Recipe - Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup)

BROTH
1 Inch fresh ginger
3 Star anise
2 Green onions
5 cup Beef stock
3 tablespoon Fish sauce

SOUP
8 ounce Rice sticks or cellophane no
1 Onion
12 Basil leaves
6 ounce Beef tenderloin or sirloin,

GARNISH
8 Sprigs fresh mint or basil
2 Jalapenos thinly cut or sliced up
2 cup Mung bean sprouts
1 Lime, quartered

EXTRA'S
1 Hoisin sauce
1 Asian chili sauce

Use Rice sticks or cellophane noodles. Partially freeze beef before
cutting. Cook's notes: Star anise, fish sauce, hoisin sauce and Asian chili
sauce are available at Asian markets or some supermarkets with large Asian
specialty sections. Use caution when working with fresh chilies. Upon
completion of slicing, wash work surface and hands thoroughly; do not touch
your eyes. Procedure: Combine the beef stock, ginger, star anise, green
onions and fish sauce and gently simmer for 30 minutes. Remove the ginger,
anise and green onions. Soak the rice sticks in warm water for 30 minutes.
Slice the green onions, onion and basil leaves as thinly as possible. Slice
the beef as thinly as possible across the grain. It helps to partially
freeze the meat before slicing. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil. Arrange the
bean sprouts, mint sprigs, chilies and lime on a platter. Just before
serving, bring the broth to a boil. Cook the rice sticks in boiling water
for 30 seconds, then drain. Presentation: Divide the noodles among 4 large
bowls. Arrange the scallions, onion slices and beef slices on top. Spoon
the boiling broth on top: The heat of the liquid should be sufficient to
cook the meat. Serve the soup at once, with the garnish platter on the
side. Let each person add sprouts, mint, chilies, lime, hoisin sauce and/or
chili sauce to taste. Yield: Makes 4 servings. Nutritional info (per
serving): 206 calories, 5 grams fat, 27 milligrams cholesterol, 749
milligrams sodium.
Posted to MMRecipes Digest by scotlyn@juno.com (Daniel S Johnson) on Feb
23, 1998