Vietnamese Pho
It worked! I signed up for a
Vietnamese Cooking class at Craftsy (now BluePrint) with Andrea Nguyen where she teaches some of the classics of Vietnamese cooking.
I'd tried to make Pho once before in the crock pot with a purchased muslin bag of Pho spices, but I left them in too long, and the flavors got funny. Very disappointing batch. Also, the recipe didn't explain a lot of things that Andrea Nguyen explained in the class video. Very worth the price!
This time it worked marvelously!
Secret 1 : Char the aromatics (onion, ginger, shallots) -- I mean really roast them over a flame until they are CSI burnt. They will be soft and roasted on the inside -- just what you need for the broth. You pull off the burnt outer crust before adding these to the pot.
It took about 15 minutes to get to this point on our gas stove. Next time, I'll probably cut the ginger in half the long way.
Secret 2 : Get good beef bones (organic and grass fed). Par-boil them to release the initial scum, then throw that water away. Wash the pot; Rinse the bones, add more water and then simmer your broth for 3 hours with the spices and aromatics.
We used sturdy neck bones from a local meat supplier who sells organic and grass-fed beef.
I am convinced this makes a huge difference in the quality of the broth. My husband tried to make Pho a long time ago when he lived in Houston with conventionally raised beef bones. The scum stage never ended, and it stank to high heaven. That's when he became convinced that there truly is a difference in quality between conventional and organic meats -- extending to veggies, too.
Andrea Nguyen recommends the big leg bones with lots of marrow. Not sure if that would release more scum that I got with the neck bones, or not. I'm happy with the way mine turned out -- and so are my boys who asked me to make this regularly! Which is high praise, since I don't often cook anymore.
Secret 3 : Toast the spices before you add them to the pot. This brings out their flavors beautifully!
Here it is just beginning to simmer with the spices and aromatics.
The bubbles coming up now are "clean."
The simmering goes on for 3 hours. ;-)
After a while, it takes on this golden color as the shallots, onions, ginger, and spices give up their flavor to the broth.
This is all the "stuff" that gets strained out of the final broth and tossed. The aromatics have softened and disintegrated. The cinnamon stick has unrolled itself. The black cardamom has plumped up with the added moisture. The dried shrimp have re-hydrated. It's all kind of soft and mushy. All the flavor is in the broth.
We strain it a second time through a finer strainer, and a jelly-like substance gets held back. I wonder if that's the marrow? She says you can spread it on bread if you like that.
And here is the final golden broth, which smells divine!
Here is a version of
Andrea Nguyen's Pho Bo Recipe from The Steamy Kitchen, written up by Jaden.
[I am including this here for my own future reference when I can't find the paper recipe. It's not exactly the same as the one Andrea used in the Craftsy class, but it's close. ;-) I also made a smaller portion for 4 people, but now that we know it's a good recipe, we'll make bigger quantities, and freeze the broth to use later.]
Cook Time : 3 hrs 30 mins
Total Time : 4 hrs 30 mins
Recipe
adapted with permission from Into the Vietnamese Kitchen Cookbook by
Andrea Nguyen. Note: You can find "Pho Spice Pack" that includes all the
spices at Asian markets. [MM: This spice pack didn't work so well for me. I prefer to mix my own.] In Andrea's cookbook, she uses star anise,
cloves and cinnamon stick. Some prefer the addition of fennel, coriander
and cardamom, and I've noted those ingredients as "optional" in the
recipe.
Calories: 292 kcal
Author: Jaden
-
2
yellow onions
unpeeled, sliced in half
-
4
inch
piece fresh ginger
unpeeled, sliced in half
-
5
pounds
beef leg or knuckle bones [MM : We used neck bones.]
-
6
quarts
water
-
5
star anise
-
6
whole cloves [MM : optional - I did NOT use cloves]
-
1
cinnamon stick
-
1
tablespoon
coriander seeds
optional [MM : optional - I did NOT use Coriander]
-
1
[BLACK] cardamom pod
-
1
tablespoon
fennel seeds
-
1
pound
boneless beef chuck, rump brisket or cross-rib roast, well trimmed, and cut into large chunks
-
1/4
cup
fish sauce
-
1
tablespoon
sugar
or 1-inch chunk of yellow rock sugar
For the Pho Bowls
-
2
pounds
small flat rice noodles
dried or fresh
-
Cooked beef from the broth
-
1/2
pound
eye of round
sirloin, London broil, flank steak or tri-tip steak, thinly sliced across the grain
-
1
yellow onion
sliced paper-thin, soaked in cold water to cover for 30 minutes and drained
-
2
scallions
green parts only, thinly sliced
-
1/3
cup
chopped fresh cilantro
leafy tops only
Garnish for Pho Recipe
-
3
cups
fresh bean sprouts
about 1/2 pound
-
Mint
-
Thai basil
-
2
Thai or serrano chiles
thinly sliced
-
2
limes
cut into wedges
Make the Pho Broth
Set
baking rack 8 inches below heating element. Turn oven to low broil.
Place the onion and ginger halves, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Brush
the halves with a little bit of oil. Broil until the onion and ginger
slightly charred, about 10 minutes, turning half-way. Remove from heat
and cool.
Parboil
the beef bones: Fill a large stockpot (about 12 quart capacity) with
water and bring to rapid boil. Carefully lower in the bones. Boil
vigorously for 3 minutes to release the impurities. Dump bones and water
into a clean sink, and rinse the bones with water to wash off any
clinging residue. Quickly scrub pot clean and fill with about 6 quarts
of clean water. Return bones to pot. Add the charred onion, ginger,
spices, beef, fish sauce, and sugar to pot.
Bring water to boil over high heat, and lower heat to gentle simmer. Simmer, uncovered, for 1 1/2 hours.
While simmering, use a ladle or fine-mesh strainer to spoon off any scum that rises on top.
At
this point, the boneless meat should be slightly chewy, but not tough.
Use tongs to transfer the meat to a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and
refrigerate. Meanwhile, maintain the broth at a steady simmer for 1 1/2
hours longer.
Strain
the broth through a fine-mesh sieve (or a coarse-mesh sieve lined with
cheesecloth) positioned over a pot. Discard the remaining solids. Use
ladle or fine meshed skimmer to skim as much fat as possible from the
top of the broth. Taste and adjust the flavor with salt, fish sauce and
sugar. There should be about 4 quarts (16 cups) of broth.
Assemble the bowls
If
using dried rice noodles, cover them with hot tap water and let them
soak for 15 minutes, or until they are pliable and opaque. Drain in a
colander. If using fresh rice noodles, untangle them, place in a
colander, and rinse briefly under cold running water.
Cut
the cooked beef across the grain into thin slices. Freeze the raw beef
for 15 minutes, then slice it across the grain into very thin slices.
Set all beef aside. Ready the raw onion, scallions, cilantro leaves for
adding to the bowls. Arrange the garnishes on a plate and put on the
table.
To ensure good timing, bring the broth to a simmer over medium heat as you are assembling the bowls.
At
the same time, fill a separate large pot with water and boil. For each
bowl, place a portion of the noodles on a strainer (or mesh sieve) and
dunk the noodles in the boiling water for 10 seconds. Immediately pull
the strainer from the water, letting the water drain back into the pot.
Empty the noodles into a bowl.
Top
each bowl of noodles with cooked and raw beef, arranging the slices
flat. Add a bit of raw onion, scallions, cilantro leaves to each bowl.
The
pho broth needs to be boiling hot, to cook the raw beef slices. Raise
the heat of the broth to a boil. Do a final taste and make any last
minute adjustments with fish sauce and sugar. Ladle about 2 cups of
broth into each bowl. Serve immediately with plate of garnishes.
Bon Appetite!
