Friday, June 7, 2013

Rosie Makes Pho Bo.

Rosie is making pho bo today.


 Well, I didn't really make pho bo.
I thawed out a couple of frozen quarts of broth
 and assembled a few accoutrements.

 In case you're wondering why one quart
is darker than the other,
I prepared the broth differently.

From everything I've read,
all the flavor is extracted from the bones
in the first three hours of bare-simmering.

The darker broth was bare-simmered all night.
The lighter broth was simmered for 3-4 hours.
I have to say, the darker broth had a better, deeper,
more complex flavor.


If you want to see how the ambrosial broth is made,
please go to my blog post,
Pho Whom The Bell Tolls for the darker broth.

 Here's how I made the lighter broth.

And pho is pronounced "fuh."

Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup.
Pho bo is made with beef.
Pho ga is made with chicken.


I know pho purists will shudder,
but this is how I like to do my meat.
While the meat is still slightly frozen,
slice it thinly.
This is a flat iron cut.


My marinade:
2 TB cornstarch
1 TB Tamari sauce
1 TB rice vinegar
Mix well.


Toss meat in marinade, coating well.
Let marinate about 30 minutes
while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

I have noodles, basil, mint, cilantro,
lime, jalapeno, serrano, dried red hot pepper,
baby bellas, and scallions.


Pour boiling water over the noodles and cover.
Let sit for at least 20 minutes.

Prepare the accoutrements:

 
 Remove seeds and ribs from jalapenos and serranos.

Thinly slice limes, scallions, serranos, mushrooms,
jalapenos and crumble the red pepper.

Tear the mint, basil, and cilantro.

 
Cilantro flowers.





Noodles are ready.



Conventionally,
the hot pho broth is poured over the meat strips.
I like to sear my meat first.
I like the extra flavor.
Right before cooking,
I sprinkled a little sugar over the meat.

Toss the meat to coat.


I heated my pan and added a tablespoon each
of butter and peanut oil.
Sear the meat.
Resist the temptation to poke or move the meat.
Leave it alone.
You know the meat is ready to turn over
when it releases itself.
Simply give the pan a shake.
When the meat's ready to turn,
it will move.
Don't try to forcefully turn meat before it's ready.
You'll tear it and leave the best part
sticking to the pan.
I added in a handful of the mushrooms to the meat.
I left the rest of the mushrooms raw.

Meat is ready.

I spooned my meat and ladled my broth
into pretty little bowls we bought 
on our last trip across country
in Rawlins, Wyoming.


The spoon is a gift from my dear friend, Glowria.

I added lime, basil, mint, cilantro, 
red pepper, scallions, and mushrooms.


What I love about pho
is the explosion of flavors.
It's exciting to eat,
since I don't know what particular combination of flavors
I'll be getting in each spoonful.
Pho is phon phood.






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