I tried to make the Vietnamese soup Pho today.
The inspiration was the beef and pork bones in Chris’ freezer from various bulk meat purchases. I chose the oldest 5 pounds and started.
Over the last week I had gotten the ingredients I was going to need and started with making the stock. It uses star anise, cloves, and ginger vs a traditional French chicken or beef stock. That simmered for a couple hours and next time I’ll use a recipe that simmers for longer.
Then for the rest was getting the meat and rice noodles ready and the “salad” that is traditionally added to the soup at serving time. I used been sprouts, Thai basil, cilantro, and minced Thai chilis.
It turned out pretty well. The stock had a nice clean flavor that I think will be better when I simmer the next batch longer. The noodles took longer to cook than I expected. It was a good start and I’ll definitely try again and we will need to find another source of bones. I think there is only enough for 2 more batches.