Wednesday, January 28, 2015

QUICK AND EASY PHO RECIPE

One dish we love is Pho.  It's a Vietnamese noodle soup with seasonings, veggies, herbs and meat, usually beef or chicken.  It looks complicated when you get it at a restaurant but we make a pretty quick and easy version.



First, we get some rice noodles and put a few ounces in a large bowl.  Boiling water 'cooks' them.  We top that with some chicken bouillon powder (sometimes we use beef) and a few seasonings.  These can be whatever you like, garlic power, onion powder, parsley, etc.



Next, we add some vegetables.  This is actually a shredded mix that's already done at the grocery store, a broccoli and carrot slaw.  It's a way to make this even more quick and easy.




Then we add some meat.  This is frozen (but thawed), thinly sliced, cooked meatballs (homemade).  We always keep some in the freezer for quick meals and this is one reason.  We use about five meatballs per bowl, sliced up.  You could also use cooked chicken or beef strips, or skip it and make it vegetarian.



On top of the meat, we add some sliced up green onions, sprouts and cilantro.  Again, very quick and easy to chop up ingredients.  Also pretty inexpensive.  They are really to taste, whatever you like.




We sprinkle on a few more pieces of shredded carrots and broccoli for some more color and a bit more crunch.



While all the ingredients are being put in the bowl, we have a kettle of water coming to a boil on the stove.  Once it's boiling, we pour it over the ingredients in the bowl and fill it up to the top. 


Everything needs to sit for a few minutes to soften up of course.  We are lucky, we have small plates that cover the top of the bowls, but you could use Saran wrap or even foil.  This keeps the heat in and helps everything steep and soften up.

After about 6 or 7 minutes, it's all done!  Here, we sprinkled some micro-greens on top and a splash of soy sauce.  In another variation, we use a squirt of lime juice and fresh cilantro leaves.  It's really whatever you like.  Sriracha sauce is a great addition, as well as Oyster sauce.  All of this could also be put into a pan on the stove and brought to a boil but hey, we like this because it's quick and easy after a long day at work.  Who needs Ramen noodles when you can have this?  Sure, it's probably not authentic Pho, but we love it and it's oh so good on a cold evening. It's healthy, inexpensive and definitely filling.


22 comments:

  1. It looks delicious and so easy!! I hope those were homemade meatballs!!

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    1. Yep, in fact I edited the post to say that. About every other month, 2nd Man makes a bunch of them, we cook them and then put them in freezer bags. The are great to pop out for quick meals of any type.

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  2. That sounds very easy. I make what I call an Oriental soup. I heat beef broth or use bouillon, add splashes of soy sauce and saki and maybe some Chinese vinegar, garlic and ginger grated. I pour that over Chinese greens, lettuce or bok choy,. Add sliced cooked meat of choice, green onions and enjoy. Not too different from your masterpiece.

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    1. That's totally just like this! I like the idea of ginger and Chinese vinegar. Awesome. Yes, virtually identical. Thank for the suggestion!

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  3. WOWZERS! back in the city i was a pho connoisseure! never met a pho i didn't love! now that we are here at the Manor, we make our own, too! it is so versatile, beautiful and filling! we always use rice noodles, too! you guys have hit the ball out of the park with that beautiful pho!

    much love ot you both! your friend,
    kymber

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    1. They are all good huh? Versatile is the best way to describe it. Just like Marcia above, it's whatever makes it good for you huh? Thank you for the compliment too! Love to you both and stay warm and safe!!

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  4. Yum. I would leave out the meat, but it looks quick, easy and delicious. Triple treat.

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    1. That is totally ok, we have it vegetarian quite often as well! Enjoy and thanks!!

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  5. I've been looking for some other recipes in which to use my garden vegetables - and this looks perfect. And delicious. And easy. Thanks for a great idea!

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    1. This would be awesome, just like Marcia suggested too, you can put any kind of veggies and/or seasonings. Thank YOU!!

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  6. a very good quick version! i should do more stuff like this. i tend to get too complicated!

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    1. Hey, we get complicated far too often. This is a quick go to when we've been at work late and get home and just want something quick and easy. That's always welcome, ha. But more often than not, especially on the weekends, we get complicated too, ha.

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  7. Never even heard of this before and it looks so yummy. I will make it a point to make this tomorrow. Great idea about freezing meatballs. Ours are usually in spaghetti, heh

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    1. It's a great soup/broth type meal that's very forgiving. Oh, yes, we love keeping them frozen. 2nd Man makes a big bath every couple of months and we just pop then in freezer bags and since they are cooked, we can just pop them out to thaw and/or use frozen (they thaw and heat up fast in a soup or sauce). And spaghetti....MMM!!!

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  8. I've always wanted to try pho, but never have. It does look easy and I think I'd sprinkle just a drop or two of sesame oil on top.

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    1. This might note be exactly Pho, but hey, it's pretty close, ha. And yummy for the sesame oil, great idea!!! Thanks!

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  9. this looks very good, I could do this vegetarian so easy and it would be great!

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    1. Can absolutely be vegetarian, in fact we do that almost as often as the meat lovers, ha. Thanks!!

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  10. This is going on my list of things to do this weekend. Fresh vegetables on the menu is so needed this time of year. Thanks for introducing me to a new idea. I never considered this before. It's like steeping vegetables. Simple concepts escape me sometimes. LOL

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    1. Great description it is steeping. In fact, our veggies are still a bit crisp, which is nice. We do put this all in a pot on the stove too, and just make it as a clear broth type soup. It's very forgiving to use whatever you want to use. Thank you!!

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  11. 1st Man,

    Pho soup........OMG a little piece of heaven :-)
    We love Pho, in fact we could eat it daily and never get tired of it
    Do you add jalapeno's to your vegetable pile? We do.

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  12. I've heard of this soup but have never tried it. It looks great and like a healthy alternative.

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