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Beef Pho
Beef Pho
Pho is the national dish of Vietnam. It can be traced back to the early 1900’s; culturally influenced by the French’s introduction of beef, which is the main flavor component. Today, there seems to be a never ending plethora of Vietnamese restaurants with pho being the specialty.Pho stock is made by roasting beef bones and whole onions, then simmering in a large stock pot of water with star anise, ginger, cinnamon stick, sugar, and salt. Some recipes for the stock will include a small stewing hen as part of the boil. The stock is simmered for at least 4 hours, with some recipes taking 24 hours. Then the stock is strained and ready to serve.Beef is the main protein in pho. The beef is always raw, sliced paper thin, and is cooked when boiling stock is ladled over. Many cuts of beef can be used including flank, eye of round, brisket, and ribeye. Vietnamese love texture, so there are varieties of pho that include tripe and tendons. Other than beef, pho contains rice noodles, bean sprouts, Thai basil, cilantro, green onions, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, and is served with lime wedges; just to name a few ingredients.
Servings: 4
Ingredients
Pho Stock
- 5 lbs beef bones femur and neck
- 2 large onions cut in half
- 10 star anise
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 large ginger split in half
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp salt
- 6 quarts water
Beef Pho
- 14 oz rice stick noodles prepared according to package directions
- 1 lb beef ribeye sliced paper thin
- Asian style beef meatballs sliced
- 2 cups bean sprouts blanched for 30 seconds
- Thai basil
- cilantro
- green onions chopped
- lime wedges
- hoisin sauce
- fish sauce
- sriracha
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the beef bones and halved onions on a baking sheet.
- Roast for 45 minutes. Set aside.
- Dry toast the star anise in a small skillet over medium heat for 3 minutes.
- Place the star anise, cinnamon stick, and halved ginger in a large pot of water; about 6 quarts. Bring to a boil.
- Add in the roasted beef bones, onions, sugar, and salt.
- Simmer over medium heat for at least 4 hours.
- Strain the pho stock. Return to the pot and bring to a boil.
Pho Assembly
- Assemble the basil, cilantro, green onions, bean sprouts, lime wedges, and hoisin sauce on a plate.
- Place 1 portion of rice noodles in the bottom of a large soup bowl. Place the sliced ribeye and meatballs on top of the noodles.
- Ladle the boiling stock over the beef and noodles.
Kua Mee (Stir Fried Noodles)
Kua Mee (Stir Fried Noodles)
Kua Mee is simply Laotian-style stir fried noodles. The rice stick noodles are stir fried in a caramelized sugar sauce, tossed with stir fried pork, sliced omelette, bean sprouts, and green onion. Kua Mee is typically served at parties and large gatherings since it is very inexpensive to make while still getting your bang for your buck.
Ingredients
Omelette
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large eggs beaten
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch pepper
Pork Stir Fry
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 1 shallot sliced
- 1 lb pork shoulder thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
- 1/2 tsp fish sauce
- 1/2 tsp sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
Noodles
- 16 oz rice stick noodles
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 4 garlic cloves minced
- 2 shallots sliced
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 tsp fish sauce
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 cup bean sprouts
- 3 green onions chopped
Instructions
- Soak the rice noodles in water for 30 minutes. Set aside.
- Whisk the omelette ingredients together.
- Heat up vegetable oil in a small sauté pan over medium high heat. Pour in the eggs. Let firm up for 90 seconds.
- Flip and cook for another minute.
- Let the omelette cool. Roll up and thinly slice. Set aside.
- Heat up 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Sauté the garlic and shallots for 2 minutes.
- Add in the pork, fish sauce, soy sauce, sugar, and salt.
- Sauté the pork for 5-6 minutes until cooked through. Remove from the pan.
- In the same pan over medium heat, combine the sugar and vegetable oil.
- Let the sugar brown and caramelize for 5 minutes.
- Add in the garlic and shallots. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Pour in the water, fish sauce, and salt. Simmer until the sugar dissolves.
- Add in the rice noodles. Cook for 5 minutes in the sauce.
- Mix back in the omelette, pork, bean sprouts, and green onions. Cook for 1 more minute.
Nam Khao (Crispy Rice Salad)
Nam Khao (Crispy Rice Salad)
Nam khao is a Laotian salad with roots in Thai and Vietnamese cuisine. The Thai influence stem from the ingredients used to make the crispy rice balls, dressing, and toasted rice powder. The Vietnamese influence comes from the salad toppings such as the mint, basil, and cilantro. This salad has just about every flavor and texture you can imagine; all perfectly balanced. Nam khao is definitely an advanced recipe; with the crispy rice balls taking the brunt of the endless prep work to it’s completion. It will be all worth it in the end. So puff, puff, puff; don’t bother passing; puff a few more times; take a deep breath, and get ready to cook.
Servings: 2
Equipment
- sticky rice bamboo steamer
- cookie dropper scooper
Ingredients
Crispy Rice
- 3 cups glutenous rice
- 3 tbsp red curry paste
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 shallot finely chopped
- 4 lime leaves finely chopped
- 4 tsp fish sauce
- 4 tsp sugar
- 1 large egg beaten
- vegetable oil for frying
- spinach/arugula mix
Nuac Chom Dressing
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 2 1/2 tbsp sugar
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 1/2 lime juiced
- 1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 red Thai chili finely chopped
Salad Toppings
- som moo (Laotian fermented sausage)
- mint
- basil
- cilantro
- toasted peanuts
- toasted rice powder
- green onions
Instructions
- Soak the rice for a minimum of 4 hours.
- Place the rice in a bamboo steamer basket in a pot of boiling water. Place a cover over the top.
- Steam the rice for 30 minutes, flipping half way through the cooking process.
- Mix in the rest of the crispy rice ingredients.
- Heat up 2” of cooking oil in a pot over medium high heat. Using a cookie dropper scoop, drop round balls of the rice into the oil, making sure to not overcrowd the pot. Fry the rice balls for 3-4 minutes.
- Drain the grease from the rice balls on paper towels.
- Mix together all of the dressing ingredients.
- Prep all of the other topping ingredients.
- Break up the crispy rice balls. Toss them with the som moo, mint, basil, cilantro, toasted peanuts, green onions, and the dressing.
- Place the spinach/arugula mix in the bottom of a bowl.
- Place the crispy rice salad on top of the spinach/arugula. Dust the top with toasted rice powder.
