Phở Sate (Spicy Beef Satay Pho)

Phở sate / Phở bò sa tế is a delightful spin on pho! Imagine flat rice noodles luxuriating in a flavorful broth, enriched with peanut butter and Sốt Sa Tế (Vietnamese lemongrass chili oil).

It’s a spicy, hearty delight and, best of all, a breeze to prepare compared to the traditional pho.

What is Phở Sate?

If you ever find yourself in Saigon’s Chinatown (Chợ Lớn), don’t miss the chance to try a bowl of Phở Sate.

Phở Sate is like a delicious fusion between Vietnamese Beef Pho (Phở Bò) and Teochew’s Beef Satay Noodles (Hủ Tiếu Sa Tế Bò), but surprisingly, this hybrid dish is much simpler to prepare than either of its inspirations.

Related Recipes | Some Vietnamese recipes with Chinese influences:

What is Satay?

Satay sauce is a savory, peanut butter-based condiment that’s a staple in Southeast Asian cooking.

However, it’s important to clarify that peanut-based satay sauce is different from Vietnamese sate sauce, which is a lemongrass chili oil.

Ingredients

• Chicken bones: While beef bones are the traditional choice, they require more time to extract that rich umami flavor. If you’re short on time, you can opt for store-bought chicken broth.
• Peanut butter: An essential ingredient for that signature satay flavor.
• Vietnamese sate sauce: You can easily find this at an Asian market or whip it up yourself.
• Pho Spices (store-bought or homemade): I used my homemade spices for beef pho. Feel free to experiment the ratio and ingredients. Only cinnamon, star anise, peppercorns, and black cardamom are essential, while the others are optional. Be cautious with cloves; they have a potent fragrance.
  • Cinnamon
  • Star anise
  • Dried tangerine peel
  • Black cardamom
  • Peppercorns or white peppercorns
  • Coriander seeds
  • Fennel seeds
  • Cloves

• Additional Pho Flavor: Don’t forget ginger, onion, and shallot to complete that classic Pho taste.
• Seasonings: To round it all out, you’ll need salt, rock sugar, chicken powder, and fish sauce.
• Corn starch (or Tapioca starch / Potato starch): to make the slurry

• You can go with Pho rice noodles (or any variety of rice noodles you prefer), and egg noodles also work wonderfully.
• You also need sliced beef and beef balls (if you like).

• Mung bean sprouts and thinly sliced onion.
• Scallions, cilantro and Thai basil: up to your preferences.

Instructions

• Char the onion, shallot, and ginger (you could broil them in the oven or air fryer/ use an open flame / or char them on a stainless steel pan.)

• Toast the spices in the pan. Keep in mind that the larger spices like black cardamom, star anise, or cinnamon will require more time to toast compared to the smaller ones.

• Place all the spices in tea bags for easy handling.

• Place the bones in a pot and add 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Cover them with cold water and bring the pot to a boil. Allow it to boil for 3 minutes to remove impurities.

• Drain the bones, rinsing the bones thoroughly with cold water to eliminate any residue.
• Return the bones to the pot and add 1.6 quart (1.5 liter) of water for every 2.2 pounds (1 kg) of chicken bones. Also, include salt, rock sugar, onion, shallot, ginger, and all the spices. Simmer for 1 hour. After one hour, remove all spices.

• In another small pan, combine the Vietnamese sate sauce and peanut butter. Stir-fry until fragrant, then add this sauce to the broth. Mix until well combined.

• Create a slurry by mixing cornstarch with some water, and then pour it into the broth. Cook the broth on low heat for 3 minutes.

• Finally, season the broth one last time with chicken powder and fish sauce to taste (the broth’s flavor should be slightly saltier than your desired taste since it will be diluted once you add the rice noodles).

• Prepare the Pho noodles following the provided instructions.
• Blanch the mung bean sprouts, then place them over the rice noodles.
• Take a portion of raw beef, cook it in a ladle within the satay soup, and then place it on top of the noodles. Pour the broth over the noodles and beef.
• To finish, garnish your dish with some chopped scallions, cilantro, and Thai basil. Enjoy!!

Helpful Tips

• You could use store-bought chicken broth to save cooking time.
• Adjust the broth’s spiciness by adding Vietnamese Sate Sauce to your liking. If you desire a vibrant red broth without excessive heat, you could substitute a portion with Paprika powder.
• As for toppings, you can switch out the sliced beef for shredded poached chicken, crafting your “Phở Sa Tế Gà” (Satay Chicken Pho).
• Feel free to experiment with the Pho spices to achieve your preferred flavor, but remember that cloves should be used sparingly; a little bit packs a powerful punch.

More Hearty Asian Noodle Soup

Phở Sate (Spicy Beef Satay Pho)

Cielle

Phở Sa Tế: A flavorful twist on pho! Flat rice noodles in a rich broth with peanut butter and Vietnamese sate sauce. It's spicy, hearty, and much more easier to make than traditional pho.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr

Course Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine Vietnamese

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Broth

• 2 lbs chicken bones (1kg)
• 1.6 quart water (1.5 liter)
• 3.5 oz smooth peanut butter (100g)
• 3 tbsp Vietnamese sate sauce (to your taste) (store-bought or homemade)
• 3 tbsp fish sauce (to your taste)
• ½ tbsp salt (to your taste)
• 1 tbsp chicken powder (to your taste)
• 0.5 oz rock sugar (15g) (to your taste)
• 1½ tbsp cornstarch / tapioca starch / potato starch (for the slurry)

Pho spices

• 1 onion
• 1 big shallot
• 3 pods star anises
• 1 stick cinnamon
• 1 pod black cardamom
• ½ tbsp peppercorns
• ½ tbsp corriander seeds (optional)
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds (optional)
• 3 pods clove (optional)
• 1 piece dried tangerine peel (optional)

Toppings

• 1.3 lb sliced beef (600g)
• 0.5 lb beef balls (230g) (optional)
• 1 pack dried pho noodles

Garnish

• Mungbean sprouts
• Thinly sliced onion
• Cilantro
• Scallions
• Thai basil

Instructions

 

Prepare Pho spices for the broth:

• Char the onion, shallot, and ginger (you could broil them in oven or air fryer / grill on an open flame or char them on a stainless steel pan.
• Toast the spices in the pan, noting that larger spices such as black cardamom, star anise, or cinnamon will need more time to toast than the smaller ones.
• Enclose all the spices in tea bags to make them easier to handle.

Prepare the broth:

• Put the bones in a pot and adding 1/2 tablespoon of salt. Then, cover them with cold water and bring the pot to a boil. Let it boil for 3 minutes to eliminate any impurities.
• Drain the bones. Then thoroughly rinse them with cold water to remove any residue.
• Return the bones to the pot and add 1.6 quart (1.5 liter) of water for every 2.2 pounds (1 kg) of bones. Add salt, rock sugar, onion, shallot, ginger, and all the spices. Simmer for 1 hour.
• After one hour, take out all of the spices.
• In a separate small pan, combine the Vietnamese sate sauce and peanut butter. Stir-fry until fragrant, then add this sauce to the broth. Mix until well combined.
• Make a slurry by mixing cornstarch with some water, then pour it into the broth. Cook the broth on low heat for 3 minutes.
• To finish, season the broth once more with chicken powder and fish sauce to your liking. Keep in mind that the broth's flavor should be slightly saltier than your desired taste, as it will dilute once you add the rice noodles.

Assemble the pho bowl:

• Cook the Pho noodles according to the instructions provided.
• Blanch the mung bean sprouts, and then arrange them over the rice noodles.
• In a ladle, cook a portion of raw beef in the satay soup, and then place it atop the noodles. Pour the soup over the noodles and beef.
• Garnish your noodle soup with chopped scallions, cilantro, and Thai basil. Enjoy!

Notes

• To save time, you could use store-bought chicken broth.
• Tailor the broth’s spiciness by adjusting the amount of Vietnamese Sate Sauce. If you want a vibrant red broth without excessive heat, you can substitute a portion with Paprika powder.
• For the toppings, you can replace sliced beef with shredded poached chicken to make “Phở Sa Tế Gà” (Satay Chicken Pho).
• Feel free to play around with the Pho spices to achieve your preferred taste. Just keep in mind that cloves should be used sparingly, as they can add a potent kick even in small amounts.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!