If you've never had Pho, it's a Vietnamese rice noodle soup. This soup is ALL about the broth. Traditionally the broth is made with beef bones. I'm vegetarian, so that's not going to happen. The distinct flavor of this soup comes from spices and vegetables, and that's what I was counting on. I've been craving pho like crazy lately. There are no pho restaurants where I live now, can you imagine that? My daughter is half Vietnamese, so needless to say...I'm pretty much an expert on real pho. Not an expert cooking it, just eating it. In case you aren't sure how to pronounce pho, it's 'f-uh'. Rhymes with, huh? And you say it like it's kind of a question, with an inflection in your voice, if that makes any sense. I regress.
Soup day!
*Let me put a disclaimer here. This is not a real recipe, per se. It's just how I made it with no written recipe or measurements. I hate measuring and like to 'eyeball' ingredients when I cook. Feel free to change it, put in more or less of an ingredient, or add ingredients if you choose.
Basic Ingredients:
- 1 Package Rice Noodles (thin & flat)
- 2 tbsp. Oil (Canola or Vegetable)
- 1-2 tbsp Soy Sauce
- Dried Whole Cloves
- Chinese Five Spice Powder
- Package Szechuan Tofu (or a protein you prefer)
- Organic Vegetable Broth (and/or vegetable bouillon cubes with water)
- 2-5 Cloves of Garlic (I forgot altogether...oopsie)
- 2" piece of fresh Ginger
- 1 large Yellow Onion (for the broth)
- 1/2 large Yellow Onion (sliced very thin for garnish)
- 2 Bunches Green Onions (save 4-10 for garnish)
- Bean Sprouts
- 1 Large Jalapeño
- Bunch of Cilantro (you can also use basil or mint, I like a basil cilantro combo)
- 2 or more Limes
- Hoisin Sauce
- Rooster Sauce (Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce)
Because this is the "easy" version, I used packaged organic vegetable broth along with vegetable bouillon cubes and water in a large stock pot. Add approx 1 tsp of Chinese Style Five Spice powder, oil and soy sauce to the broth. (The five spice powder has cloves, star anise and cinnamon. I'll have to try the dry roast version sometime.) Slowly simmer on medium heat. Now we get the veggies going. I didn't have enough whole cloves stuck in the onion as you can see from my photos below. There should definitely be more in stuck the sides. You need to char one yellow onion (with cloves), the unpeeled ginger piece, and a small bunch (5-8 stalks) of whole trimmed green onions.
The green onions char extremely fast, which is why they aren't shown on the grill. We have an electric range, so I grilled them on the BBQ. If you have a gas oven with an actual flame on the range, that might be easier...just don't burn your house down if you've never intentionally burned something on your stove. Maybe the stove isn't easier, but that's how I've seen it done.
The green onions will be done first, followed by the ginger, and finally the yellow onion. Cut trimmed cooked scallions (including the white parts, but not the roots!) into approx 3" pieces and put into the broth. I should have mentioned before not to use all of your green onions for the stock. You will want to have another small bunch (4-10 stalks) to use as garnish when the soup is finished.
Wash the ginger under the tap after it is blackened. You can use a vegetable brush to get that extra layer of lovely charing off. Cut into rough chunks and add to the pot. Also add the ginger and anything else we forgot at this point. You can also add a big (or little) chunk of jalapeño to make the stock a little spicier.
When the yellow onion starts to blacken, transfer to a cutting board, quarter it and add it to the pot with the stock. (The onion would be chard on all sides if it was done on a gas stove.) Turn heat on the stove up to simmer.
Cut your remaining green onions into small pieces, thinly slice jalapeno, wash, dry, and tear the cilantro into big pieces. Put in a bowl or on a plate for garnish later. Wash bean sprouts and let drain in a colander or on a plate and paper towel.
Cut at least two limes into wedges. You should have about one lime per person in anticipation of eating more than one bowl of soup, and people loving lime. Slices will be squeezed into the pho with the other garnishes later. Usually it is the last thing that gets added.
You need some kind of protein, be it the tasty organic Szechuan Tofu above, mock-duck or mock-chicken (you can usually find them canned in Asian markets), or a vital wheat gluten "meat" that you made or have on hand. Whatever you use, get it ready now. I sliced the tofu and did no other preparation to it. Easy huh?
At this point, check your broth. You might want to turn the heat up at this point and bring it to a low-rolling boil. I let mine cook for 2-3 hours total, not boiling the whole time. The stock actually cooked down so much I had to add extra water to bring the amount of stock back up. The solids in the stock needs to come out before serving. This means the veggies, garlic, ginger, all onions and cloves, out of the pot! The stock can be strained (after it cools a little bit of course....don't burn yourself!) with a cheese cloth into another pot, or you can use a slotted spoon or something similar. I did the super easy (okay, lazy) thing and used a ladle, avoiding the solids by letting the broth rush into the ladle while pressing it on the inside of the pot. I should have strained it and would recommend doing so.
The rice noodles above are the correct noodles to use. These are not the ones that look like really thin angel hair. No. These are somewhat flat and about as wide as two sticks of spaghetti. Maybe not even that wide. The first photo (above left) are the dry noodles right out of the package sitting a a large bowl. To cook, pour boiling water over the dried noodles in the bowl. Cover (with a pot lid or plate) and let sit for 10-20 minutes. They will soften and 'cook'. They should be a tiny bit al dente towards the center like pasta, but softer than pasta. Drain when they are softened and keep noodles separate from the broth. You do not want to cook these kinds of noodles in a pot like Italian pasta. They will probably turn into a giant gooey mess, and we don't want that. Trust me, they will cook in a bowl with hot water just sitting there.
Put the drained noodles, tofu, and garnish into a bowl. Ladle in broth. You can add any amount (take it easy at first) of hoisin, Rooster Sauce, and lime. Mix sauces into the broth well and taste. Adjust the amount of sauces, green onion and cilantro to make it just how you want it. Everyone has their way of seasoning their bowl of pho. Squeeze as much lime as you want.
Ta-da! The finished product! Use chopsticks and an Asian spoon. Eat, repeat.Be full and happy. ; )
