Vietnamese Food 101. This is my super, big cheat version of a Vietnamese classic, beef pho. I have mastered it after the second try. After many alterations and substitutions, this is what I came up with. It actually tastes about right. The ingredients cater to the things I already have in my pantry and refrigerator. I wasn’t willing to go out an shop for ingredients that I’m probably only going to use for this one dish. To be honest, I’m surprised I even decided to attempt this dish, but I did. Hope you enjoy!
Ingredients
(Chicken) Stock
Onion
(Sirloin) Beef
scallions
ginger (ginseng)
cinnamon
salt
sugar
(rice) vinegar
black pepper
Noodles
lime
habenero green peppers
bean sprouts
basil
Other: fish sauce, cloves
Directions
- (Char ginger and onion on gas stove for ~10-15 mins [not until burnt]).
- In an oil-less pan, caramelize thinly sliced onions.
- Slice beef into thick strips. Chop scallions as well.
- Broth: In a pot, boil a mixture of stock and water. Add beef to cook for 3 mins. Then stir in onions, scallions, ginseng, cinnamon, salt, sugar, (a little bit of) vinegar, (fish sauce, and cloves). Simmer broth for 10 mins.
- Place noodles into broth. And cook for 1-2 mins.
- To serve: Portion noodles, pour broth. Then add peppers, bean sprouts, basil, lime. Stir them in.
Total Time: ~30 mins.
Note
Use pho noodles and fatty beef slices, if available.
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So this recipe has been a draft since 7/31/2013. Pictured above, that was my second attempt at this recipe. I just didn’t have peppers, bean sprouts, and basil to top off. Pictured on the left, was my first attempt, which was in April ’13. In my first attempt, I did not do the instruction steps that are in parentheses, but it turned out just as good. Unfortunately for both attempts, I didn’t have pho on hand! I used udon and vermicelli instead… 😛
