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Hello!

Thank you for the amazing 8 years here at A Baked Creation, we can't thank you enough for the memories! But we've decided to move over to a new site - Sincerely, Syl. Please join us there for future posts on all the things you loved here!

Sincerely,
Syl

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Vietnamese Beef Pho

You guys! I made pho tonight!!! Well, about 80% of it since I didn't make my own beef stock. But still, it's been on my list of things to try and I can now proudly say I did it. I recently got The Kitchn Cookbook and The Slanted Door and I've been tagging a lot of the Vietnamese food recipes. I feel that I should learn some of the basics since my dad is from there and recently came back from a trip to Vietnam. Also, it might end up saving me some cash because I love going out for pho!

This recipe is adapted from The Kitchn a bit. Mostly made changes in the toppings and garnish since I really wanted to focus on the broth.

Vietnamese Beef Pho Broth
Makes enough to serve 4

2 large onions, peeled
4-inch piece of ginger, peeled
2 three-inch cinnamon sticks
2 pieces of whole star anise
3 whole cloves
2 teaspoons of coriander seeds
1800 milliliters of low-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
3 carrots, peeled and chopped

Peel and quarter the onions and ginger. Set on baking tray and broil for about five minute, flip and broil again for another five minutes. We just want a slight char, so if you have an open flame, that works too (use tongs to hold onions and ginger).

Put the cinnamon sticks, star anise, cloves, and coriander seeds in a large pot over medium-low heat. Dry-roast it a bit and stir to keep them from burning. When the spices are aromatic, add in the beef broth, soy sauce, fish sauce, carrots, charred onions, and charred ginger. Bring the broth to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover with lid, and let it simmer for 30 minutes.

After, take out another pot, place a strainer or sieve over it to separate the ingredients. Keep the broth hot in this second pot until ready to serve.

I prepared some scallions, cilantro, limes, and quickly cooked the bean sprouts in boiling water. I'm not going to specify quantities here, it's up to you! I always need limes with my pho, so I get 3/4 of the wedges while Howard uses 1. He'd probably not use it but I'm trying to convert him into adding lime juice to the broth. I feel that it tastes so much better with that sour note.

I didn't want to buy a whole pack of Thai basil, but that's generally something I add to my pho as well. As for the boiled bean sprouts, that's something my parents do and we ask restaurants to do it as well when we eat out. I think it has something to do with their preference of cleaning the bean sprouts in a quick flash of hot water.

For the meat topping, we purchased rib-eye beef that's intended for hot pot, but works beautifully here as well. After you cook the flat rice noodle (vermicelli), place the thinly sliced beef on top. Don't worry that it's still raw. If you kept the broth hot enough, it'll be cooked in no time!
See? Pour the broth over to cook the meat and this will also keep the noodles from sticking together. Garnish to your taste. You can see my bowl on the right already has two squeezed lime wedges in it. If you need some spice, add chili or Sriracha.
Verdict? The broth wasn't like the restaurant versions - we're guessing they use their own beef stock and cook that broth for hours. We found that this smelled great and wasn't greasy at all. But if you like it clean and not salty, this is the one for you. In fact, it wasn't salty enough, so we might throw in a pinch next time. We usually feel incredibly thirsty after eating pho out, but this one caused no such desires. But Howard did wish that there was a mango smoothie to end the meal with. Hmph!

1 comment:

  1. The benefits of eating beef is plentiful. Meat which includes red meat category, has a plentiful nutrient content yanag. But red meat is not necessarily free from risks.

    Just like other Resep Rawon Daging foods, red meat every day, especially beef is not recommended. Moreover, if we consume excessive portion, Risk seperto cholesterol, high blood pressure and stroke always haunt.

    However, although there Cara Membuat Biji Salak are risks, we do not avoid beef. Provided that what we eat tailored to the needs of the body. Moreover, the processed beef is many kinds, such as burgers, sausages, or nuggets.

    The risk of eating beef will increase along with its processing is not suitable, such as excessive roasting, to have this desired color. Due Cara Membuat Tahu Telur to the higher karsiogenik substances, which cause cancer growth.

    Here are some of the risks of excessive consumption of beef which we quoted from Boldsky:

    1. Alzheimer's
    Mereah meats such as beef, rich Resep Martabak Telur in iron, and a very good moment of growth. However, researchers believe that if the protein of beef, named Tau and beta-amyloidal, which accumulated can affect the performance of the brain, and interfere with brain cells that can lead to Alzheimer's.

    2. Cardiovascular Disease
    Red meat can not be separated from high cholesterol and fat, can lead to high risk of cardiovascular Resep Lasagna Panggang disease, which is a blockage in the blood salurah. But do not be afraid, as long as we are healthy digestion, digestive tract bacteria will break down fat and cholesterol than beef, which is named Carnite.

    3. The risk of colon cancer
    Many studies have shown a high risk for those who frequently consume red meat, for developing colon cancer, it can also be due to lack of fiber consumption.

    4. Diabetes Type 2
    Berlebian beef consumption will increase the risk diabets, about 50 percent. Therefore, we do not letagihan to eat beef.

    5. Processing is
    Many food manufacturers are fraudulent in the processing of beef, they sometimes label their products with a composition of 100% beef, but many mix that we do not want in it. So avoid eating processed beef.

    6. Obesity
    This is the "disease" most suffered by the global community today. The beef is high in fat, it is very popular, especially children, and sometimes parents late when children affected by obesity, and it is difficult to prevent

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