Tasmania and we need some good warming Pho.
Amazing dark looking pork is it something to do with the age or their diet (acorns?) the pigs eat?
Thanks
Dillon
June 29th, 2009 at 7:37 pm
Hi Dillon and thanks for your comments.
We use the Pho Stock in many dishes, especially Jellies in the summer, or as a basic stock to be used in cooking with beef.
The “secret” of a good Pho is in the individual seasonings that individuals add. The great thing about Pho is that it can be frozen, so you can always make up a big pot and freeze the Pho in portions to use later.
The pork is very nice, its Acorn fed freerange pork that is used for Jámon and other cured meats. Iberian pork is the best that I have ever had!
May 1st, 2010 at 9:14 am
Amazing! It’s so lovely to see your photos, gain some insight into cooking these dishes I LOVE to eat and to be so inspired. Thanks!
June 16th, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Great site! Very good looking Pho recipe. You serve this at the restaurant? Where is the restaurant? Would like to try it sometime.
June 19th, 2011 at 9:48 am
Hi Dao and welcome to Laocook.
We have served Pho at the restaurant on a few occassions, but not like they serve it “back home”. Most of our diners would not be familiar with seasoning their dish at the table, and Pho is a very tricky dish to season for people as everyones preference for sweetness, sourness and spiciness is different.
Though I adore Pho, I dont see it as being a dish that can be successfully served in a fine dining restaurant in Spain!
We Pho stock is used in the kitchen for many other dishes, mostly now I use it in its clarified form to make gelatinas and similar.
We are based at http://www.fairplaygolfhotel.com in the province of Cadiz.