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Wednesday, January 30, 2019

"Untitled" by Bill N


Phở is widely known across the world as the most popular and national dish of Vietnam, their multiple variants of the dish as with any other dish. Phở to me is home, it is a reminder of my childhood when I was still living in Ho Chi Minh City and only a small part of the vast cultural heritage of Vietnam as a whole. In its purest form, Phở is a bowl of rice noodles with different cuts of beef (sometimes chicken) in hot broth made from the biggest bones you could find at the supermarket. Originally, phở was created in the northern capital of Hanoi from the remnants of the French take over of Vietnam but was widespread to the southern city of Ho Chi Minh City. During the rise in popularity in the south, the dish went to a drastic change separating the dish into a northern style which is less flavorful, simple, and completely inferior in every way. The style that all of us are used to in the U.S. is of course the over the top southern style of phở, which packs flavor in every spoon and flooded with meat. The southern style will always have a place in my heart as I grew up eating it everyday before school for breakfast, after school lunch, and for dinner. Most of you reading have probably had phở before at a restaurant but let me tell you when I say what you had is definitely nothing like the real authentic version of it so here I am presenting my own family’s take on the dish and don’t be afraid to make mistakes, the dish requires a lot of labor and is much harder than it looks. 

Ingredients:
  • -  6 Big beef bones
  • -  1 and a half Ginger , cut into halves
  • -  1 White onion , peeled and cut into halves
  • -  Salt (add to taste)
  • -  2 Star anise (put them into a cheesecloth or herb bag)
  • -  10 cups of Water
  • -  2 tblspoons of Fish sauce (add to taste)
  • -  Rice noodles
  • -  1 pound of Flank, Brisket, Oxtail, Steak (any of these will work)
    Garnishes:
  • -  Cilantro
  • -  Bean Sprouts
  • -  Lime wedges
  • -  Hoisin sauce
  • -  Sriracha
  • -  Green onions
  • -  Basil
    Cooking instructions:
  1. In a large pot, place all your bones and meat into it and fill the pot with water, bring the pot to a boil (around 15-20 mins)
  2. Drain out the pot and rinse the bones and meat of any scum and impurities (this step is especially important to not having a cloudy phở broth by the end and don’t worry about losing flavor because the bones haven’t gotten to the stage of breaking down)
  1. Take your onions, star anise and ginger, roast them on a saucepan until the star anise and ginger are nicely roasted, while the onion is browned and soft to the touch. (By doing this, they add umami and flavor to the broth, while also making it extremely aromatic, THIS STEP IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT)
  2. Place your bones, meat, onions, ginger, star anise, fish sauce, and water all back into the cooking pot and bring it to a boil.
  3. After the pot is boiling, turn the heat down so that the bones can cook low and slow for maximum flavor (Keep it cooking for about 8 hours at a minimum and 12 hours at a maximum, the longer it is cooking the deeper the flavor)
  4. Occasionally check on your pot, mixing it around every time and taste the broth. (Salt to taste)
Prepping the Bowl:
1. Remove the meat from the pot and slice it into manageable bite sized pieces
2. In another smaller pot, bring water to a boil and cook the noodles to your liking then

place it into a big bowl
3. Place your slices of meat down and pour the
boiling hot broth into the bowl
4. Garnish your bowl of delicious phở with bean sprouts, cilantro, basil, lime, hoisin and

sriracha sauce, and green onions (this step is completely optional, it is to your
preference)
5. There’s nothing left to do but to enjoy a delicious bowl of your hard work.

P.S. - Personally I like to eat my phở in its purest form without anything else other than how it is served, you shouldn’t ruin 8 hours of hard work by pouring sriracha and hoisin into it without even tasting the original broth but everyone likes different things so this is just how I prefer to eat.
That concludes my recipe for arguably one of the best dishes in the entire world, I hope you guys enjoy making it and finally getting to have an authentic eating experience.

22 comments:

  1. Pho is very very good and i always love eating it but it was always a push to go and get some. Now am I able to make it in the comfort of my own home and i am very excited to try it. Great Job

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  2. Great read Bill, loved your instructional article. I regularly make food at home with my cousins, so I might actually realistically use this guide to help me out if I do make pho. I loved the use of different literary devices that truly conveyed the tone that you seemed to be showcasing. The alliteration of "big beef bone" really accentuates your personality and appreciation for pho. Your preference for the all natural flavor, disregarding other modifications through sauces, again displays a message of a greater appreciation and level of depth in flavor from the original recipe.

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  3. Everyone's writing about food and its making me so hungry right now! Your article was very in-depth and detailed on both the history of pho as well as how to make it. I enjoyed reading about your personal experiences with Pho especially when you lived in Vietnam. Pho appears to be a staple dish in Vietnam and reading about the history of it here makes me wonder what it would be like to eat the dish in Vietnam. On top of the rich history that you provided, you were also very detailed with your instructions on how to make pho at home. I appreciated the vivid imagery and history in your article! Good job Bill!

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  4. This is a 10/10 guide, I like the history that was mentioned on the dish, as well as the detail put in on how to make it. Great job man!

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  5. Your blog was very organized and clear and there wasn't a single moment where I had trouble reading. Your transition from the history of the dish to a perfect process of creating the dish itself was very smooth. Due to your well-descriptive step-by-step process and vivid imagery throughout, I can now create a perfect and authentic dish for my family and friends to enjoy. Thank you, sir.

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  6. Thanks Bill, my homecoming King, for helping me learn to make Pho on Chinese New Year. I really enjoyed this instructional piece and it furthered my culinary education, especially in the oriental arts.

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  7. A very simple and straight forward instructions. I read a lot of pho recipes, bu they're usually more complex and harder to follow. It´s great to see a tutorial that is able to be followed by a beginner.
    -Grecia Sepulveda

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  8. Bill, this recipe looks delicious and you really put effort into including all the important details. I would love to learn to cook pho using this guide. Good job!

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  9. All of these post of people making their childhood food makes me really hungry along with also wanting to try and recreate these meals. With all the information that you provided makes me feel as if I am actually on a cooking blog trying to decide what I want to make for dinner. Another thing that made this piece stand out from the rest was the small background of the dish and your experience with it. Nice piece all around-Sezar Guitron

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  10. I have always liked Pho but the first time I had it I was kind of underwhelmed because of how much everyone was gassing it up so much so I have always felt like there is better pho out there and now I know there is hopefully I get a chance to try this recipe and it will allow me to give pho another chance to be one of my favorite foods.
    -Johnny Gitau

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  11. Your instructions on how to make pho really helped me. I love eating it as it is a part of my culture, but never knew how to make it. You included all the steps in making a meal and I am thankful for that because some people tend to miss a few steps. It was very detailed and informative. If i make pho, I will for sure let you try it first.

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  12. This recipe is very well written and easy to understand. I also like how you even showed the background of making pho and how it is intertwined with the culture. also pho is just really good so i'm very glad to know how to make it
    Alejandro Marquez

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  13. Bill this was such a well done and interesting read! I love pho so much and I'm so happy to have read your tutorial on how to make it, especially since you have the ethnic background and life experience of someone who knows REALLY good pho. I love the personal touches you added to describing a simple dish! Great job!

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  14. It is super interesting to learn about all the different cultural meals and habbits people all over the world have. I personally never had Pho but from the description and looks of it, it looks worth the try. Well done and thank you for sharing. - john b IV

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  15. You've made an objectively difficult dish have the air of simplicity and ease of a basic chocolate chip cookie recipe. Thank you for sharing an abundantly rich culture with us through some really great writing!

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  16. Amazing recipe! The way you describe the Pho had me foaming at the mouth thinking about a nice, hot, and delicious stew during the cold days. Glad to hear about your childhood and what this food means to you. Thank you for this recipe, I might have to try making it someday!-Andrew Macias

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  17. Hey Bill! I love how you gave some history behind this dish and followed it with an easy to follow recipe. I still havent tried Phở before but I'm hoping to soon!!

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  18. This is an amazing recipe! You were very specific in your instructions in both the bowl preparation and the cooking process such as "they add umami and flavor to the broth" to specify the reasons for some steps. The recipe seems to be very pleasing and I hope to make your family dish someday. -Jacob Ramirez

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  19. Your blog post gave an intriguing explanation on how pho was originated. Pho has become more and more popular and I think it's helpful to supply everyone on the information of the noodles origin.-Nathan Brown

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  20. Ooh Billy! This seems like such a great recipe for those rainy days we've been having. Your directions are very thorough and easy so I definitely won't have a hard time making this. Fantastic job!

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  21. I am not to familiar with pho however considering how you described it and the ingredients, I want to try it! I am really glad that this dish reminds you of home. There are always those few things that take us back to a happier place. Thank you for sharing, Bill <3

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  22. Bill your recipe is detailed and sounds great. I especially find helpful the extra notes you added. I will be tryng it out soon and hopefully it comes out close to what you described. Great job!

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