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Pho. A simple soup worth a thousand words.
Lunch and dinner options are always a snap when I’ve got a big bowl of chicken stock in the fridge.
This golden liquid, made from simmering leftover chicken carcasses, carrot, celery, onion and garlic for hours to extract every last bit of goodness, is the basis for so many great meals. From soups and stews to anything with a sauce, a good chicken stock lifts regular food into some very cool culinary territory with relative ease.
A few days ago I opened my fridge to see what I could slap together for a lunch. A big bowl of chicken stock and a zip-loc bag of pre-soaked rice vermicelli made for an easy decision – pho.
The great soup of Vietnam is very accessible, completely customizable and simple to prepare.
Enhance the stock with some Asian-inspired goodness from fish sauce, soy sauce and spices, simmer a few simple vegetables until tender-crisp and add in some sliced pork or beef and one of the world’s great soups is ready.
Pho is a soup that eats like a meal (I just coined that phrase – neat eh?). It’s stock, vegetables, noodles and as much meat as you like. It can be mild or wildly spicy, whatever you prefer, so it’s a soup for all appetites (even my daughter likes it).
With a bit of care – and restraint – you can make an incredible pho in your own house. Restraint is key to a delicate, purely-flavoured pho. Too much spice or other seasoning can wreck a good pho. Here, the rule of less is more should be adhered to with diligence.
My Pho
3 cups good homemade basic chicken stock
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 knob of fresh ginger. Think car stereo volume knob.
1 star anise
2 whole cloves. Just two.
8 whole peppercorns. Just eight.
1 teaspoon sugar
1 small bunch rice vermicelli
two or three ounces thinly sliced pork loin
thinly sliced daikon radish (lo bok)
thinly sliced carrot
thinly sliced cabbage
2 green onions
1 or two hot thai chilies, or an Asian hot sauce to taste (Sriracha, garlic chili sauce or sambal olek are good choices) (optional)
Toasted sesame oil (optional)
Heat the chicken stock in a soup pot over medium high heat. Add the fish sauce, soy sauce, ginger, star anise, whole cloves, peppercorns and sugar. If using fresh chilies, add them to the stock as well. If using a hot sauce, just add that to the bowls when serving. Bring just to a boil then reduce heat immediately and let simmer for at least a half hour (an hour is ideal). In the meantime, soak your rice vermicelli in hot water for 30 minutes, then drain well. The noodles should be soft and ready to eat but if they’re not, just add them to your strained stock and let simmer until tender. Strain your stock with a fine strainer and return the stock to the pot. Check the seasoning of the stock and add more fish stock, soy sauce or salt to taste. Add the finely sliced pork to the stock and let simmer for just a few minutes until cooked but still very tender. Remove pork and slice into strips. Add a bunch of noodles to your bowls, top with sliced daikon, carrot, cabbage, green onions and sliced pork, then ladle on piping hot stock. Add hot sauce and toasted sesame oil if desired.
You bet maisa! A simple homemade stock is a good start for this though. You can’t beat it as a base for a good soup.
ive always wanted to make (or have) pho but found some really complicated recipes involving making your own broth and all this extraneous cheffy stuff. this will be a really helpful recipe, thanks!
Pho (pronounced fur) is delicious! When my husband and I were in Hanoi, we went to many pho restaurants and the thing that’s interesting is that in the north of Vietnam (the birthplace of pho) the ingredients are very basic whereas in the south, beef & sometimes chicken, bean sprouts, veggies and herbs are used quite a bit. Interesting you added cabbage.
Looks great! Pho has been on my to-do list ever since I had a really great one in Halifax one time. I’m not sure what’s been keeping me from making my own. Thanks for the reminder!