The broth is a very hearty beef one, subtly spiced with star anise, cloves, cinnamon and ginger. It's poured over rice noodles and thin slices of raw beef tenderloin, barley cooking the surface of the tenderloin, keeping most of it raw. Then everything is topped with raw onion rings, fresh leaves as Thai basil, mint and cilantro. For a perfecting touch, a few slices of chilli and some lime juice.
In "Into the Vietnamese Kitchen" this is one of the most complicated recipes. The broth takes at least half a day to make. Also, marrowbones are really hard to get here and they are unreasonably expensive. I really need to befriend a butcher (anyone?) cause I find that a bit strange considering how much beef there is around. But, after airing those complaints, this is something definitely worth trying out. I think it's something about the combo of the superior home made broth, nearly raw meat, fresh leaves and perfectly balanced tastes in the condiments that makes this a totally sublime dish.
And about the child factor. Keeping it simple, cutting out the toppings, generally works in my household. That means some noodles, some broth and some meat and you're home.
Ahhh, Phở... Such a fantastic dish with a great balance of flavours! It's my favourite noodle soup as well -- it overtook Bún bò Huế which was the first Vietnamese dish I ever tasted. In fact, as it happens, I am planning to go have Phở tomorrow. Yum. :-)
ReplyDeleteIt's great you can go out and get good Pho (and Bún bò Huế)! Here in Stockholm, if I want it, I have to make it myself...
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