Pho Sure! From Goop.

Munch Munch Munch

I was reading Gwynee Paltrow’s Blog Goop (I’ve subscribed to her Newsletter) and there was a phabulous recipe idea for leftover turkey, so I tried it with a BBQ Chook from the grocery store. When cooking the stock my kitchen just smelt so fricken amazing I couldn’t wait for those 20 excruciating minutes of simmer time to be up. This is the best Pho hands down to make in your kitchen in under thirty minutes. I’m going to let you in on a little secret, the trick to the perfect broth, I know I’ve made this dish probably 60 times or more is to really dry heat those spices til they’re almost smoking. FYI, the ground cinnamon will go to black, that’s fine. Then toss the spices straight into the stock.

 

Serves 2

• 1 glass Chilled white wine, I used Traminer variety (my add), great wine has notes of rose petals, lychees and melon ;)

Soup Stock

• 1 L Chicken stock
• Bunch Eschallots, green ends chopped, reserve onion stem for garnish
• 2 tbs Ginger, smashed and sliced
• 1 tbs Fish sauce
• 1 tsp Brown sugar
• 2 tbs Coriander seeds or 4 Black Cardamon Pods (my preference if you can source them, your local Indian Spice market is the best place to start)
• 1 Cinnamon stick
• 1 shake of ground Cinnamon (my add)
• 4 Cloves
• 4 Star anise

The Rest

• 125g Vermicelli Noodles or thin rice noodles if you can’t find them
• 1 left over BBQ/Roast Chicken breast/thigh etc, it’s easier to shred with your fingers if it’s cold
• 2 cups of chopped Kale. Or you could use Gai Lan or Baby Bok Choy
• 1/2 lime , sliced to garnish
• Eschallot onion stem finely sliced, to garnish
• Few sprigs of Coriander, to garnish

Note, to Deviate from this recipe and not change up the flavours too much, I love to allow Munchers to add their own herbs and chilli as you would in a Vietnamese restaurant. If you prefer this way of eating Pho, don’t garnish the soup with the lime, eschallots and coriander as listed above try the alternative bowl garnish below.

Mini Bowl Garnish Per Person

• 1/4 lime wedge 
• 2 sprigs of Coriander/Cilantro
• 2 sprigs of Mint
• Eschallot finely sliced on a diagonal
• 1 Chilli, finely sliced
• Handful Bean sprouts

Pour the chilled wine and take a sip. Don’t forget to sip regularly throughout the prep/simmer process.

In a small saucepan cover the Vermicelli noodles with hot water and gently simmer til softened then strain. Divide the noodles amongst two bowls.

Pour the stock into a medium saucepan and have it somewhere near your chopping board so you can add the Eschallots (chopped green bits only), Ginger, Fish sauce, and Brown sugar as you chop and measure. Set a side for a moment.

In a wee pan heat through the Coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves and star anise for a few minutes. Be gentle it burns easily and you’ll need to start over if you get them smoking too much. Once they smell a little aromatic take off the heat and plunge into the saucepan with stock etc.