I did something like that last night to make a beef soup. I tried Pho and hated the anise flavor so no more for me but I really need to go eat some in a restaurant to see how bad mine was.
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I used oxtails and shanks
browned them down
added 3 onions to the pot to break down into a french onion soup
made a big pot of concentrated beef broth
Took some out this morning and made a smaller pot of soup. I used ginger, brocolli, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, snow peas and garlic then I topped the bowl with cilantro, green onions, hoisin and sriracha sauce.