Pho bo, the (almost) lazy recipe - Aliette de Bodard

Ingredients

• 3.5-4 litres water
• 1 cube of instant vegetable broth (optional)
• 1 carrot, cut in fourths
• 500g beef cut into chunks (I use sirloin steak cut into thinnish slices, and later eat that with the broth)
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped into small pieces
• 8 tablespoons nưởc chấm (if you don't have nưởc chấm handy, try 2 tablespoons of undiluted fish sauce)
• 1 celery stalk (optional)
• 1 pack bánh phở noodles (375g).
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 anise stars
• 1 shallot studded with 6 cloves, (for more kick), one yellow onion studded with 6 cloves
• 5 cardamom pods, crushed with the flat of a knife
• 1-inch ginger piece
• Fresh soy (to taste)
• Chopped green onions (to taste. I use one spring onion per person)
• Coriander leaves (to taste. I use 3-4 coriander stalks per person)
• Thinly sliced sweet onions (to taste. I generally don't use that because I don't often have onions in the fridge)
• If you're lucky enough to have húng qué around (Asian basil), then you'll want to throw that in.