So I recently got an email asking how I make easy phở at home, without going nuts and making my own beef broth. Given that all you really need is beef stock, ginger, cilantro, cinnamon, a touch of anise and clove to make a quickie broth, I figured I would challenge myself even further and try to find the quickest method in making my favorite Vietnamese noodle soup... One without packet garbage, yet not requiring a 5 hour simmer.
So here you have it, the basic indgredients to make a solid phở beef noodle soup at home. I got all of this for about $15.00 at the Asian Food Market "Hong Phat". Aside from the price being right, the noodle selection in a true market like this is staggering. Choose your thickness (thin being the most typical) of rice noodle, then make your way to the canned goods aisle for broth. I tried to find a pretty healthy, no MSG beef broth for phở but Phở Bac was as close as I could get (yes, it contains MSG *sad* but I am in a hurry, right?). Next up I'll need some round steak, some cilantro, a bundle of green onions, and one white onion. Suddenly I feel a knife calling my name...
I was only making for two, so this is just about how much I needed. After all was mixed i had about 1/3 of a small white onion sliced, three sprigs of green onion chopped, a hand full of cilantro leaves uncut, and my round steak sliced VERY THIN. In later judgement, I didn't slice it as thin as I would have liked, but it didn't mess with the overall soup. If you don't cut ultra thin, it takes a while to cook once the broth has been poured over the bowl and can turn people off. Luckily, we at the Noodle Time house are a medium rare kind of group.
See these noodles? They are perfect rice noodles. Just chewy enough, not soggy or overcooked. This is the product of fresh, refrigerated noodles instead of dry, packet varieties. This took a mere 30 seconds in near-boiling water. This is love. Bring your water to a boil, take it off the heat, wait 10 seconds, drop the noodles in for 30. Drain them, rinse them with cold water, voila! You're doing great :)
I tasted the Phở Bac and it was a bit lacking. Not of the sweeter spices, but the more tangy, zippy aromatics that one finds in the veggies. Here i am bringing the canned broth to a boil with some of everything on my cutting board in the mix. I will pour the broth through a strainer to eliminate over-boiled veggies getting into my soup, but if you are into that bitterness leave them in!
I take a large bowl, throw in a single serving of noodles, layer a few slices of raw round on top (I know, scary), then sprinkle my veggies throughout. If I have some extras I want to add (in this case some roast beef, a few bean sprouts and a lime wedge) I throw them in now. Once everything is in place I take my broth from the burner and pour it directly onto the top of my pile. It cooks the round instantly, lightly boils the veggies and brings the noodles back to life. It's Noodle Time!
Not bad for a rush job! The soup itself is really well balanced, everything is cooked properly, and my table-mates are happy. Practicing home recipes is so much fun and even canned broth can turn into some really tasty product. I wouldn't try it for other noodle soups, but phở is a lot more basic than it's cousins in the cuisine world.
Happy cooking!
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