I ❤ Pho
Pho soup is one of my favorite comfort soups and since one of the main ingredients is noodles, which is my son’s favorite food, I feel that cooking some Pho up is worth a shot. I plan to skip the jalapenos and sneak in tofu and serve this baby up pronto.
Ingredients:
4 cups good quality low sodium vegetable broth
4 cups water
1 cup dried shiitake mushrooms
3 large shallots, thinly sliced
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1″ piece of fresh ginger, thinly sliced into 1/8″ pieces
6 tbsp. light soy sauce
2 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
3 star anise
3 cinnamon sticks
1 small handful thai basil stems & leaves
1 small handful cilantro stems & leaves
1 8 ounce package dried rice noodles
2 cups shredded Napa or Savoy cabbage
2 cups fresh mung bean or soybean sprouts
1/2 cup fresh chopped green onions
1/2 cup roughly chopped or torn Thai basil
1/2 cup roughly chopped cilantro
1 lime, cut into wedges for garnish
Optional for serving: sliced fresh jalapenos, Maggi seasoning, extra soy sauce, Sriracha, hot garlic chili sauce
Directions:
For the broth -
- Place the first 12 ingredients in a large soup pot with a lid. Bring to a boil over medium high
heat and then reduce temperature and simmer mostly covered for 1 1/2 hours. Strain through a fine mesh colander to get all the bits out. Return the broth to the pot and bring back to temp over medium heat.
To assemble the soup -
- Cook the rice noodles according to the package – as a default method, cook the noodles in boiling water for 3-4 minutes until tender, drain and rinse with some cool water quickly to stop the cooking. Drain these thoroughly. Evenly distribute the noodles and cabbage between the serving bowls. Ladle the hot broth over the noodles. Top each bowl with some sprouts, basil, cilantro, a sprinkle of green onions and some lime. Serve immediately.