Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Vietnamese Beef Pho

Pho'd out yet?

Culinary peer pressure happens.
Pho'realz.

I saw the rush of Vietnamese Beef/Chicken Pho recipes
from the Daring Cooks
being published all ova the place.
Like a little wannabe I ran to the store like a dog looking for a bone.


IMG_6118a


My Pho is a little less traditional because ...
  • I live in a small town.
  • Things like Thai Basil and good fish sauce well,
  • that makes me laugh, I was lucky to find star anise.
  • I'm not a picky eater but I like what I like.

Which may make this very "unpho".


However...

It tastes damn good.


Let me give you the link to the
original recipe I found over on Jaden's page
"Steamy Kitchen"
[yeh click that]

Actually I found 23456574556 recipes.
Hers is based on a cookbook I happen to love.

I know.
How lazy am I...
She does all the work of
laying out the recipe and I say here click the link.
Hey, I'm all about credit where credit is due
not a copy and paste cheat.
She's well worth the click and has a cookbook
recently published you can find it on Amazon
yeh click that too.

IMG_6048a

I made a few changes.
I went to the grocery store and the guy
tells me his flank steak is frozen.
I opt for another cut and he says well,
I can't use the meat slicer because I'd
have to sterilize it we're slicing hams for people
right now. They only have one? okay okay I'll be nice.

IMG_6048a
[charring vegetables for stock is new for me. i like it ]


I ended up running to a butcher who operates out
of a gas station. Really. True story.
His flank is frozen too.
BUT he'll thinly slice whatever I want.
Instantly I like him.
Shrugging my shoulders I say what the hell, I'll have the filet mignon.
That's right people. FILET MIGNON.
I figure what it cost me for that was equal to a pig n jig. : )
OMG, in the pho, it was melt in your mouth.

IMG_6018a
[fennel, cinnamon, star anise, cardamom, mr. coriander was late for the party]


I used lo mien noodles.
I used spinach instead of basil.
Green onions instead of white.
Purple instead of yellow.
Green peppers and mushrooms because I wanted to.
I let my stock sit over night,
in the frig after simmering.
Which made it easy to skim off the fat.
Come to think of it wouldn't the scum
stick to the fat? Making for easy removal of scum?
Call that an afterthought, more like an after question.
Charring, not Charo. I used the broiler.
Top shelf and door semi open.
Lime is good, I liked lemon best.



Maybe my dish is more like a Japanese Hotpot.
Honestly I'd eat this every night
with a basic beef broth and a little sesame oil.

IMG_6113a
I love winter I do.
But I miss the warm summer light for photographs.




KAT! Yes you! C'mere.
Don't look at the beef.
Don't look up.
Look down.
Do you see????
I know. Right?!

IMG_6122a

You can make this.
Vegetable broth baby.




It's a cold rainy night.
Dancing with the Stars is on tonight,
paying tribute to Michael Jackson.
I have a bowl of nice warm soup.
And to think I spent the last month
eating lean cuisines. What was I thinking?
I dunno I was child free and didn't have to cook.
Don't say I it. I already know.
My frig is filled with vegetables.
I promise.

If only someone would bring me
an ice cream bar and a kiss...

it'd be a perfect night. : )


















One Love. One Peace. Always and all ways.

14 comments:

Becca said...

See K, now you know why I make so many substitutions in my ethnic recipes! LOL. It looks like a very inviting bowl of soup. Well done love.

Kathleen Bade said...

I hear you Becca......


it was very inviting.
and very tasty.
if you weren't watching
BL I'd say come over n have some.

It would cure what ails you.


xo

La Table De Nana said...

It looks fabulouslyhealthy..and delicious.I love ginger and star anise and vegetables and noodles.Cinnamon cardamom and fennel?

Tell us:)I've never had it~ I will go peek at those 23456574556 recipes:)
And I think your light is perfect.And I am wondering what you use in winter? It's great the light really..Now I am going to click and see what the rest is about:) The gas station made me smile of course.

Kathleen Bade said...

YESSSSSSS!

Cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, and fennel, star anise. Mr. Corriander was late to the party, so he missed the photo shoot.

Window light Nana, and set the AWB for cloudy.
And quite often I'll run outside with the food
and shoot on the back porch. I do that a lot.

I live for your kitchen light ... I do.


: )

Rachelle S said...

Well it looks "YUM" as my 2 yr old would say! =)

Ack!! I'm going to miss these longer daylight hours too...we'll be eating at 3 so I can take a decent photo. lol

A Box of Chocolates said...

I'm a Small town girl with big town tastes, substitute, tweek,add, if it tastes great it worked. Yours looks fantastic.

SteamyKitchen said...

Hey, thank you SO much for making the pho! awesme photos by the way. Love the spice layout.

Kathleen Bade said...

RAchelle and Kim, I hear you...I do.
Improvise is the name of the game.

Jaden! THANK YOU. BTW, just got your book in
the mail. Love it. You must be so proud.
I meant what I said, credit where credit due yanno? So I send the peeps ur way.

Unknown said...

Can I just say that these photos are just amazing? You take brilliant photos at the best of times, but these are like above and beyond. What's up with that? :) And improv in the kitchen- a woman after my own heart. This looks so good. I must try it. Much love. xxxx

Kathleen Bade said...

Sweet Hayley...

we artists are a funny lot you know?
what I thought to be "okay" photos,
you all love.


where in the world are you these days?
states or france?


love.

xo

Unknown said...

Have sent you email. xxx

Zurin said...

Hi Kathleen, I'm loving the photos and of course the soup looks great. Ive never made pho but I know its good even if you tweaked it some. In fact it looks amazing!

Anonymous said...

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Kathleen Bade said...

Looks around the room .... noway ... really ? ... um totally flattered here .... hasn't ever quite received a compliment such as this, regarding blog writing and content ... with cheeks a little pink, I'm not sure what to say except thank you, I mean that in a big way.


Kathleen

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