One of the best parts of working at the Honors College at a Research One university is meeting students and their families from every corner of the earth.
The global perspective I gain without leaving my office is truly amazing. And when I leave my office, I look at the world through a different lens.
I now have friends from almost every continent. (We have yet to enroll any penguins from Antarctica.) Knowing these brilliant young scholars is a great joy, and it has opened my palate to all variety of cuisines... and you know I love that!
Whether the students are from abroad or are first or second generation Americans doesn’t really matter. What matters is that they keep their cultural identity alive, and much of that comes from their culinary traditions.
Meals associated with holidays. National dishes. Holy day suppers. Mom’s recipes. Dad’s recipes. Those from grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, friends.
As far as I feel comfortable, I ask if they are willing to share family recipes, so I can bring their traditions to our home. This has brought to our table subjis from India, injera from Ethiopia, potato dishes from Peru, and - today - phở from Vietnam.
At freshman orientation almost 5 years ago, I met incoming freshman Alexa and her mother, Thuy. Within minutes we were onto my favorite subject - food. After discussions of the best restaurants in town, we soon hit on home cooking and Thuy’s favorite recipes.
Thuy was saddened by the news that I am allergic to garlic, as it is so prevalent in Vietnamese cuisine. “Not to worry,” I told her, “I can always have phở!” (I am pretty much an expert on international garlic-free recipes - as long as people stick to tradition.)
Every once in a while, Alexa would tell me that her mom sent extra phở broth for me, and I would run out and get all the ingredients to finish the dish: rice noodles, onion, beef slices, cilantro, Thai basil, scallions, and bean sprouts. Such a treat! Last month, though (and perhaps because Alexa is graduating), Thuy sent her recipe for Phở Tái.
The recipe is easy to make (although it is quite a time commitment!), and is especially easy if you have a good Asian grocery where you can buy bags of the meat bones you need, as well as precut slices of beef, and all the other ingredients to flavor the broth.
Thuy finishes her phở with hoisin sauce. Because it contains garlic, I can’t use it so I guess homemade hoisin will be next on my DIY list! But her broth needs nothing to enhance it. It has amazing and complex flavors and, while it takes the better part of a day to make (much of which is unattended), it is worth it, and the house is filled with wave after wave of mouthwatering fragrances as one ingredient is added after another.
I can’t tell you how much I will miss Alexa after she graduates... but I know we will keep our friendship through the years, and I will have her (and Thuy) at my side every time I make this phở recipe. Congratulations and good luck, Alexa!
~ David
Phở Tái
Recipe from Diemthuy Ngo
Aromatics
2 sticks cinnamon
2 teaspoons whole cloves
2 teaspoons dried coriander seeds
3 dried cardamom pods, crushed
6 dried star anise
Stock and Seasoning
1 large yellow onion, papery skin removed
5 ounces ginger root, skin lightly scraped
3 pounds mixed beef bones (ox tail, marrow, shank, knuckle)
6 tablespoons kosher salt, divided
8 quarts water
1/4 cup sugar
1 large daikon radish, 8-10 inches, cut into three pieces
1 Fuji apple, pricked 5 times with a fork
3-4 tablespoons Vietnamese fish sauce
2 phở seasoning packets (I used Phở Hoa brand)
Garnishes
2 jalapeno peppers, thinly sliced
8 ounces bean sprouts
sprigs of cilantro
sprigs of Thai basil
2 limes, cut into wedges
hoisin sauce
hot sauce
To Serve
2 pounds fresh rice noodles
sliced eye-round beef steak*
1 medium yellow onion, very thinly sliced
5 green onions/scallions, thinly sliced
* purchase pre-sliced from an Asian market
Place the aromatics in a dry skillet and place over medium-high heat and toast for about 5 minutes, shaking constantly to keep them from burning. Wrap them in a piece of cheesecloth and tie it tightly with kitchen string. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Roast the onion and ginger on a lined baking sheet for 30-40 minutes until the onion is browned and aromatic.
While the vegetables are roasting, add the 8 quarts of water to a very large stockpot and bring to a simmer. Wash the beef bones thoroughly. Add the bones and 3 tablespoons salt to another stockpot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, and cook at a rolling boil for 10 minutes to remove impurities from the bones. Drain and let cool slightly. Using a brush, scrub the bones of the brownish scum and rinse well. Don’t scrub off the meat or fat - these will flavor the broth significantly.
To the 8 quarts of water, add the remaining 3 tablespoons salt and 1/4 cup sugar, and the scrubbed bones. Bring them back to a boil, then add the roasted onion, ginger (I crushed the ginger in several places to allow it to release more flavor), the daikon, apple, and the aromatics (in cheesecloth). Set the broth to the barest simmer.
Overall, the broth will cook for 5 hours. During this time, skim the broth frequently; you will need to do this more frequently in the first couple of hours. The broth should be clear. After two hours, remove and discard the onion and the apple before they completely disintegrate. After four hours, remove the daikon, ginger, and aromatics and add the phở seasoning packets. Note: these packets are akin to teabags - you don’t open and empty the contents. After 4 1/2 hours, add the fish sauce and then taste for seasoning, adding more salt or fish sauce to suit your taste.
At 5 hours, the broth is ready. Even after all the skimming, there is still a lot of fat from the bones. You can let it cool and then skim the fat from the surface. At Thuy’s recommendation, I left some fat to make the broth silky. She told me that, in some traditional restaurants, diners will be offered small bowls of the skimmed fat to add back into their phở.
In the last 15 minutes of cooking the broth, prepare the garnishes and place them decoratively on a platter. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Blanch sliced onions for 30-60 seconds, and remove with a strainer (spider). Blanch the rice noodles for 15 seconds and then divide among 6-8 bowls. Top blanched noodles with raw beef slices, onion slices, and sliced scallions. Ladle boiling broth into the bowls and serve immediately, while passing the platter of garnishes and bowls of hoisin and hot sauces.
When I garnish, I add a few cilantro leaves, torn Thai basil leaves, bean sprouts and a squeeze of lime. I generally don’t add jalapeno and, as mentioned above, I don’t add hoisin sauce. Sliced precooked meatballs can also be added, but I prefer it with only the beef slices.
Serves 6-8.
Labels: beef, pho, phở, pho tai, phở tái, soup, vietnamese
