72 Hours of Patience: The Short Rib Pho That’s Worth the Wait
“It’s a half hour show, bro. I don’t really have 72 hours,” Guy Fieri quipped when Chef Lam explained the timeline for his signature dish. But at Pure Street Noodle Bar in Calgary’s First Street Market, that three-day commitment is exactly what separates this pho from anything else you’ll find.
Guy traveled to Calgary, Alberta to check out what he’d heard was no ordinary noodle bar. Chef Lam is doing something that sounds almost absurd in a fast-casual setting: scratch-making everything, including his own rice noodles. “Who makes their own rice noodles?” Guy asked. The answer: this guy does.
Building the 72-Hour Short Rib
The process starts with searing short ribs in what Chef Lam calls “pho fat” — the skimmed fat from previous batches of pho broth, already infused with all the spices and aromatics. The ribs get sealed and dropped into a 72-hour cook. As Guy put it: “Hot tub in Flavor Town.”
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Meanwhile, the broth demands its own 24-hour simmer. Chef Lam starts by toasting cinnamon sticks, cloves, fennel seeds, star anise, cardamom seeds, and coriander seeds until the aromatics fill the kitchen. Then come what Guy called “pterodactyl” bones — massive roasted beef knuckle bones — along with roasted ginger and onion. The finishing touches: rock sugar, salt, fish sauce, and brisket.
Housemade Noodles That Steal the Show
The rice noodles come together from just four ingredients: rice flour, tapioca starch, salt, and water. The batter gets spread into a pan, steamed for about two minutes, cooled, rolled up, and sliced. Simple in description, meticulous in execution.
The final bowl gets built with blanched noodles, seared short rib, bean sprouts, basil, cilantro, onion, pickled red onions, sawtooth herb, peppermint, black pepper, and that silky broth. Lemon and fish sauce come on the side, along with sriracha.
Guy’s reaction said everything: “That short rib is pretty ridiculous. There’s a fattiness inside of this broth — it’s so silky. It’s like an elixir. I want to just chug it.” He added that his favorite part of the housemade noodles was actually “the whole thing.”
The Crackling Pork Belly Sesame Donut
Chef Lam wasn’t done impressing. Next came a savory donut featuring crackling pork belly. The dough — flour, salt, baking powder, sugar, and milk — rests for two hours before getting rolled in sesame seeds and fried. The pork belly gets tenderized with what Guy called “the at-home acupuncture kit,” scored, then marinated for two days in a mixture of orange jam, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, homemade satay paste, five spice powder, garlic powder, paprika, salt, sugar, and black pepper.
The “ultimate dip sauce” involves sautéed onion, garlic, and shallots, plus roasted pig trotters, satay paste, and a blend of salted onion, garlic, pineapple, green apple, sugar, and soy sauce — all brought to a boil and blended smooth.
“I could eat six of them,” Guy declared after trying the finished donut.
What the Regulars Say
Local customers echoed the enthusiasm. One regular explained the short rib pho simply: “The broth is very rich, very flavorful. The 72-hour short rib is amazing — falls off the bone, just melts in your mouth.” Another noted, “I think the property values went up when this place opened.”
The First Street Market setting offers variety, but as one customer admitted: “Every time I come I always want to try a different place. However, I just come back to Pure every time.”
For more scratch-made comfort food from the show, check out Acorn Squash Soup | Big Bite or Guy’s take on Grilled PIMENTO Mac ‘n’ Cheese. Find this spot and hundreds more in our restaurant directory.