Vietnamese Pho

What in the world is Pho (properly pronounced, 'fuh')? According to everyone who has ever had it, it's near Heaven on Earth. Pho is Vietnamese noodle soup, commonly eaten for breakfast but equally good at any moment of the day.

Pho is one of those dishes that spurs on much discussion, from how long to cook the broth to exactly which garnishes are best and whether or not chicken Pho counts as 'real Pho'.

Never mind all that - the answers to everything you'd like to know about Pho are at Andrea Nguyen's website. Andrea Nguyen is the author of Into the Vietnamese Kitchen: Treasured Foodways, Modern Flavors and keeper of Viet World Kitchen. For Pho, there are three separate posts; the history and evolution, the secrets and techniques and the beef Pho recipe. I highly suggest reading all three, in the order given, before you undertake the making of Pho.

I'll let you get the recipe there and I'll simply tell you what I did that may or may not be different from the recipe that Ms. Nguyen offers.

1. For beef bones, I purchased cows feet. They are full of marrow, fat and flavor and the stock I got from them was perfect.

2. I didn't only char the onions and ginger, I also charred the bones. It may be habit from my own beef stock making, but I think the char on the bones adds to the overall flavor.

3. The rice noodles I used were labeled as 'Pad Thai' - which you can certainly use them for, but don't be fooled by the name, they're the same rice noodles used for many, many dishes.

4. There are no peppers in my photo, that's simply because the kids aren't big on the heat factor and that was one of their bowls.

5. Ms. Nguyen is RIGHT about the 3-hour simmer for the stock. The only reason it seems as if simmering longer is more flavorful is that there is evaporation and consequent concentration of the stock. If the full amount of liquid were to remain, you'd see that 3 hours is sufficient to extract the necessary flavors for this.

Chicken Soup

The best part about this recipe is this-you can use almost any combination of the ingredients that you want and still get almost the same results. You can use dried or fresh herbs, dried or fresh onion, a whole roasting chicken or a whole frying chicken or even just parts as long as the bones are attached. You can add turnip in small amounts or even parsnips. Chicken soup is incredibly versatile and forgiving and almost everyone has their own favorite version.

I sometimes strain the veggies and leave them out altogether because I have several family members who won't eat the soup with the veggies in it.

Chicken Soup
Printable Recipe

1 whole chicken-2 to 3 lbs or more
1 large onion-cut in eighths
3 large carrots-cut in chunks
4 large celery stalks-cut in chunks
1 small bunch fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
5-6 whole garlic cloves-peeled
1 tsp dried dill
rice or noodles - uncooked
salt to taste

1. Place all in a large pot-add cold water to cover.
2. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for several hours until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are soft.
3. Strain all and chop veggies and chicken to add back to the broth in the pot.
4. Add noodles or rice and simmer until done.

Guest Post: Quick and Easy Shoyu Ramen

This recipe comes from my friend Cheryl. We both belong to an email list and there was a discussion recently about healthy vs. unhealthy ramen. Most people don't know that there is a healthy version, but Cheryl, being the wealth of information that she is, let us all know about the "good" kind. Here's a recipe from her that looks fantastic. You can find her at Hapamama's Weblog. Thanks for this, Cheryl!


For most Japanese-Americans and starving college students, instant ramen is something of a pantry staple. In Japan, the ramen you would find in a ramen restaurant is a very different dish than the “Oodles of Noodles” that we're familiar with here in North America. Here's a quick and easy version of the kind of ramen you would find in a ramen shop in Japan.

Quick and Easy Shoyu Ramen
Printable Recipe
Ingredients

15-18 oz Chuka Soba cooked to package directions (see notes for substitutions)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
7 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cup water
3 tbsp mirin (or 3 tbsp sake + 1 tbsp sugar see notes for substitution)
½ cup soy sauce (use a naturally brewed one, recommend Kikkoman or Yamasa)
½ cup chopped green onion
shredded nori (optional)

Directions

Put the water, chicken broth, soy sauce, garlic, mirin and ginger in a pot and bring it to a boil. Reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes.

Put the cooked noodles into a bowl. Ladle the broth over the noodles to the desired amount. Top with chopped green onion and shredded nori if desired.

Notes:

If you can not find Chuka Soba, you could substitute the same amount of chow mein noodles (not the deep fried/crunchy ones) or thin spaghetti cooked slightly past the al dente stage.

Another substitute for mirin is sherry, or even just sugar