Quarter the white onion and cut the ginger to about a 2 inch knob.

Place 1/2 of the onion and the 2 inch knob of the ginger on an open flame to char it.

Put 3-4 star anise, 3-4 cloves, 1 cinnamon stick on a cheesecloth and wrap it up using butcher’s twine (making sachet is optional, you can just throw these spices into the pot if you don’t have cheesecloth or butcher’s twine)

Pour 5 cups of water into a pot, scoop 1 tablespoon of soup base and put it on medium high heat. Mix it up & add in the spice packet with the charred onion and ginger.

Add in 1 tablespoon of fish sauce and 1 chunk of rock sugar (or 1 tbsp of regular sugar). Mix it up and once it comes to a boil, turn it down to a simmer and let it simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Follow the directions on the package to cook the pho noodles. Chop up cilantro and scallions and slice the other half of the white onion.

Assemble the bowl by placing the cooked pho noodles first, then a handful of scallions and cilantro, sliced onions, thinly sliced beef, pour the hot broth into the bowl and top it with your preferred toppings like basil, mint, bean sprouts, etc...

Enjoy(: