[achiam]

Hey there! I've tried making pho numerous times, each time getting closer and closer.
The thing I've realized, is that the restaurant pho "taste" doesn't even come from the bones itself -- its from the herbs/spices and to some extent leftover meat/cartilage on the bones.
The biggest improvements I had were:
1.) roasting the bones with some meat on them until they were well cooked and browned
2.) frying the herbs and especially star anise in a frying pan until the smells are strong
3.) roasting onions in the oven until you see some blackening (about 10 minutes?)
4.) you MUST have rock sugar and fish SAUCE

**I realized the flavor wasn't from the bone/marrow, as I brewed it for 10+ hours and tasted it every hour on the hour. I found that after the 3rd hour of brewing, the flavor no longer changed.