Gordon behind our house by the huge snow drift

Friday, March 11, 2011

PHO BO

Pronounced FUH... as in the F word without the K and  BO. is a Veitnamese noodle soup full of vegetables that my kids will actually eat. Billy had one of his friends over tonight and they asked what was for dinner I said  Pho... they were like... did you just swear at me? 
 Pho starts with a really deep, rich broth.  Traditional Pho usually has fish sauce, which I find to be a bit strong for kids and sliced rare beef.  I decided to try to make it vegan, just for fun.  I made mine with vegetable stock that I enriched with garlic, ginger, shitake mushrooms and soy sauce. This takes a while to chop and prepare but i like to do a lot ahead of time and keep the rest in the fridge for making stir fry the next night.  It tasted really awesome and I didn't miss the meat!

Broth
1 aseptic package vegetable broth
2 cloves garlic smashed and chopped finely
1 inch pealed ginger grated finely
Garlic chili paste
5-6 dried shitake mushrooms
2 tbs soy sauce
1 tbs olive oil or toasted sesame oil

Heat oil in a sauce pan and toss in garlic, ginger and chili paste, saute for a minute or so and then add broth and soy sauce and shitake mushrooms, turn heat down to simmer and cook for about 10-15 minutes... meanwhile get your veg ready
2 cups each chopped
nappa cabbage
bok choy
2 cups sliced baby bella mushrooms (or whatever your favorite)
1 cup sliced baby sweet peppers
Rice noodles

Condiments
1 cup chopped cilantro
1 cup chopped green onion
2-3 tbs chopped fresh Thai basil
chili garlic paste
sirachia
bean sprouts
sliced baby sweet peppers
lime wedges
1 12 oz container of extra firm silken tofu, cut into tiny bite sized pieces


When broth has steeped for a few minutes, taste to see if it is spicy enough for you, you can always add more chili paste later, remove shitake mushrooms, de-stem and slice into pieces,  add the sliced mushrooms, shitake mushrooms and bok choy to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes add the nappa cabbage and noodles to the pot, let simmer for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Ladle into bowls and top with condiments of your choice.  In the picture, I have baby sweet peppers, chili sauce, tofu, green onion and cilantro.




2 comments:

  1. That looks so good! I think Austin would eat it but his dad....notsomuch!

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  2. That is the challenge! Gordon didn't even touch it

    ReplyDelete