Tonight's fare may not be everyone's cup of tea, since it contains ingredients that are...shall we say...a bit country. Let's just say that long term exposure to this stuff is addictive, and the ingredients normally eschewed by western sensibilities become the most desired, and dug for in the bowl. I also want you to know that, when done right, there is absolutely no need for the MSG found in so much of this that is found on this side of the pond.Please note that you will need a really big bowl.
Pho' (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)
The details are left out. I'm only going to hit the high points. There are specifics regarding amounts and timing that take a while to determine and master. Their results are well worth the effort. It helps to have a large, local, south-east Asian population and a commensurate Asian supermarket.
To show how the Holy One has worked in my life (a lot, believe me), one of my best friends in the world is of Chinese descent, from Laos, via Thai refugee camp. If he says your Pho is superb, your Pho is superb. I'm still working on other entrees, like Larb Neua, and he is a real stickler for Pad Thai (I like mine, but he is not yet happy with it). Too bad he is not too happy with Japanese cuisine, because my Sukiyaki is to die for. For Thai, my Pad Gra Tiem Gai will knock your socks off.
Back to Pho'...It all starts by simmering a hefty quantity of marrow bones, and a nice bundle of tendons, for about 12 hours. Then, we remove the bones, clean everything off into the broth, and toss out the clean bones. Then we remove the tendon bundle and slice it, setting it aside for later.
Then we add ox tails and a slab of nice brisket, cloves, star anise, Vietnamese cinnamon, black cardamom pods, whole black peppercorns, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, ginger, large onion chunks, shallots, Vietnamese fish sauce, and Vietnamese yellow rock sugar. Simmer it all for an additional 5 hours. We then remove the brisket, and slice it for later, and remove the ox tails and set them aside, intact, for later.
We then take the remaining simmering product, and remove the bits and chunks of meat and connective tissue and separate them into goodies for the dog and goodies for us. We set the goodies for us aside for later. We then skim off off the fat, for use in cooking other meals (super with the spice complement reflected in it). Then we strain the broth through cheese cloth, to get everything but the broth out, tossing out the solids from the straining. The resulting broth is divided up into single serving packs, and all but 2 servings are put into the freezer for easy use, on later days.
All of the preceding was for the broth...only.
At serving time, the boiling broth is poured over a large group of yummies: Pho noodles (special rice noodles), home-grown mung-bean sprouts, super thin sliced rib eye (raw), sliced raw red onions, the meats previously set aside (sliced brisket, ox tail, sliced tendon, and meat/connective tissue bits/chunks), milk tripe, and Vietnamese beef balls. Just before serving, the soup is dressed with fresh, torn Thai basil and Vietnamese mint, scallions (cut lengthwise), a squeeze of fresh lime, a squirt of Hoisin sauce, and a squirt of Sriracha. Et...voila! The fruit of almost 20 hours of work:
Enjoy,
Rich P