Pho At Home!

It’s noodle soup time!

Fall is officially here.  It’s getting colder and I wanted something hot to eat.  I went to an Asian store a few days ago and discovered they sold fresh Vietnamese noodles for making Pho soups.  I had been searching for this!  I was using the dry noodles which took longer to cook.  I was so excited I wanted to go home and make a bowl of soup right away.  Talk about perfect timing since I was craving for soup that day because I felt cold.   I also found an excuse to use the meat we had in the freezer.

As I was making the soup, my children came home from school.  My youngest mentioned that he was cold, so I asked him if he wanted soup.  Both my children responded in unison and said “Oh, yes! Soup!” 🙂

The chilies you see were just a garnish.  I had to removed them because they were too spicy for my children.

Anyway, I didn’t take a picture of the noodle package because my children wanted to have the soup right away, but I changed my mind when I put it all in a bowl.   It looked so appetizing.  My children could hardly wait to have the soup, but I told them I had to take a picture first 😀   It was worth the wait.  We all enjoyed it although I had to give up the meat to them.

Cooking the meat, I used the cooking technique I learned when I was young making the popular Filipino soup, Bachoy.

Bachoy-Filipino noodle soup
Photo courtesy of rhysjuplo @ http://www.tumbler.com

Bachoy is a noodle soup with pansit mami (similar to Japanese noodles, Yakisoba) and meat garnished with green onions and fried garlic then adding soy sauce and lime juice to flavor the broth.  The texture of Yakisoba noodles is different compared to pansit mami.   Maybe because the Yakisoba noodles I had were previously frozen.  The Pansit Mami noodles back home were made fresh.  This soup is popular among Filipinos.  It’s sold in roadside eateries and restaurants.  I remember my mother would buy each of us a bowl after Sunday mass.   It was one of my childhood memories I cherished very much.   Looking at the picture makes me crave it, Oh, my goodness!   Don’t you agree? I wouldn’t mind having soup for breakfast in a cold morning. 😀

Anyway, if you can’t find fresh Vietnamese noodles in your area, try using any noodles and just put all your favorite toppings.  Or, you can make the Bachoy soup using the technique below for the broth without adding the Shitake mushrooms, spinach, salt and pepper.

Ingredients:

• Fresh Vietnamese noodles
• Beef, chicken, or shrimp
• bean sprouts
• Thai basil leaves
• Spinach ( optional)
• Shitake mushrooms
• Cardamom spice (to your taste)
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation Methods:

• Before you start cooking the noodles, tenderize the meat by boiling it over medium heat for at least an hour or so.  You will need the broth for your soup, so don’t throw it away.  If you want the broth to be flavorful, add just enough water to tenderize the meat.  Make sure you have enough water as water evaporates as it cooks.  Season with salt, pepper, and Cardamom. Cover.
• Add the Shitake mushrooms 5 minutes before end of cooking time.  Add the spinach and cook just until wilted.  Remove the Shitake mushrooms and spinach.  Set aside.
• Follow the directions on how to cook the noodles on the back of the package.   Place the cooked noodles in a bowl.
• Remove the cooked meat and slice thinly in bite pieces.
• Arrange the bean sprouts, spinach, cooked beef, Shitake mushrooms, and Thai basil on top of the noodles.  Pour the steaming hot beef broth into the bowl.
• Garnish with chillies and Thai basil leaves

Enjoy!

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~A. B.

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