Pho Phooey

You know what people say about pizza and sex? That even when its bad, its still pretty good? I have to disagree because I have had bad pizza and bad sex during my lifetime. But I have never had a bad bowl of Pho. I took this recipe from The Splendid Table's new book "How to Eat Supper". I recommend this book to people who don't cook much. The broth takes a little while, with a couple steps, but they are worth it. To the unfamiliar, Pho is a Vietnamese rice noodle soup with beef and fresh herbs. To the familiar, I bet you are pretty excited to get reading.

*Pho*

Cheater's Asian Broth

1 medium onion, thin sliced
4 large garlic cloves, thin slliced
One 2-3 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and thin sliced
6 whole cloves
1 whole star anise
4 14oz cans chicken broth
2 T sugar
2 tsp Asian fish sauce (nam pla or nuoc nam...don't fear it, love it!)

Soup

6 oz rice noodles
8 oz top round steak, sliced extremely thin (you can buy raw shaved beef...or sub chicken or tofu or seitan)

Table Salad

10 sprigs fresh cilantro
6-8 sprigs Thai or Italian basil
2 serrano, jalepeno or long chiles, sliced thin
bean sprouts
1 large lime, cut in wedges
(hoisin sauce and hot sauce if you DARE)

Position a rack 6-8 inches from teh broiler. Double a very large heavy piece of foil and scatter the onion, garlic, ginger, anise, 5 grinds of pepper and clove. Broil 5 minutes, turning once. You want the onion to have some toasted edges and you want to smell the spices. Scrape it all into a 6 qt pot.

Add the broth, sugar and fish sauce. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cover the noodles with VERY hot water in a bowl. COver with a plate and allow to sit 10-15 minutes. Drain and rinse them in cold water when they are almost tender, still a little firm (remember, they are going to go into boiling broth soon). Divide into 2 soup bowls.

Place the table salad on a platter on the table.

Divide the beef between the bowls. Ladle the hot broth over it. The broth will immediately cook the super thin beef. Allow people to add their own salad fixins! You can double this easily. Have a Vietnamese themed dinner party, just add summer rolls.

Serves 2Nutrition Info
Calories: 505
Fat: 8g (3 sat)
Protein: 28g
Carbohydrates: 50g
Fiber: 4g
WW points: 6