Vietnamese Pho

There’s nothing better than a hot mug of soup on a bitterly cold day. Here in the mid-Atlantic, we’ve had our share of those lately. On one such day, I broke out my stock pot and made Vietnamese Pho. You can find plenty of recipes online for this classic one-bowl meal, but through trial and error over the years, I’ve come to rely on a few essential Asian ingredients and tend to alter it from there, depending on what add-ons I may have in the refrigerator at the time. With pho, it’s all about the broth. Start with a good stock, and you can’t go wrong.--GAP

Ingredients
1 lb. (approx) of your favorite meat (chicken, pork, beef)—for this recipe I chose beef spareribs from our local Asian market
2 cartons of organic chicken stock (about 7 cups worth)
½ package of ultra-thin Japanese noodles (can substitute healthier whole-wheat angel-hair pasta, but use only a third of the box)
½ cup soy sauce (low-sodium preferred)
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
4 tablespoons of freshly grated ginger
2 heaping tablespoons of red chili paste (more if you like it extra spicy)
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 cloves of garlic, diced
¼ cup of organic granulated sugar
1 large red onion, diced
3 julienned carrots
1 cucumber, sliced
1 large bunch of cilantro (de-stemmed)
1 bunch of scallions, chopped
3 limes

Preparation
Coat bottom of stock pot with vegetable oil, bring up to temperature over medium-high heat; add meat and cook until browned.

In large bowl, mix together approximately six cups of the chicken stock with the soy sauce, ginger, chili paste, sesame oil, garlic and sugar. Once meat is browned, pour this mixture over it and allow it to simmer on medium-low heat until meat is tender (nearly falling off the bone, if you’ve chosen bone-in cuts). Depending on thickness and cut, this could take as little as a half hour, or as long as two hours.

Skim off any fat that rises to the top, and add water or a little more chicken stock if it seems that it has reduced down too much. Bring back up to a slow boil and add the diced red onion and carrots, allowing them to cook until al dente (you want a little texture and crunch). This takes just a few minutes

Once the freshly added veggies have been cooked through a bit, drop in a handful of the Japanese noodles and boil on high for three minutes. Remove from heat.

Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with the freshly chopped green scallions, cilantro, cucumber slices, and the juice from ¼ of a fresh lime. The cucumber will quell the spice a bit and adds nice texture.