Be the Master of your own PHO. (like duh)

Trust me. This is what you wish you were eating today. It's half soup and half salad, only in the same bowl. Those that know me well know I love to eat everything out of the same bowl. If I opened a restaurant it would be called The One Pot Stop and you would just eat a bowl of what ever I happened to have in that one pot. This is the end-all when it comes to the one pot. It's Pho ... like duh. 

While it comes from Vietnam, how it originated is a murky issue. It is unlike almost any other Asian noodle dish and some say the word Pho is a vietnamese attempt at the French word for fire, fue as in the classic French colonial dish pot-au-fue which contains roasted onions and beef. 

This is my pick for the winter weekend ... 

Make your self a big bowl of the recipe below and rent Indocine with Catherine De Nuve. Then snuggle up with something warm, even slightly hairy and be the master of your own Pho.  Let me know how it goes.

Ingredients : Serves 6-8
3 Beef rib bones
1 lb. Gravy beef
2 Onions, sliced
1 teaspoon Whole black peppercorns
1 lb. Fresh rice noodles 
1 lb. Fresh bean sprouts
6 Spring onions
4 Firm ripe tomatoes
2 White onions
1 lb Rump steak
Thumb-size piece of fresh ginger 
Stick of cinnamon
Salt to taste
Fish sauce
lemon wedges
Fresh red or green chilies, chopped
Chopped fresh coriander leaves
Method :
Put bones and gravy beef in a very large pan.
Add cold water to cover, sliced onions, scraped and sliced ginger, cinnamon stick and whole peppercorns.

Bring to the boil, turn heat very low, cover and simmer for at least 6 hours.
Add salt to taste.
If using fresh rice noodles, slice them into 1 cm strips and pour boiling water over, then drain, or steam in a colander for 5 minutes.

If using dried rice noodles, they have to be soaked in warm water for at least 2 hours.
Then drained and cooked in boiling water until just tender.
Drain well.

Prepare salad ingredients.
Scald bean sprouts by pouring boiling water over them in a colander.
Run cold water over.
If necessary, pinch off any straggly brown tails.
Slice spring onions thinly.
Cut tomatoes in half lengthways, then slice each half.
Peel and slice onions thinly.
Slice steak paper thin in bite-size pieces.
Arrange all on a serving plate.

To serve : Put a ladle of noodles and a ladle of bean sprouts in each large soup bowl. Put a few slices of beef, tomato and onion in a large ladle, immerse in the boiling stock until beef begins to lose its redness. Beef should be pale pink. Pour contents of the ladle over the noodles and bean sprouts. Guests add fish sauce, lemon juice, chilies and fresh coriander to taste.

 

How to Eat Pho

Garnishing pho is like putting together your own hamburger -- you can have it your way. So, before putting any pho into your mouth, add your own finishing touches. Then dive in with a two-handed approach: chopsticks in one hand to pick up the noodles, the soup spoon in the other to scoop up broth and other goodies.

Your pho ritual may include:
Bean sprouts: Add them raw for crunch or blanch them first.
Chiles: Dip and wiggle thin slices of hot chile in the hot broth to release the oil. Leave them in if you dare..
Herbs: Strip fresh herb leaves from their stems, tear up the leaves and drop them into your bowl. 
Lime: A squeeze of lime gives the broth a tart edge, especially nice if the broth is too sweet or bland.

I am making mine tomorrow and I will post pictures of of my Phoavorite Pho. Remember, Pho is Phun.