Day 46: Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup With Beef and Fresh Herbs (Pho)

Ok, after the last dud, this one is a real winner. However, I wish they would just quit with the obnoxiously long names.

Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup with Beef and Fresh Herbs (Pho)

Pho always seemed a little too complicated to make at home, like there was a mystery item, a certain something (like some nasty ingredient I probably didn't want to know about anyways) that gave it the delicious flavor. Happily, I was wrong. About the disgusting ingredient, that is. The secret to the broth is anise, believe it or not, and the ubiquitous fish sauce. You cannot skip these ingredients.

Note: You are going to be cooking your beef by pouring the boiling broth on top of it in the bowl. Your steak (6-8 oz. top round) will need to be sliced extra thin so wrap it and throw it the freezer right now so that in 20 minutes you can slice it more easily.

Turn on your broiler. Set your oven rack 4-6 inches from heat.

Start by spreading foil over a baking sheet. Spread out (all peeled and thin sliced) one onion, 4 cloves garlic, and one 2-3 inch piece of ginger. Add 5 grinds of fresh black pepper and 1 whole star anise, bruised or 1/2 teaspoon anise seeds. (I used the anise seeds, it turned out great.) Broil 5 minutes, turning once. Watch carefully! It is good if the onions get a tiny brown. A couple of mine became black and I had to toss them because I think the burnt flavor would permeate everything.

Scrape onion/spice mix into large 6 quart pot. Add 4 14 0z cans of chicken broth. (The authors hate boxed broth. I use it all the time and think it tastes fine.) Also toss in 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 teaspoons fish sauce.

Bring to a gentle boil, cover and simmer 20 minutes.

While the broth is cooking, cook your 6-8 oz. of rice noodles to your preference. Some cooks prefer to just soak the noodles in hot water. I usually bring the water to a boil with the noodles in the pot and then immediately pull them off the heat and let them soak in the hot water.

While your noodles are cooking, prepare the veggie part of the meal. On a serving platter, arrange cilantro sprigs, fresh Thai or regular basil, thin-sliced jalapenos, a big handful of bean sprouts, and lime wedges.

When your noodles are ready, divide them into 2 large bowls. We had a lot of left over noodles. We could have easily served 4 versus 2.

Slice your steak as thin as you can and divide into the bowls, on top of your noodles. (You could easily substitute chicken for steak.)
Ladle the boiling broth into the bowls and serve immediately. Top with your veggies and serve hoisin sauce and chile sauce at the table.Easy to make and gives such a lovely presentation. Delicious. The jalapenos I used were so spicy our noses and eyes were running. But damn, it hit the spot!

73 recipes down in How To Eat Supper.