Sunday, January 15, 2006

Beef Noodle Soup

Most chicken noodle soup shops changed their businesses to beef noodle soup due to the bird flu problem, though in the last week chicken has re-appeared at some places. Making a bowl of noodle soup doesn't seem difficult when you look at the shopkeepers doing it, but the process before it is served is long. The most difficult part of this dish is making the stock. The right ingredients must be chosen and cooked for a long time and then you can enjoy a superb bowl of soup which will make you smile.

I am going to give you the recipe for beef noodle soup from Wild Rice, my workplace.

Ingredients: Beef Sirloin: 30g
Fresh Rice Noddle: 100g Soup.
Seasoning: to your taste.
Chicken powder.
Beef Broth.
Spring onion.
Coriander.
Almond.
Cinnamon.
Anise.
Fresh ginger.

How to make: To make the broth with the special taste of Hanoi “Pho”, firstly you have to grill almonds, cinnamon, anise and fresh ginger for about 2 minutes then add it to beef broth (water and beef or pork bones) and bring it to the boil, then simmer for a few hours. The beef sirloin is boiled in the stock, too, until it is done.

Before putting fresh rice noodles into a bowl, you have to dunk them in fresh boiling water slightly stir them up for a few seconds to separate them, then strain.

To serve: Put prepared fresh rice noodle in to a large bowl, put thinly sliced beef on top, followed by some spring onions & herbs, pour over the hot beef broth.

For Vietnamese tastes, we normally add some vinegar, lime and chili sauce when having “Pho Bo”.

A different dish, a different taste and if you want to experience this dish at Wild Rice, please order it in advance. Otherwise, it can be had at hundreds of stalls all over the city.

17 comments:

  1. that is very delish..now i'm hungry. when u gonna cook for me, em oi !

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  2. Busting out the stove,

    Aloha!

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  3. I always leave your site hungry! I love it! I am writing down this recipe!

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  4. i ate that today!!! sooo yummy!! and thanks for leaving me comments... i enjoy reading them :)

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  5. What you called «almond», wouldn't that be nutmeg, by any chance? Cause I don't remember pho broth having almond in it.

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  6. Looks yummy! (takes out cup noodle and pretends it tastes as good as that)

    Thanks for sharing your food culture!

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  7. I consider winter in Chicago to be "soup season", because it gets so cold and sometimes only a hot bowl of yummy soup will do! ;-) In U.S. many people buy cans of beef/chicken broth, instead of making a stock, since that takes so long. Kind of you to leave a recipe, maybe I'll try it if I get a chance!

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  8. Anonymous2:22 AM

    That looks awesome, I might cook this sometime, thanks for sharing the recipe!

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  9. This is my favorite soup in the world esp. when I have a cold. Your photos are great!

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  10. I must tell u..it's official..at least in my list..of all the versions of the beef noodle soup...thai, taiwan, singapore..etc the vietnamese version is by far the BEST! clear stock...the aroma...it's definitely a soul soup..love it!

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  11. it's certainly interesting to see almond in making soup base hmmm ... wonder if i can cheat by using almond essence hehehe ...

    thanks for the recipe!

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  12. Anonymous1:44 AM

    everytime i've ordered pho (in the u.s.) it has come with a nice little plate of mint, bean sprouts, chillies, lime and pickled julienned carrots to put in the soup. several weeks ago i ordered pho at a restaurant in a neighborhood of san francisco official dubbed as "little saigon." but my bowl of soup did not come with any veggies. when i asked the waitress she said that this style of soup does not come with veggies? i was puzzled--i've never heard of this. are there regions in vietnam that don't serve the soup with the dish of veggies?

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  13. Anonymous9:25 PM

    Hi Buddhist with an attitude (cool name :)),

    You're right, that fruit is not Almond, it's either dried peach or dried plum. We usually have it in chinese fortified drink and such.

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  14. Anonymous5:01 AM

    Sorry I was wrong. I did a bit more research and it is black cardamom, not dried peach or plum :)

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  15. Nothing like a good beef soup to enjoy with our families!

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  16. I like Pho Bo, Pho Bo delicous

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  17. It is a unique dish. I like it.

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