Pho soup - experimenting with Asian cuisine
My husband, Steve, has been experimenting with Asian cuisine. One dish in particular that stands out for me is: Vietnamese Pho. Pho is a soup served in a large bowl with rice noodles. Actually Pho is a relatively new phenomenon to the world having originated in northern Vietnam in the early 20th century then spreading to the south in the 1950s. After the end of the Vietnam War when many people left Vietnam, Pho spread around the world.
So, here in York, Maine, Pho is making quite a splash in the King household. Here is how you can make a couple bowlfuls of Vietnamese Beef Pho.
First, you need to make a broth. Best would be to make a stock from scratch using oxtails (4 lbs.) or beef shank (1.5 lbs.). Totally cover the oxtails or shank with water (couple inches above them) and add a 3-inch chunk of ginger, one large onion, 4-6 star anise, 4-10 whole cloves, 1 cinnamon stick, one tsp. of fennel seeds and 3 bay leaves and 1/3 cup fish sauce. Skim off the froth or scum on the top and then simmer for about 2 hours or so until the stock ingredients are nicely combined. You may add some sea salt at this time - a few pinches.
The easy way to make the beef broth would be to empty two 32 oz. organic beef broth containers into the pot and then add all the above ingredients. That would be the quickest - you still need to simmer the ingredients nevertheless to bring out all the flavors.
While the broth is simmering, wash and prepare the following veggies: 2 carrots julienned, 1 small bunch of boc choi - sliced into thin small pieces, 3 scallions cut up, 1/2 cup of shitake or mushroom of your choosing, a good handful of cilantro and basil - chopped and a big handful of bean sprouts such as mung. Slice one lime and have some hot pepper such as cayenne nearby (either dried or fresh - careful cutting). Have everything on a plate or in little prep bowls individually waiting to hit the pho bowl.
Slice between 1/4 - 3/4 lb. flank sirloin or other steak into very thin strips. Place on a plate.
In a large pot of simmering salted water drop your rice noodles - cook per package directions, not long, usually just a couple of minutes (2-5 minutes). Drain and rinse and place in four separate bowls. These bowls have to be big. Before Christmas I was on the hunt for Pho bowls which are larger than a cereal or soup bowl but smaller than a serving bowl. Now that was a feat to find non-plastic ones.
Now take the broth and pour through a sieve so just the liquid remains. Pour the broth back into the pot and keep hot, simmering.
Now the fun! Steve places a small handful of the sliced beef on top of the noodles, then all the veggies - except the basil on top of the beef - and then he ladles the simmering broth over everything. I like to put all my veggies into the simmering broth then use a long handled skimmer (looks like half a metal basket with a handle - a slotted spoon would work) to remove the simmered veggies and place in my bowl. If you like them crunchy and beef rare do it Steve's way. If you like your veggies more tender and the beef more well done, well, do it Martha's way.
Next throw a small handful of basil, couple of squeezes of lime and a pinch of cayenne to finish it off. Grab your chop sticks and special oblong soup spoons. Oh yes, and inhale the aromatic wonders of this dish. Enjoy! (Please note - this can be adapted for fish and shrimp and pork. The shrimp, scallop and tuna was out of this world - more fodder for another day.)
I will "leaf" you with the following: As you inhale the wondrous heady aromas of ginger, onion, anise, bay; as your stomach warms with each bite and your head clears from the cayenne, say a word of thank you to those who brought us this abundance (especially in a Maine winter) - to the small organic (certified or not) growers and farmers around New England and the world who are the true caretakers of this earth. With gratitude and thanks. Yes Virginia, ginger root is now being grown in Maine!