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2 Key Ingredients Your Homemade Pho Isn't Complete Without

Pho is one of the most comforting dishes out there. Made with simple ingredients — broth, noodles, meat (usually) — and infused with warming spices like star anise and cinnamon and seasoned with fresh herbs, this Vietnamese noodle soup is perfect for any time of the year. It's pretty straightforward to cook at home, but there are two ingredients you need to bring it to the next level: Palm sugar and fish sauce.

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That's according to chef Kevin Tien of acclaimed Washington, D.C. restaurant Moon Rabbit. Tien, a James Beard Award semifinalist specializing in upscale Vietnamese food, knows how to make a good pho, and his advice is that "you have to use rock or palm sugar".

Rock sugar, a common ingredient in Asian cuisine, is made from concentrated sugarcane extract. It comes in chunks that vary in color from white to gold and it's not as sweet as granulated sugar. It can also add a nice sheen to sauces and braises, as well as a caramelized color.

Don't forget the sauce

Palm sugar, meanwhile, comes from the sap of palm flowers. It's known as an unrefined sugar as it contains a lot of its original molasses. Like rock sugar, it's more subtle than white sugar, which Kevin Tien warns against using in pho, saying, "White sugar isn't going to cut it." Rock sugar or palm sugar are better for rounding out the flavors of the broth, and they add a more delicate sweetness.

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Tien's other must-have ingredient for elevating homemade pho is fish sauce, which adds umami and balances out the soup. Vietnamese fish sauce is made using an intricate process that ferments anchovies to create the perfect salty condiment, and is also known as nuoc mam. You'll only need a little bit, just a few teaspoons per bowl. Tien seasons his pho with Vietnamese fish sauce at the end of cooking, which is a common method.

It might be tempting to substitute either of these special ingredients, or skip them altogether, but you'll be able to taste the difference. Fish sauce, rock sugar, and palm sugar are readily available in the U.S. in stores and online. This Yellow Rock Sugar on Amazon is under $10, and this Vietnamese Red Boat fish sauce is made the traditional way. The extra effort really will pay off with layers of flavor in your bowl.

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