Phở = awesome

TXCG

TXCG

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phở

Probably my favorite thing about living in a big city is having such a diverse choice of food. I had had Phở once before I moved here, but I had made it myself.(turns out mine was damn close) Anyway, Phở is a beef soup with noodles which is a staple of Vietnamese cuisine. It's their version of fast food, they give you raw meat, veggies & herbs to go with a piping hot cup of beef broth.

The broth is beef broth simmered with cinnamon, ginger , cloves, star anise & sometimes black cardamom. The vegetables are usually onion, bean sprouts, green onions, & sliced jalapenos (they slice them vertically, instead of in rings). You also get like a large cutting of fresh thai basil & some other herb that looks kinda like dandilion leafs but smells slightly lemony. And finally they give you pre-soaked rice noodles.

It is amazingly good, and they're usually open til like 2am or later on the weekends. Perfect for this cold weather too.

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Looks and sounds really good..

I've actually been looking into this sort of thing lately as I am looking to loss some weight and the asian style soups a usually a good way to do it.....and they taste really good, with a good variety of flavours out there...
 
You should get my ex to make your meals MoyBoy, the weight would fall off you!!! Hahahaha

I love this kind of food but where in gods name are the chillis in it? Did you go and eat them all before taking the pic?
 
Novacastrian said:
You should get my ex to make your meals MoyBoy, the weight would fall off you!!! Hahahaha

I love this kind of food but where in gods name are the chillis in it? Did you go and eat them all before taking the pic?
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They were sunk to the bottom, that was a pretty big assed bowl. They also give you this little cup of what i've determined to be that sriracha chile sauce mixed with sweet soy that gives the soup a nice kick. I didn't even think of tossing in one of those habaneros i have, but that would have been great, the habanero flavor would match perfectly.

I could post the recipe I used if you guys want, it tastes really close to the ones I get at the local restaurants. Its really really easy too.
 
Pho Bo (Hanoi Beef Noodle Soup)

Prep Time:
30 min
Inactive Prep Time:
0 min
Cook Time:
0 min

Level:
Easy

Serves:
4 servings

6 cups beef broth
1 (1/4-inch thick) slice ginger
2 whole star anise*
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 pound piece boneless beef sirloin, trimmed of any fat
3 ounces dried flat rice noodles*
1/4 cup Asian fish sauce*
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fresh bean sprouts, rinsed and drained
1/8 cup minced scallions
1/4 cup fresh cilantro sprigs, washed and finely chopped
1 small thin fresh red or green Asian chilie, sliced very thin
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves
Lime wedges for garnish
*Available at Asian Markets

In a 2 quart saucepan bring broth, ginger, star anise, and cinnamon to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
With a very sharp knife cut sirloin across the grain into very thin slices.
In a large bowl soak noodles in hot water to cover 15 minutes, or until softened and pliable.
While noodles are soaking, bring a kettle of salted water to a boil for noodles. Drain noodles in a colander and cook in boiling water, stirring 45 seconds, or until tender. Drain noodles in a colander. Set aside.
Strain broth into saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir in fish sauce, salt and pepper. Add sirloin and sprouts and cook 30 to 45 seconds, or until sirloin changes color. Skim any froth from soup.
To serve, divide noodles into 4 bowls. Ladle soup over noodles. Sprinkle scallion greens, cilantro, chilies and basil over soup and serve with lime wedges
----------------------------------------
(from food network.)

There are other recipes that are pretty much the same but involve making your own broth. This one with the pre-made beef broth works just fine, but make sure you get low sodium. This recipe calls for putting all the meat in the soup and cooking it then serving immediately, the classic presentation is to give each person the sliced raw meat & vegetables on a plate with a bowl of super hot soup and they dip it in themselves. Its better this way in my opinion.
 
Very similar to a thai dish i no and malasyian to,Looks a fine recipe indeed and as you say perfect for those cooler days :)
 
We have a Vietnamese take away down the street and they are offering at least half a dozen variations of this soup. A guy I know swears on it, I gotta admit I never tried it.
 
Chiliac said:
We have a Vietnamese take away down the street and they are offering at least half a dozen variations of this soup. A guy I know swears on it, I gotta admit I never tried it.
Click to expand...

That's exactly like where I go, they have them all over Austin. Basically the choices you have are which meat and whether it is cooked or raw. They have probably 12-20 choices. I usually go with the well done brisket + raw steak. You should give it a shot.
 
i lived in ottawa for eight months on coop and theres a huuuge vietnemese population there so they have pho places *everywhere*, i lived off pho (chicken is my preffered variety) and salad rolls... the best part is the small is this massive bowl for four bucks..
 
I decided to try this with a couple of variations. I used lobster stock with lobster and shrimp instead of beef and beef stock. Turned out really good. I couldn't find any rice noodles at the grocery stores nearby (and didn't feel like driving to the Asian store) so I used angelhair pasta. Turned out really good.
 
Finally sat down and ate Phở in the restaurant instead of getting it to go. Had to take a pic. This stuff was all kinds of badass, and i had enough for dinner too :)

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