Twelve-Hour Oxtail Pho / Phở Đuôi Bò

Like many Asian moms, mine didn’t show love through words of affirmation. She expressed her love through acts of service, primarily through cooking pho. Her pho was the ultimate labor of love; she would start it the night before and let it simmer the entire night so that it would be ready for my siblings and me to eat the next day. Here’s my version of Oxtail Pho!

Pho duoi bo or oxtail pho is a treat, given how expensive oxtails are these days, but it’s absolutely worth the expense and time it takes to make it.
My version takes twelve hours to make, with most of it taking time for the broth to slowly simmer and extract all the beautiful beefy flavor from the oxtails.

Here are a few tips and tricks for making a really light and clean pho broth:

The first one is to remove the charred onion, ginger, and spice bag from the stock after simmering for an hour and a half. This makes sure that the aromatics don’t dissolve into the broth.

The second tip is to ensure that the broth simmers on low, never returning to a full rolling boil. Boiling the bones on high heat will make the broth murky.

The last tip is optional, and I usually skip it unless I’m making it for friends and family. I use a fine mesh strainer and remove any impurities from the broth before serving.

Short on time?

If you don’t have a day to let the oxtail simmer, you can definitely opt to use the instant pot.
Pressure cook on high for 40 minutes with natural release.

In my testing, there’s no noticeable difference in taste or quality of the broth. The only downside is that most instant pots are smaller than my stock pot, and when I make pho, I usually like making a huge batch! Plus, I’m a little old school, and I like making it the way mama always made it!

If you liked this Oxtail Pho recipe, make sure you check out my other pho recipes too!