Pho Bo

Well...o.k. this is once again a slight cheater recipe, but it is more real than the Faux Chicken Pho I previously posted.  The reason why this is a cheater recipe is because the broth is made from this amazing boullion base I found at Fubonn last weekend, normally making the broth can take around 5 hours so I haven't tried to make Pho from scratch...yet.  Anyways I still technically assembled the Pho bowls and created a fantastic meal.  If you don't know what Pho is first of all you are missing out and second click the link.  Pho is also a very lean and healthy meal full of protein.  In other food related news check this NPRHealth story out, it is about bringing cooking back into the classroom, a step in a great direction for American education.  On a sadder note please read this if you love seafood, it is disturbing how much the U.S. inspection codes are lacking in comparison to other countries.  As for  news in my life, same old job hunt...but there maybe a wonderful and exciting development which I will divulge when it is a more solid plan ;)  Until then EAT PHO BO!

 Serves 5

The Ingredients
2 1/2 cups petite sirloin, sliced extremely thin
1 1/2 tablespoons pho beef flavor paste (similar to the link)
4 1/2 cups water
1 medium yellow onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, pressed
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
2 cups crimini mushrooms, sliced
3 green onions, chopped
2 cups bean sprouts
1 cup fresh basil, de-stemmed
1 lime, cut in half and then with one of the halves cut into quarters for serving
1 cup fresh cilantro, de-stemmed
1 package rice noodles, cooked (follow directions on package)
Olive Oil

The Process
1.  In large pot add a little olive oil and stove to medium heat.  When hot add garlic and yellow onion.  Cook for about 2 minutes.

2.  Then add water, pho beef flavor paste, mushrooms, ginger, and squeeze half of the lime into soup and stir well and bring to a boil.

3.  Then turn stove down to a rolling simmer for about 10 minutes.  This is the point that I made the rice noodles and set them aside.  I also prepared all of the fresh ingredients and put them on a plate to serve on the side of the soup.

4.  Then add petite sirloin to soup and cook for 30 seconds and remove soup from heat.

5.  To serve: in a large bowls put noodles, then pour pho soup into bowl, then add as much bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, green onions, and lime as you want to your pho bo!

I would also recommend as flavors to add if you want: Sriacha sauce, soy sauce, fish sauce, chili oil, and plum sauce.  Eat up!

The finished product to the left, and a plethora of condiments directly above.