my pho-trial 2

there are beef noodles and there are beef noodles...

same goes with beef soup. there are many variations. but the most delectable looking beef soup for me besides oxtail soup has to be the vietnamese pho bo.

pho means noodle soup in vietnamese. bo i suppose is beef.

and i mentioned the most delectable looking, because i have never personally tried it myself at any commercial eateries. but everytime when we used to drop by at vietcafe for the sumatra choc fix or as i suck the grilled tiger prawns at mdm saigon, i would always eye the clear beef soup sprinkled with fresh greens and nuoc cham, that my friends always tuck into.


my MIL recently had a taste of it in malaysia, tho she called it thai beef noodles (i would like to think it was pho she tried based on her description of what she had) and even tried it at home recently..her attempt was pretty good and secretly i was also itching to try the recipe again.

the last time i tried it i used beef cube stock. this time i decided to do it the traditional way of making beef stock from scratch. i did the stock on saturday night becoz the husband was out with his friends. i started preparing it at night around 10..after coming back from another dinner. brought the stock to boil, then i left it after turning to low heat and felt asleep around midnight. next morning however i found someone had turned off the gas..and my broth was looking quite fine.



however this time again i did it with modifications. like i din have a cloth to hold the spices. and i missed one of the spices. and i didnt grill the onions and ginger before putting them in stock. but that only means i should try this again another time.

and tis is one of my favourite sauces which goes with the other two viet food which i have mastered. this is the nuoc cham sauce.



i often tend to make my dishes with a little less salt. and so it was for this pho..but the sauce (main ingredient of it being fish sauce) can be added to the soup for a lil more flavour and the lime to give it a tart taste.



you have to eat it with lots of raw greens added as how many who love vietnamese food would say, it is a cuisine of contrasts. would have been more wonderful if i had gone to the thai supermarket to get the sweet basil and mint.

this is the pho..


......and this is my version


my verdict of my trial: still has room for improvement

i would like to think that i love vietnamese food eventhough my taste of it has been limited to 3 dishes (the pho, gui con and bhun thit) and their coffee. but these are enough to make me a convert.

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there is something wonderful about pho as evident from the online sites and write ups on it.

the pho blog: Pho king

the seminar on pho: vietworldkitchen