Pho, A great and filling soup

I love Asian foods of all kinds. When I go for Vietnamese, I often choose Pho (pronounced fa). It is a soup stock that has been cooked and aromatized with lemongrass, onion or shallot, ginger, cinnamon sticks, star anise and salt and pepper. You cook all of these ingredients together in the soup stock, and it creates this beautiful clear broth. That is one of the biggest things about pho. The stock is clear, and this is because the noodles are cooked separately from the stock, so the powdered starch does not enter the broth.

The noodles are thick rice noodles. They do not take long to cook and are often soaked for about an hour or so in warm water before cooking. This releases a lot of the extra starches before the cooking process begins. Then the noodles are put in a pot of boiling water for at most 3 minutes depending on how thick your noodles are. Once that is done, the noodles are strained and a good portion is put in the bottom of your soup bowl.

The meats are typically sliced very thin and tend to be cooked when the broth is poured over top. I normally take a lean beef cut, and slice it thinly, or I go to the local butcher shop and buy Chinese Beef Fondue, which is beef that has been frozen and sliced on a deli meat slicer. I put this on top of my noodles and then start ladling the broth over top of the noodles and the beef.

Once that is set up then come the garnishes, they can range from all sorts of vegetables. My favourites are green onions, Thai basil, bean sprout, hoisin sauce, and siracha chili sauce, also know as Chinese/Thai/Vietnamese etc Ketchup. You can also chop up other veggies, such as peppers, celery, etc for more garnish. The last thing you will most likely want is some lime wedges. This will help to add an extra flavour.

Here is the recipe I normally use when I'm making myself pho

Ingredients

Broth

• 8 cups chicken broth
• 2 thin slices peeled ginger
• 2 whole pieces star anise
• 1 small (1/2-inch) section cinnamon stick
• 1/4 shallot, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, plus extra for serving
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper

Garnish

• 12 ounces dried rice noodles
• 1 pound boneless beef sirloin, or London broil, trimmed of any fat, frozen
• 1 small head romaine lettuce, shredded, or 2 cups shredded Savoy cabbage
• 1 rounded cup bean sprouts
• 1 red or green bell pepper, seeded, stemmed, and thinly sliced
• 3 scallions, minced
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced radish
• 1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs (pluck off the top leaves with slender stem attached)
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded, stemmed, and minced
• 1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• Salt
• 2 tablespoons peanuts, chopped
• Lime wedges, for garnish
• Toasted sesame oil, for serving
• Hoisin sauce, for serving

Directions

Assembly

1. For the cooking liquid, in a large saucepan, bring the broth, ginger, star anise, cinnamon, and shallot to a boil. Reduce heat to very low, partially cover, and simmer 15 minutes; remove spices with a slotted spoon. Add soy sauce and pepper, set aside.
2. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, soak noodles in cold water to cover until softened and pliable, 30 minutes. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.
3. With a very sharp knife, cut beef across the grain into very thin slices; arrange on a serving plate and refrigerate until ready to serve. Arrange all of the other vegetables, herbs, chopped peanuts, and lime wedges on a second, large platter.
4. Drain noodles in a colander. Add to boiling water and cook, stirring, 45 seconds. Drain noodles in a colander.
5. To serve, bring broth to a boil. Divide steak slices between 4 large serving bowls. Ladle broth over noodles. Add noodles, vegetables and herbs to each bowl. Everyone seasons with lime wedges, salt, soy sauce, sesame oil, and/or hoisin sauce, as they like.

Notes

1. Steak can be poached in the broth in advance, over heat, if lightly cooked meat is an issue: Bring saucepan of broth to a simmer, add meat, and cook 30 seconds. Divide broth and steak between serving bowls, and add remaining ingredients. (similarily with chicken, pork, or other meat products)
2. Beef sirloin can be reduced to 3/4 pound to save calories.