Instant Vietnamese Pho Bo
I love Pho Hoa's beef noodle soup - Pho Bo.
Back when I was having chemotherapy and had to eat hospital food for "sterility's" sake, I would often ask my doctor if I could have this store-bought soup. I cannot seem to get over the taste and the wonderful feeling I get with each sip and slurp. The mint leaves, bean sprouts and lemon wedges are a must each time I order because the taste wouldn't be complete without them.
I am just so lucky that Pho Hoa in Tomas Morato, QC is near St. Luke's hospital that I get to have this noodle soup delivered to me anytime I'm craving for it. Now, I'd get any chance to dine in Pho Hoa or any Vietnamese resto just to get my pho bo dose as I do not go out as often as I do before.
In one of my trips to the grocery, I found this spice paste...
Wow, I can now have my soup at home!
It was a rainy morning a few weeks back when W asked me to cook some noodle soup for lunch. I knew it was the best time to use my spice paste (to show my son that there's another noodle dimension other than his Lucky Me noodles) but I only had rice noodles and sukiyaki cut beef.
Anyway, I still proceeded cooking the soup (sans the tendons, meatballs, bean sprouts and mint leaves). I substituted lemon with calamansi and prayed over the dish to be successful. haha!
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With the package instructions as my guide, here's what I did:
On a separate pan, I cooked rice noodles (about 150g or 3 small bundles from a pack) according to package instructions.
Then I boiled 3 1/2 cups of water plus 1 packet of the Pho spice paste and 1 medium sized white onion in a saucepan. I reduced the heat, then let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
The sukiyaki beef slices (about 1/4kg) are added in. When cooked, I took it out and set it aside.
I divided the noodles into bowls then ladled some soup over and added beef slices.
If only I had bean sprouts (to be blanched), mint or basil leaves (fresh and cleaned) and lemons - I would've added them to this for garnish. I substituted calamansi for the lemons and I found it okay.
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W and M enjoyed the soup - amazingly for M who is not a soup-person.
Next time I make this, I'll make sure I have all the ingredients and I'll post a better photo in this blog. =)
Xoxo,
Comments
Hope all is well on your side of the world. Would check my Asian Home Gourmet packets and post a picture of the instruction side.
The recipe I posted is basically it, but would be happy to help you.
Please check out my blog again, will post it soon. =)
You can leave your email address here to so I can send it to you. =)
pho lover