Been a Pho Month

Wow...what a month. Been awhile since I posted but I've been busy. Very busy. Too busy if you ask me. But that's OK. I'm not here to vent (believe me, I would if I could but it would just give me a larger headache than I already have). I'm here to talk about food, and do I have a doozy!

My friend Lexy called me earlier in the month with a dilemma. Her husband, Trevor, served an LDS mission in Texas, Vietnamese speaking. When some of his mission companions complained that they had trouble finding good Pho. Which isn't surprising. It can be hard to find good just about anything sometimes....if that makes sense. Anyway, like the good husband he is, Trevor just had to brag about his wife's cooking skills. Granted he was justified in doing so, but Lexy had never made, much less heard of Pho until she met Trevor. And honestly, neither had I. To the Google-mobile! (I'm sorry. I'm really, really sorry)

After exhaustive research (a whole five minutes I'll never get back), I learned quite a bit. First, it's pronounced "Fuh" and it's the national dish of Vietnam. It's basically beef noodle soup and it takes a long time to make. Took me three days. Here's the recipe:

2 lbs beef shank bones or oxtails
cold water
2 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 tablespoon cloves
1 teaspoon whole coriander
1 2 oz bag of star anise
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 cup fish sauce
one onion, diced
one large package Pad Thai noodles
Bean Sprouts
Mint leaves
1 lb beef (I used a nice London Broil), sliced paper thin

Heat a large pot with a little olive oil. Brown the bones or oxtail on all sides. Add enough cold water to cover the bones. Add the spices and fish sauce and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer. Skim off any scum. Cover. I started this about 3 Pm and let it simmer until I went to bed around 11. I put the whole pot in the fridge when I went to bed and pulled it out when I came home from work the next day. I added a little more water and started the whole thing over again. I did it again the next day, scraping off any solid fat before reheating it. The stock will be a nice thick jelly by this time. I gave it a little heat until it liquified and then I strained it, and instead of water I added about 2 quarts of beef broth (which I haven't listed because it's my own trick). At this point I added the onions and let it come to a rolling boil. This is important as I'll explain later. Cook the noodles in boiling water. Be careful not to over cook them. They cook fast and will still be very firm when done (al dente to the max!).

Now, in some large soup bowls (about 4-6), place the cooked noodles, sprouts, a couple of mint leaves and the meat (raw). You could even add chopped green onions and shredded cabbabe if you want. Pour the boiling broth on top. This is why the broth must be boiling hot and why the meat is sliced paper thin. The boiling broth will cook the thin beef instantly. If you cut the meat against the grain ( if you look closely you can see lines of fiber in the meat - like the grain in lumber), the meat is absolutely so tender! This kind of reminds me of Japanese ShabuShabu. I think Udon noodles would have been better, though but that's just me. Oh well. It was still delicious!