Beef noodle soup |
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| Q Beef meatball noodle soup | ||
| Q Chicken, pork and shrimp rice vermicelli soup | ||
| Q Beef and pork noodle in lemon grass flavored broth | ||
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The Vietnamese use many types of noodles to made soups. These noodles are made from different types of grains: rice, wheat, mung bean, cassava roots.
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Phở bò - Beef noodle soup (national dish)
We would like to introduce to you the trademark of Vietnamese cuisine: "phở". It's a dish that unites all the Vietnamese - from the Gulf of Thailand to the Gulf of Tonkin. The Vietnamese eat this soup as breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack at any time. There are many variations of this soup. This one is the easiest one to make. The Vietnamese don't make this soup at home, they always go to special "phở" restaurants which serve nothing but "phở" in 10 different ways.
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Ingredients:
Vietnamese style beef stock:
- 2 pounds of shank meat with bone
- 1 piece of ginger 2-inch length smashed
- 2 small onions peeled and halved
- 2 tablespoons of star anise
- 2 teaspoons of salt
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- large pot with 3/4 gallon of water
Ingredients for "Phở" - 1 pound of flat rice medium size noodles
- 15 cups of beef stock seasoned to taste
- 3 teaspoons of fish sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 2 pound of tender beef (rump roast or eye round - thin slices
1-inch by 2-inch) - 1 cup of bean sprouts
- 1 bunch of cilantro chopped
- 1/2 bunch of Thai basil or Asian basil
- 1/2 bunch of mint
- 10 leaves of saw leaf cilantro
- 3 scallions chopped
- 3 tablespoons of fresh red chilies julienned
- 2 limes , cut into wedges
- 1 large sweet onion thinly slices marinated in 2 tablespoons
of vinegar
fish sauce - black ground pepper
- hot chili sauce
Preparations:
To make the beef stock:
- Rinse the meat under cold water, drain and set aside. Roast the ginger and the onions until dark brown. Bring the water to a boil, put in the ginger, onions, and the meat in the broth. Bring the broth to a boil again, lower the heat, and skim off the foam on the surface. Cook for 20 minutes; then add the star anise,sugar and salt. Simmer the soup for 2 more hours.
- Season to taste. Cool the stock and keep it in the
refrigerator overnight; discard any fat on the top the next morning; then discard the
solids but save the meat and slice it thinly against the grain. Set aside to serve with
the soup later.
To make the beef noodle soup: - Marinate the meat with fish sauce, black pepper and sugar. Set it aside.
- Soak the rice noodles in cold water for 30 minutes or longer. Boil water in a large pot and, add the rice noodles. Bring the pot to boil again; then drain them. Rinse with cold water to separate the noodles. Set aside. Don't overcook the noodle.
- Put 1 cup of cooked noodles in a large soup bowl. Arrange the beef slices on top of the noodles, add cilantro, basil ,mint and a few slices of shank meat (optional).
- Bring the beef broth to a boil; pour the boiling soup on top of the raw slices of beef. You can make the beef slices rare, medium or well done by sinking the meat in the broth shorter or longer.
- Guests will put in bean sprouts, chilies, basil, mint, various
kinds of cilantro, chopped scallions, pickled onion slices and squeeze lime wedge over the
soup. Serve it hot. Season to taste with fish sauce served in small sauce bows
and hot chili sauce on the side.
Makes 8 to 12 servings.
