Ingredients
BROTH
1 each inch fresh ginger
3 each star anise
2 each green onions
5 cup beef stock
3 tbsp fish sauce
SOUP
8 oz rice sticks or cellophane no
1 each onion
12 each basil leaves
6 oz beef tenderloin or sirloin,
GARNISH
8 each sprigs fresh mint or basil
2 each jalapenos thinly sliced
2 cup mung bean sprouts
1 each lime, quartered
EXTRA'S
1 each hoisin sauce
1 each asian chili sauce
Directions
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.
Servings: 4 servings
Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup) Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Meat; Soup
The History of Recipes
Recipes as an idea can be found back into distant history, in truth as far as early Egypt, and possibly even further. Interesting though that is, generally, these early cook books were just simple pictorial instructions for preparing meals.
In an interesting twist, the most ancient recipe found, according to historians is a series of ancient tablets in the Sumerian language which describe the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel wonderful and blissful. Later on, in The time of the romans 25BC a man called Apicius compiled some documents which described recipes prepared by wealthy roman citizens. In his works, he recounts how the roman meals were split into hors d`oeuvre, entrees and desserts, a style of dining still practiced today. Aspicius also recounts how the ancient cooks made use of many spices and herbs, including many that are still in use today such as thyme, fennel and dill. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, we have two interesting cookery books which appeared in the 1300s ; one book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary named `Curye on Inglish`. Despite their titles, these have no connection with the indian curry that is popular today, but instead accounts of the types of food eaten by the nobility of those days. Later on, in the 15th century, knights returning from the crusades brought us many new foods and herbs from the East, including spices such as rosemary and coriander. The introduction of these new culinary ideas prompted an outbreak in books on cooking, many of which are kept safe in private cookery archives. Over the succeeding few centuries, the wealthy families of Europe tried to lay on the most extravagent meals, and as a result chefs and their recipe collections were greatly in demand. However, it wasn`t until the 1800s that fine cooking and recipe collections became popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the USA, dedicated the best years of their lives to collecting, testing, and recording the recipes that were being prepared for the better households. When we get to the 20th century, recipe books were increasing in popularity mostly as a result of increased literacy, more spare time and having more money. The arrival of TV brought us celebrity chefs and the demand for the accompanying recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the internet revolution, allowing everyone to search through massive numbers of recipes like the ones you can find on this site. |
We hope you enjoy this Pho (Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup) recipe.
