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Pho Noodle Soup Recipe - Vietnam (Gordon's Great Escapes)

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Saturday evening, I'm at a family wedding, full of cake and gazing happily at the flickering tealights dotted around on my table. My 10 year old niece comes up to me and opens her hand and says, "What are these, Daw Daw?" Her palm is full of star anise taken from the table centrepieces. I say to her, "Smell one" and she does, and she says it smells spicy and faintly sweet.

I then take one pod and wave it through a flame and say, "Smell it again", and her eyes light up and she says it smells wonderful. I tell her that it's a spice used in Asian cookery and she runs off to gather more, and then insists I give them all the same treatment.

As I singe the anise pods one by one, she gets one of the wedding favours, a gauzy reticule full of sugared almonds, up-ends the sweets inside, and replaces them with the charred anise. She then reties the satin ribbon carefully and sniffs the newly-stuffed little pouch appreciatively.

That scent of charred star anise, of singed cloves and ginger, of fire-blackened garlic and onion, and of the smokiest of cassia bark spells absolute comfort and deliciousness to me. It's the heavenly fragrance of phở - the beautiful, delicately spiced, clear yet meaty broth of rice noodle ribbons and fresh, leafy herbs which is renowned as the national dish of Vietnam.

The origins of phở seem to have been lost in the mists of time, but the name apparently comes from the French pot-au-feu which shares many elements with phở including adding roasted o­nion to the broth for color and flavor. Tonight episode of Gordon's Great Escape sees Gordon visit Vietnam, where he will explore the native cuisine and hopefully find out more about where phở comes from.

Although phở gà or chicken pho is extremely popular, the classical version is phở bò or beef pho, and as a meat-lover this is my favourite too, as you can add flank, brisket, sirloin, tendon and even tripe, as well those addictively bouncy beefballs you can find in Asian supermarkets. And at the table, it's fun to tweak the toppings to your heart's content - a little more slivered onion, a touch more mint and a good dash of Sriracha chilli sauce. Here's my recipe for phở bò - Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup.

Making phở is a bit of a labour of love, but the process is straightforward and enjoyable and the end result is really worth the effort. Such a medley of colours and textures and flavours and scents is rarely found, and a bowl of steaming phở is a true joy to lift your soul on a chilly day.

My pho bo recipe on Channel 4 Food

Gordon Ramsay's Great Escapes - Vietnam
Monday 16 May on Channel 4 at 9 pm

Comments

Alex said…
Cheers Mimi! I've been wanting to try cooking my own phở for ages and this'll be the recipe I try. There's something lovely and steamboaty about the way the beef cooks right in front of your eyes, just enough to taste great, when you ladle the broth in. Will watch the show too - have been overdosing on repeats of Far Flung Floyd and Rick Stein's Far Eastern Odyssey lately and have been looking for a new show in the same vein.

That was a nice little story at the start too. Beautifully evocative food writing in this post :D
Uyen Luu said…
looks amazing! : ) x as do all your recipes!
meemalee said…
@Alex - Ah steamboat *sighs wistfully*

I really enjoyed the Cambodian episode so hopeful about tonight's :)

@Leluu - Uyen, that's a real honour and compliment coming from you! You're the best Vietnamese cook I know so thank you :) x

I have a summer rolls recipe coming up and will link to Fernandez and Leluu for full instructions on how to roll them - your photos are so good!
Kavey said…
Story at the start is beautiful... as Alex said, absolutely super food writing, so evocative and such a perfect introduction.

:)
Miss Whiplash said…
Looks good, though, I have to confess that anise flavours are one of the few things I really don't like.
Am looking forward to the summer rolls.
I'm a bit addicted at the moment.
I guess it must be summer ;-)
The Grubworm said…
I had no idea about the Pho - Pot-au-feu link, that's one of those really interesting factlets I want to dig deeper in *fires up wikipedia*.

Like you I love star anise, but it took me a while to realise how intrinsic it is to mush Asian cooking. Whether it's a warming winter duck braise or the clear and delicious broth that comes with Pho - possibly the ULTIMATE clear soup for me. And up there with good miso as a healing draught.
meemalee said…
@Kavey - Thank you dear!

@Miss Whiplash - It's not very aniseedy at all, almost ephemeral in its spicing, and as there's such an interplay of notes, it's far from overpowering - do try :)

@The Grubworm - Asian penicillin :)
Greedy Diva said…
I love the smell of pho - the best sickness and hangover cure there is.
Niamh said…
Lovely post, MiMI! I adore pho, one of my favourite things in this world.
meemalee said…
@Greedy Diva - Yes, it's so alluring yet comforting at the same time!

@Niamh - Thank you, Niamh - and me too :)
chumbles said…
Well done, MiMi - excellent writing and the food looks brilliant too! And belated congrats on getting the recipes on Channel 4 Food (and congrats to them for realising that there's a rising star).