MYstyle: Vietnamese Beef Noodles (Pho)

the broth, i didn't chop the cilantro for the broth because my children hate veges so what i did was i wash it and dip in a warm water then i tie it up. you can see the knotted cilantro here....

this is a bowl of my husband dinner for tonight i cling wrap it so that later he could just heat up the broth and enjoy the dish - its good presentation too.

i know that i've been idle, its only because my sister just got married last Friday (we had alot to do and still do). speaking of which i'll be having some food tasting at one world hotel, bandar utama later tonight. since i'm the only one invited i felt guilty for my husband and kids that i had to leave them behind (we drew straws...) so before i go i thought of making something simple for them to eat...and vietnamese beef noodles came to mind.

the Vietnamese Beef Noodles is also known as Pho or Vietnamese Pho (which pronounced as Fuh and NOT poo or pu or poe am i making any sense at all?) which i've made a fool our of myself miss-pronouncing the word in a fancy Vietnamese restaurant. so now you know...

anyway...this is my version of the Pho noodle recipe based on my convenience and preference and i personally think that this recipe just done it, its easy and tasty.


what you need for the broth..:

some good beef bones - the marrow will give you the beautiful distinctive beef flavor.
about 1lb meat - chuck or rump or brisket will do
2.5ltr water
2 large onions halved and charred
2" galangal root / lengkuas charred the crush
4" of ginger cut into half also charred then crushed - both charred Laos,onions and ginger will give it a bit of that smokey flavor.
Pho spices :- wrapped in mouslin cloth - 1tsp, coriander seeds, 1 med cinnamon stick, a couple of cardamom seeds, 1 star anise, 5pcs of cloves.
1tbsp salt or to taste
1tbsp sugar or to taste
1/4 c of fish sauce
1/2 stalk of cilantro

-> you just need to dump in all the ingredients except beef balls and boil away. once it reaches boiling point reduce heat and let it simmer until the broth reduced a little.

-> beef ball to be added just before serving (this is to avoid swelling of the beef balls)

the Noodles:

Flat Rice noodle / kue tiaw (not sure how to spell it) or regular rice noodle would do and in my case i use yellow 'fat' noodle ^_^
shredded carrots
some bean sprouts
chopped Cilantro
some fresh basil (daun selasih)
some mint leaf
lime wedges
finely sliced onion and red chillies. - for garnishing

=> you just blanch the noodle until just soft or if you're using dried noodles boil it according to the packaging. then place it in a bowl of individual serving and top all of the veges and garnishes. on the side place the thinly sliced cooked beef . serve your broth Hot.

=> also what you can do is to thinly slice frozen beef and marinade it with a dash of fish sauce. then just placed the delicate thin beef strips on top of your noodle along with the other stuff of course and the just pour in the extremely HOT soup/broth . this way the beef won't be over cooked and it'll hold its flavor better - this, i personally think is how you should enjoy your pho noodle!


mmm...somehow i think that my explanation is a bit off but i can't seem to put my finger in it...
anyway, should you just have any sort of question feel free to ask and i'll be happy to help you.

happy cooking!

Mee Soup

This is my lunch for today...(and this probably be the most un appertizing picture i've ever taken)

This dish is probably the easiest dish mankind ever created...the ingredients are also ever so simple and the best part is that you can make it so long you have the main ingredients. so today i was trying to use up all my veges and what ever meat i have in the fridge coz tomorrow i'll be in Johor tagging hubby along in his biz trip *grins* to me this can only mean shopping...i love the ZONE duty free shopping complex...but then i also like pelangi mall...enuf bout that
anyway for this dish you'll need...

the Necessaries:
1clove garlic - chopped
salt to taste
sugar to taste
a dash of freshly cracked black pepper
1tbsp vege oil
500ml water (more if needed)
1" ginger - thinly sliced
mee of your likings... =) i like mee hoon or kue tiaw but today i only have mee hoon

Optional/ ingredients that you can have substitute:
some chicken meat or beef slices or fish meat if you like
fish balls - if you don't have you can do without
some carrots slices
1pc tomatoes - cut into 6pcs
some green veges like spinach or kailan
some bean sprouts if you like but i didn't put this coz i hated it!
some siew mai - this you can do with out but if you do decide to add this it'll add flavor to this dish as this sorts of dumplings ususally is very flavorful

this si how you make it:

1. saute the garlic until fragrant then add the ginger. cook further
2. then add in the chicken meat or what ever meat you have then the fish balls. let it cook just awhile.
   
3. then add in the water. let it simmer
4. then add in the carrots and tomatoes. add in the salt and sugar to taste.
5. once the meat is throughly cooked add in the dumplings if fyou have it let it cook just a minute or so.
6. then lastly add in the veges (you should not cook the veges for so long) then remove from heat, add in the cracked black pepper.
7. then take the mee and soak in a boiling water for 1 minute or until soft, remove and drained.
   
8. ready to serve

i eat this with my homemade sliced preserved chillies.

how to make it? very easy lar...just slice the green chillies thinly, then add in white vinegar and a little water just until it soak the chillies. then add in some sugar and salt to taste. keep in a glass jar. easy!