# 12 Hour Oxtail Pho

A rich and savory pho broth made with oxtail and beef bones, simmered for an extended period, and seasoned with various spices.

- Total time: 720 min
- Cuisine: Vietnamese
- Category: Soup
- Language: en

## Ingredients

- 5 lbs beef bones
- 3 lbs oxtail
- 1 large onion
- 1 large ginger
- 8 liters water
- 2 TBSP coriander seeds
- 2 TBSP fennel seeds
- 0.5 tsp cloves
- 3 cardamom pods
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 4 star anise
- 1 chunk rock sugar
- 1 little bit oil
- salt
- fish sauce
- chicken bouillon
- sugar
- MSG
- pho noodles
- chopped scallion
- chopped cilantro
- thinly sliced onions
- Thai basil
- rice patty herbs
- bean sprouts
- black pepper
- hoisin sauce
- sriracha
- lime
- garlic
- scallion for topping

## Instructions

1. Toast fennel seeds, coriander, star anise, cinnamon sticks, and cardamom pods on a dry skillet until fragrant. (Measurements will be listed below the video).
2. Add all toasted spices to a cheesecloth to create a spice bag.
3. Toast aromatics (onion, ginger) on a dry skillet, open fire, air fryer, or oven. Add a little oil to the skillet if using.
4. Set the toasted aromatics aside.
5. In a large stock pot, combine parboiled beef bones, parboiled oxtail, toasted onion, toasted ginger, toasted spices (in the bag), and a chunk of rock sugar.
6. Fill the pot with 8 liters of water.
7. Turn the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil.
8. Once boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for at least 8 hours (or up to 12 hours).
9. At the 1.5 hour mark, remove the spice bag.
10. At the 2 hour mark, remove the oxtail.
11. After simmering, discard the onion, ginger, and beef bones from the broth.
12. Pour the remaining broth through a fine strainer into another pot.
13. Combine the strained broth back into the big stock pot.
14. Remove the layer of fat from the top of the broth if desired (or google methods to do so).
15. Season the broth with salt, fish sauce (Deer Mom brand recommended), chicken/mushroom bouillon, sugar, and MSG.
16. Cut the oxtail in half (if it has tendon, that's preferred).
17. Bring the broth back to a boil before assembling bowls.
18. Melt the removed fat from the broth in a separate pan.
19. Add garlic and scallion to the melted fat.
20. Assemble a bowl with pho noodles, oxtail, chopped scallion, chopped cilantro, thinly sliced onions, Thai basil, rice patty herbs, bean sprouts, black pepper, hoisin sauce, sriracha, and lime.
21. Ladle boiling hot broth over the assembled pho bowl.
22. Top the pho with the garlic and scallion infused fat.

## Equipment

- dry skillet
- cheesecloth
- fine strainer
- big stock pot
- pan
- air fryer
- oven

## Tips

- Don't add fish sauce or seasonings until done simmering the broth.
- Remove spice bag at 1.5 hour mark and oxtail at 2 hour mark during simmering.
- You can turn off the stove overnight and resume simmering the next morning.
- Remove the fat layer from the broth if desired.
- Always ladle boiling hot broth over your pho.
- The recommended fish sauce brand is Deer Mom.

## Source

- Original video: https://youtube.com/shorts/6-EdHB4rhZ8?si=X2RBuKlr4Mwcu3wJ
- Recipe page: https://www.cliprecipe.com/recipe/909229f0-aab8-4ec1-83a8-e1b11a63b374
- Extracted: 2026-01-23

Extracted from the video by Clip Recipe (https://www.cliprecipe.com). Quantities and steps are as stated or shown in the video. Site guide for agents: https://www.cliprecipe.com/llms.txt